Is it stupid to pay this interior designer??
sun2007
11 years ago
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SunnyCottage
11 years agoannzgw
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Stupid design things--what were they thinking?
Comments (32)Human size cut out posters (standing upright) doing all sorts of activities or lined down a hall. They bother me for some reason. And is it just here.....but when did walking on the right to shop at malls (akin to driving) become a norm? Tis' a standard here. Haven't shopped at a mall for years and people sure know how to tell you where they want you to be. For some reason I do right side cart in grocery stores, from osmosis or all those electric carts. TPMs....has anyone notice they look like someone's "bare" rear end? Who designs these things? New car and the thing won't go off. What good does this do? Mechanic told me this happens with some cars and it is a law now to have them. Lazy mechanics are my stupid design things...animate or inanimate. Although the design logo is the same, MINI has had this for years and can be turned off manually when tires are changed, adjusted, etc. I can do it if they can't, an odd routine. But again, a lazy mechanic is going to avoid it and spend the time talking about how it is fine. They must have changed the build from original design, or we are getting junk ones. Perhaps there is a way for the user to manually turn it off....and off to search. This isn't a design thing. I cringe when looking for something in a store, then asking the clerk for information and they answer "I don't know". Can't count the times I've wanted to tell them to find someone who does know or to learn something and find out. Every color possible on appliances, no need to put any holiday lights in the kitchen. Just turn the lights out and everything else on. Same with your car at night. Dazzling!...See MoreNeed Advice on Interior Design Fee Issue Longish Post
Comments (34)Just posting an update since we met with the designer last night. Turns out that he would have been collecting the following types of compensation under his "flat rate" model: - charging us a flat amount for design fees - marking up purchases 12% from his cost - marking up bids from contractors by some higher amount (which apparently varies by project) to cover his costs for overseeing the project, insurance, etc. He said he made the switch to hourly given the amount of research and shopping we were doing. He also asserted that he would have earned close to the same amount for the project on the original billing rate because of the markups. That is faulty logic and we told him so - our budget was our budget so marking up purchases would have meant we would have been buying less items and/or lower-quality items in order to stay within our budget. 12% of $17K is $2200 no matter what items you buy for it. And our labor costs are modest because the space was already roughed in, so he would have needed an ENORMOUS markup on the labor charges to get anywhere close to the amount that he was showing as payable based on his hourly rate. We also told him that had we known that we were being charged for every hour of work we would have used him differently. Until I asked, he never presented an interim summary of his hours or billings, or mentioned any concern for how we would stay within our budget given how much of his time he was spending. But he WAS aware of our budget and knew that we were going to some lengths to try to stick to it. To me this is the most important issue that makes his billed hours an unfair amount. A lot of our time in research was spent trying to find affordable alternatives for some of the ideas that he presented - we didn't want to change the design but we couldn't afford to do what he was suggesting. Logic says that he really wasn't being that mindful of the budget issues in presenting appropriate ideas in the first place. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that this was a MAJOR disconnect on his part, which meant that a large number of his hours were billed without regard to what would be in our best interest. He conceded that he should have been much clearer about what terms he was thinking of changing and what the impact of that change would be on us. He is going to look at his time and use a couple of alternative approaches for how he could be compensated to come up with a number that will be his flat fee for the entire project, capped. Supposed to get Monday am. Said he really wants to oversee the completion of the work and understands that we will not explicitly compensate him for that. I am still concerned about what number he is going to propose but at least it will hopefully be in the neighborhood of a more fair amount....See MoreExpectations of Kitchen Designers? (Interior designers?) – pls help
Comments (2)I think what you're running into is Kitchen Designers who are really Cabinet Salespeople. Did you ask if they are NKBA-certified (not a guarantee of a good designer, but it's a good first step)? So many KDs are really cabinet salespeople - they know a lot about their cabinet line(s), but not so much about good design. Did either ask you about your lifestyle, your family composition, your plans for the kitchen, etc.? If not, that's a red flag. Check the Layout help FAQ for the types of questions KDs should be asking you - and that you should be prepared to answer. How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include? If you cannot find a good KD, then I suggest starting the design process by posting your space here. We have several professional KDs as well as several talented amateurs who can help you. When you're happy with the layout, go back to the KDs and see what they have to say - both for cabinet specifics in their cabinet line(s) and pricing. If you do find a KD, then see what s/he comes up with. I would still come here and post the layout for additional critiquing. Between your KD and here, you should be able to come up with a functional layout and a nice looking space. Good luck!...See MoreDesign Error Causes $1300 mistake, Contractor is Asking Me to Pay
Comments (38)Sorry but every single one of us creating a kitchen redo tends to participate in the design process. We don't say to the designer, "surprise me". That has absolutely nothing to do with what I wrote. Mostly everyone is responsible for their own negligence, that is day one of torts. This idea that you pay a contractor, so he is the person ultimately responsible is bogus. What theory of law would make a contractor ultimately responsible for a subcontractor's negligence? There isn't one. However, what typically happens in these situations is that the general contractor contracts directly with the subs. Mistakes then go through the G.C. as you have standing with the G.C. and he has standing with the subs (although realistically you could argue around standing). Essentially the subs don't work for you, they work for the G.C., thus you go through the G.C. to get to the sub. Having said that, there are times when the G.C. has sufficiently passed his duty on to someone else. One of those times would be when you met with a design professional directly. The law isn't stupid, there is not going to be an expectation that a General Contractor be better at kitchen design than a kitchen designer. So knowing that the OP met with the designer, and that a reasonable person would believe that kitchen designers know more about kitchen design than G.C.'s do, what is the GC's duty? Because without a duty, he has no liability. Is it his duty to faithfully execute the design? Is it duty to catch and correct measurement errors? Is it his duty to redesign the kitchen to be more functional? The answer to those questions are yes, maybe, and no. ----- Let me clue all the legal hobbyists here into the real world. There are no answers before a case is adjudicated. There is simply the plaintiff argues... and the defense argues... Sometimes there are strong arguments, and sometimes there are weak arguments, but they don't pick the winners and losers at the start. Here are the elements of negligence... the existence of a legal duty that the defendant owed to the plaintiff defendant's breach of that duty plaintiff's sufferance of an injury proof that defendant's breach caused the injury Were I the builder I would argue that my duty was simply to execute the design arrived at by the client and the designer, checking only reasonableness of the cabinet design. I might win, I might lose, but it is a much better case than the designer has. The designer's only defense is that knowing an oven will interfere with a drawer is not something most designers would be able to foresee. Which wouldn't fly if you bought it a first class airline seat. Since the homeowner participated with the designer, you can go directly to the designer for recompense. ETA: I agree with cpartist that for a homeowner to "participate" in the design process does NOT make them responsible for errors in construction such as posted by OP. I agree with that too, but that is not what I said, or even close to it. I am just arguing against the idea that the G.C. is always responsible for all errors just because he paid. That in no way means that the homeowner is responsible....See Moregrlwprls
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