Guest User | Login / Register

What is WIDN

The World Interior Design Network is the leading global resource for the interior design industry brought to you by World Market Intelligence, one of the world's foremost publishers of interior design information

Find out more

Product Inspiration

Browse our interior design product showcase, one of the largest and fastest growing collections of premium interior design products on the Internet.

Find out more

Industry Research

World Market Intelligence publishes in-depth strategic intelligence reports, drawing on in-depth primary and secondary research, proprietary databases and high quality analysis from our expert teams.

Find out more

Small wonder

Published: 17-Mar-2009

Larger projects are becoming thinner on the ground as the recession takes hold but that does not have to spell disaster. Smaller, one-room jobs are perceived as tricky but can be just as profitable for designers with the skills to rise to the challenge

Related Image

Suppliers to this sector

With no signs of the economy improving, 2009 is set to be a tough year — work will be more difficult to find as City suits lose their bonuses and Russian expats watch their fortunes dwindle. So as times get harder, should you turn back to those little, one-room jobs that you cut your teeth on or are they too much work for too little reward?

For BIDA member Colette Heopli-Steffan of Steffan Interiors, a recession is no time to be precious about the kind of work you accept. ‘People will be spending less money now and if we need the work, we will do it,’ she says. ‘Snobbery is dangerous. It’s a customer’s market and we have to remember that. There might be a bit more hassle and running around with the small jobs but it’s better than nothing.’

Interior designer Michael Priest has been in business for 35 years so has already ridden out three slumps. ‘I’m a marvellous example of how to get business in times like these because I

have always taken small projects,’ he explains. ‘I could name half a dozen colleagues who wouldn’t touch anything less than a whole house but I think that is so shortsighted. In times like these, it’s better to have six little jobs than none, even if it will mean a bit more running around.’

Susan Llewellyn of Susan Llewellyn Associates agrees: ‘In tough times you can’t afford not to do small projects.’ Christina Fallah of Christina Fallah Designs points out that small jobs provide financial security in more ways than one. ‘From a financial perspective, if you do five small jobs you can earn as much as working on one large project but, because the income comes from five different sources, there is less risk,’ she says.

But if there are good reasons to embark on small projects at this time, there are also some important ground rules to follow.

Look to the future

Hugh Jamieson of At Home Interiors voices the feelings of many when he says: ‘Small projects often lead on to greater things.’ Interior designer Mary Barber Fray reports: ‘I’m a successful interior designer but a lot of my jobs aren’t whole houses, a lot of it is done one room at a time. I have had one client for 12 years and we do a room every couple of years.’

Priest has had the same experience: ‘Although we are very grand and decorate the best homes in the world, our philosophy is that nothing is too small because small acorns can grow into big oaks. So I will happily make up a lampshade or cover a chair and even these small jobs can be profitable. You form a relationship with the clients so they come back to you — I haven’t lost a patient in 30 years!’

However, Carol Harwood of Harwood Interiors, who has been in business for 28 years and seen her fair share of recessions, sounds a note of caution. ‘I was always told that you do one room and the client is so happy they follow on but that seldom happens. Most clients who do one room don’t have the finances to carry on — they are thrilled with what you do but they have no more money.’ That may be bearable if the single job is profitable but she continues: ‘People are trying to get designers to cut their fees to the bone on the promise of doing the whole house later on but some clients tell porkies and have no intention of doing so.’

RULE ONE: That small job may lead to more in the future but don’t undercharge on the promise of work that may never materialise.

Time is money

Everyone likes to do their best on every job but small jobs take proportionally more time than a whole house. You need to take this into account when you are deciding whether to take on a small job and working out how to charge for it.

‘There is more organisation needed with small jobs,’ says interior designer Adrienne Chinn. ‘You need to remember that what is a small job to you is a big project for your client. They will be much tighter with the budget because they have probably saved up the money for the project so they can’t be very flexible. Sometimes there’s a lot of hand holding.’

‘Look carefully at how much it’s going to cost you in time and petrol,’ warns Harwood, who points out that smaller jobs require more regular site visits and can take almost as long to scheme as a whole floor. She adds that clients on a tight budget may start knocking out the little accessories that enable a designer working on mark-ups to make a profit.

Fallah recalls: ‘In the last recession, I ended up doing CAD drafting for all types of small projects to pay the bills. The clients didn’t have funds to spend on expensive finishes and fittings so I just produced the drawings and advice and invoiced for my time.’ Heopli-Steffan recently charged an hourly rate for some small jobs, such as sourcing accessories and doing a colour scheme for a holiday flat. But Priest is sticking to mark-ups: ‘I have never charged a design fee. I charge the recommended retail price on everything and bill for my travel and overnight expenses. If you are offered a little basement to do, why not go along? It’s in and out and you are finished and it can be very profitable. I treat jobs such as these as a marvellous opportunity.’

RULE TWO: Make sure that small jobs pay their way by working out carefully what will be involved and ensuring that the income, whether from fees or mark-up, will definitely be sufficient.

Stretch your skills…

Designers love to be given a whole house because it gives them a blank canvas — so single rooms are perceived as harder. ‘I always point out to clients that it’s better to do at least one floor at a time because it helps to unify things. But with our skills we should be able to do one room,’ says Heopli-Steffan.

And working around a client’s favourite things is an important skill, stresses Barber Fray. ‘Small jobs are not always ideal. One client had a lot of exotic teak furniture that wasn’t to my taste but I had to work with it. You can’t always have carte blanche. When you are restricted by what’s already there, you have to be more imaginative to achieve the right effect.’

Fallah says: ‘Any designer worth their salt should be able to work with the client’s existing furniture. Why get rid of a sentimental piece when it has history or a story behind it? The job of any designer is to work to the client’s brief so if it means working with what they have already, it is up to the designer to be creative. That’s what they’re paid for.’

Llewellyn puts it even more bluntly: ‘As a designer you should be able to design, no matter what the obstacles are.’

RULE THREE: Work hard, think hard and be imaginative to make the best of small projects.

… but don’t overstretch yourself

‘You need to ensure that you aren’t so overwhelmed by small jobs that you can’t take a big job if it comes along,’ warns Chinn. That is also of concern to Jamieson. ‘When you are a small practice, it doesn’t take much to make you really busy — but that’s where outsourcing to freelancers can help.’ Llewellyn agrees: ‘Your company can always grow depending on your projects. There are plenty of new designers who will work on a freelance basis.’

RULE FOUR: Make sure you can still cope if the orders flood in.

Even in a recession, job satisfaction still counts. If you want to stick to bigger jobs, look at ways of becoming more competitive. ‘During the credit crunch, designers may have to reduce their hourly fees or offer incentives to make their services more attractive. We have sometimes cut our margins enormously to win a job,’ says Harwood. ‘I’ve still been turning down jobs,’ admits Chinn. ‘If you can afford not to do a job you really don’t want to do, then don’t do it. If you take a job out of desperation, you will end up regretting it.’

This article originally appeared in idFX magazine