Kitchen Remodeling: Working It into Every Budget

As an interior designer, you learned that creating a cohesive design for an entire room included details. These details came down to the paint on the walls and the draperies hanging over the windows. If you have narrowed down your specialty to custom drapes, then here is a few extra tips to keep in mind when you want happy clients and a prosperous business.

Visit Your Clients in Their Homes, Not in Your Office

You might be tempted to hold an initial consult in your office, but that does not tell you anything about each client. Arrange to meet your clients in the very rooms they want you to decorate and for which they want drapes made. You get a better feel of what the clients like, the impression they want to make on others, and the style of drapes they want on their windows.

Know What Is Trending and Not Just Trendy

You could talk ad nauseum about drapes designed by Vera Wang, but your clients are probably looking for something that is more representational of them. Except for penthouses and mansions, most middle class homeowners with 2.3 kids, a cat and a dog want draperies that look nice, are functional, stand up to cat claws, dog teeth, dirty paws, and children. Trending in this business means asking what most of your clients are going to want and helping them select from swatches for drapes that fulfill all of their needs. Trendy is whatever sells because a designer name is attached to it. Knowing the difference will impress your clients.

Create More Than One Mock-up Drawing

You are an interior designer because you can visualize how things will look in three dimensions. Your clients hire you because they do not have this skill. Create more than one mock-up drawing for your clients to choose from, and they will be pleased that you took the time and the creative energy to show them how your custom designs will look. It also helps them select the features of the designs they like best, and pair them together for the curtains they really want.

Measuring Twice and Cutting Once

When your clients have decided if they want full curtains, cafe-style, or floor to ceiling drapes, you can take your measurements and give them spot-on quotes for the drapes they want based on the cloth swatches they chose. Be completely accurate with your measurements so that you do not order materials to make the drapes and find that the drapes are the wrong size. Just like a construction contractor, measure twice and cut once.

If you are looking for an interior decorator, consider talking to a place like Botany Decorating.