Pro Tips for Handling Remodeling ‘Uh-Oh’ Moments
When you discover something has been incorrectly installed, it’s time to double down and make it right for your client
It’s one of those nightmare scenarios. You walk onto a job site and discover something looks … bad. The paint color isn’t right. The cabinet finish is mottled. The tile pattern goes the wrong way. The symmetry is all off. Psychologically, it’s a difficult problem to grapple with because it’s already there, in the physical world, staring you and your client in the face. Doing it again means more money. Potential embarrassment. A perceived waste of time, labor and materials.
But delivering on what you promised your client is what matters, and how you handle an “uh-oh” moment of this magnitude will determine whether the path to that outcome is unnecessarily rough or somewhat smooth. Here, five design pros share their experience of contending with something installed the wrong way, and how working with a solid team, sticking to the original vision and making it right resulted in happy clients.
But delivering on what you promised your client is what matters, and how you handle an “uh-oh” moment of this magnitude will determine whether the path to that outcome is unnecessarily rough or somewhat smooth. Here, five design pros share their experience of contending with something installed the wrong way, and how working with a solid team, sticking to the original vision and making it right resulted in happy clients.
Designer Jess Kern of Interior Vision was glad she had a good relationship with her window treatment manufacturer when updating this dining room in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. “When my fabricator came over to measure the space prior to ordering the custom window treatments, she matched the paint color of the existing trim as close as possible,” Kern says. “I will never forget when my client sent me a photo of the shutters at night and they were a completely different shade of white — eek! Always remember to check out your paint and finish samples at night to see how they look in both natural daylight and after the sun goes down before submitting approval. Luckily, the manufacturer let us keep the originals while waiting for the new shutters to arrive. Lesson learned.”
Designer Sandra Mahoney of Create Design Build experienced a shock during the building of the model home shown here. “I walked into the kitchen and saw the collar for my beam, and the template on the ceiling was not centered on my open cabinet design but had been spaced evenly as the plan specified,” Mahoney says. “Sometimes things look different onsite. The builder was on vacation, and I quickly called the trim carpenter and builder and told them we needed to move the beam to be centered on the open cabinet.”
2. Stick to the Client’s Vision
Remind yourself that the best outcome is a happy client. Most of the time that means sticking to the original vision. This can keep you focused when faced with the dilemma of redoing a design feature. A happy client leaves you good reviews, refers you to friends and hires you for future projects. You want to get it right.
Designer Chazzmin Jones’ clients wanted an eclectic and fun laundry room and decided a patterned floor tile paired with a fun Art Deco wallpaper would deliver the right results.
But installing the floor tile wasn’t as straightforward as Jones thought it would be, and he had to pause partway through the installation to reassess. “Because this tile was handmade, we had a very difficult time matching the size and pattern,” Jones says. “Unfortunately we didn’t notice this until we were a third of the way done with laying the tile. So, naturally, the tile had to come up and we had to go through each box and handpick the tiles that would work in the space.”
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Remind yourself that the best outcome is a happy client. Most of the time that means sticking to the original vision. This can keep you focused when faced with the dilemma of redoing a design feature. A happy client leaves you good reviews, refers you to friends and hires you for future projects. You want to get it right.
Designer Chazzmin Jones’ clients wanted an eclectic and fun laundry room and decided a patterned floor tile paired with a fun Art Deco wallpaper would deliver the right results.
But installing the floor tile wasn’t as straightforward as Jones thought it would be, and he had to pause partway through the installation to reassess. “Because this tile was handmade, we had a very difficult time matching the size and pattern,” Jones says. “Unfortunately we didn’t notice this until we were a third of the way done with laying the tile. So, naturally, the tile had to come up and we had to go through each box and handpick the tiles that would work in the space.”
Learn how Houzz Pro can help you better manage your projects
Designer Morgan Mackintosh of Beige and Bleu Design Studio had to double her efforts to get this living room right for her clients. “We wanted to do a ‘refresh’ to the existing fireplace, which was a raw, outdated stone and an outdated mantel,” Mackintosh says. “We decided to replace the mantel with a reclaimed-wood mantel to bring some texture to the space, and we filled the gaps with mortar. We originally painted all of the stone black, but the client felt like it was too bold, so we ended up having to strip the paint off. It actually left us with a more textured stone look, which ended up looking the best in the end.”
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More for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Learn about Houzz Pro software
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
Having good relationships with vendors, installers and tradespeople is crucial when facing a do-over. These are the people who will have to be onboard with removing their work and doing it again. You want them on your side; you want them to respect your decision.
Everyone makes mistakes. But no amount of drama or confrontation will magically change what’s already happened. So no need to raise the temperature or point fingers. A calm, sincere approach will be appreciated and get everyone on board quickly with fixing the mistake.
Designer Julie Rootes was thankful for her cabinet finishers during the renovation of this kitchen in Tiburon, California. The first attempt at a fumed finish for the cabinets missed the mark, so Rootes had to try again. “A fumed finish can be tricky to work with on rift-sawn white oak, and it has some natural inconsistencies that were inherent in the material but that bothered my type of client,” she says. “We ended up having to get the finishers back onsite to tweak the finish. It was a major labor of love to get it right, but this is where your trusted vendors really come into play.”
(Houzz Pro lets you create change orders and send them to your clients for approval and payment.)