Capella Kincheloe

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Uplifting the Interior Design Industry

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of interior design. I feel like so many companies are capitalizing on the industry (HGTV, Houzz, Laurel & Wolf, and the like) and the independent designers & vendors are suffering for it. These companies aren’t going away and designers aren’t doing a great job of differentiating themselves. We’re undervaluing ourselves, lowering rates, dealing with crappy clients, and giving away work to try to stay relevant.

I wrote a bit about it in this article about project minimums.

I don’t know what to do about it. I find it frustrating. I know you find it frustrating. I have some ideas, but getting everyone on the same page feels impossible.

Do you relate to any of these scenarios?:

  • You feel like clients zap your creativity.

  • You aren’t making money.

  • You give away hours because clients “won’t pay for all of them”.

  • You let clients tell you how to price your services.

  • You lower your fees if someone says you’re too expensive.

  • You’re afraid to charge what you’re worth because you think clients won’t pay.

  • You don’t have project minimums.

  • You shop only retail (no trade accounts).

  • You feel like you can’t say no.

I thought it was time we all started a dialogue and talking about possible improvement. So I’d love if you’d participate in a survey on this topic. I could really use your help, the more results the better the data. The results will be revealed and dissected in a later post. Thank you!