Melissa Walsh Interiors- An Inside Look

Hi, This time you have a new author. It's Lisa Robert, Melissa Walsh Interior's Project Coordinator. Melissa asked me a question that I thought was interesting. She wanted to find out my take on this industry and what would I like our blog audience to know about what it takes to coordinate projects and the behind the scenes information that is not normally spoken about.

When I became a Project Co-ordinator for Melissa Walsh Interiors, I knew nothing about the design industry. Having had lots of experience in the service sector and also in administration, I looked forward to using my organizational skills. Little did I know that I would be using my whole skill set, and I quickly realized that this was exactly the kind of challenge I was looking to sink my teeth into.

Like most people who are unfamiliar with the inner workings of interior design, I imagined that it would be such a fun thing to do. I could envision Melissa taking old and tired spaces, and transforming them into something beautiful. I had no clue that there is so much more to redesigning a space, and many unexpected surprises awaited me behind the scenes. I’m learning that a good interior designer must have so much more than just a good eye for design, they have to work tirelessly during all hours of the day to bring the smallest details of your spaces to a reality. A great designer has proper accreditation with registered design associations, and a formal education with which to launch a successful firm. There are many designers out there, but few can really back up their work with a formal education. This is an important detail to note. When looking from the inside out, there is clearly a big difference between formally educated designers and those who have based their careers on popularity alone.

When having a first consultation with a client, Melissa works to establish a clear budget with the client that the client feels they are comfortable with. Once they have committed to a budget, Melissa proceeds allot funds accordingly. However, often clients have different reasons for needing or wanting to change their budget at various stages of the project. So Melissa must backtrack, and re-source new materials in order to do her best to stay within the framework of the budget. When Melissa finds a product that she feels will be a good fit for a client, she must first reach out to the supplier for a quote, as generally speaking, trade-only suppliers do not make their pricing public knowledge. Once she’s obtained a quote, she must then pass the information along to the client for approval. Just one item can easily involve over 20 points of contact between Melissa, myself,various tradesmen, the suppliers, and the client. This is why it can take a few weeks just to set the wheels in motion for ordering only one piece. Custom design is one of Melissa’s specialties, and as you can probably appreciate, these items require more design time and lead time to arrive. Realistically, the time frame to complete one room can take 5 months or longer to complete. Needing to wear many hats at any given time, I have watched Melissa navigate through unforeseen setbacks, postponed timelines on products, and mitigating client expectations. At any given time, she could have as many as 10 or more current clients, and some of these clients are redesigning many rooms in their home! The number of details that must be managed simultaneously stagger the mind, hence her need for me. This is why her passion for design is such a crucial component to what she does, as you would either have to be really passionate or a little bit crazy to own a business that involves this much maneuvering! My role is to support her in all of these aspects, and I have come to discover that our ideal client is one who understands that we all have the same common goal, and sometimes setbacks occur that are out of our control. We do our very best to provide top notch customer service, and we have the same underlying goal: to support our clients and provide them with unique, breathtaking spaces. If a client truly enjoys their new space, all of that tireless work is entirely worth it.

Has anything I’ve said in this blog surprised you? We would love to hear your thoughts!