Harbinger - The interior design productivity toolbox: checklists and best practices to manage your workflow

Phyllis Harbinger, ASID, CID, NCIDQ

Cover Design: C. Wallace

Cover Images: Fabric Swatches and Office Design Drawing iStockphoto/DigiClicks;

Wood Samples iStockphoto/joecicak

Copyright 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with the respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising here from.

For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Harbinger, Phyllis, 1962

The interior design productivity toolbox : checklists and best practices to manage your workflow / Phyllis Harbinger.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-68043-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-118-89694-5 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-89696-9 (ebk.).

1. Interior decorationPracticeHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Interior decoration firmsManagementHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.

NK2116.H37 2014

729dc23

2013051308

This book would not be possible were it not for the intervention of a wonderful and supportive group of people.

First, I would like to thank my first design business mentor, David Shepard, for being the person who started the evolution of this book by tasking our Best Practices Network with creating an evergreen product that would enhance the lives of other professionals in our field. I would also like to thank BPN members Laura Britt and Cathy Davin, my soul sisters and confidantes. You have both held me accountable for creating this book over the past two years.

Thank you to my design colleagues Shannon Leddy, Audra Canfield, Nicole Cavanaugh, and Katie Leede for participating in the early focus group work. To Francine Martini, Jennifer Carnivale-Hollinger, Laura Robertson, Judy Girod, and Annie Coggan who reviewed a great deal of the content of this book and gave me such wonderful notes and feedback, especially on the contract design sections. You are all treasures in my life.

To Fabienne Fredrickson, Donna Cravotta, and Teri Goetz for empowering me and challenging me to take risks and grow and changeI love you!

To all of my family and friends who have waited patiently for me to finish this book so I can be more involved in your lives againthank you!

To my wonderful and supportive husband, Ross Jurman. You are my love and my life, and I thank you for putting up with the late nights and countless weekends of writing, and for your patience and belief in me. You are my Rock!

I would like to close by acknowledging the greatest contributor to the successful completion of this work. To Charity Turner, my wonderful, beautiful, and ber talented colleague and design associate. You have been a true partner in the creation of this book, and I owe you the world for all you have done to help me turn the DCI checklists into a resource that will truly help other designers.

The Interior Design Productivity Toolbox includes access to interactive, online versions of all of the checklists featured in the book, as well as to an Excel budgeting tool to track project expenses. These resources are fully downloadable and can be customized for your own projects.

To access the online resources, you will need the unique access code printed on the card included in the back of this book. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate your web browser to: www.wiley.com/go/interiordesigntoolbox
2. In the Please enter your access code section, enter your access code and click submit.
3. If youve never registered for a Wiley Companion site before, click on Create New Account. If you are an existing Wiley user, follow the log-in instructions provided on the site.
4. New Wiley Users, please fill out the registration form, choosing your username and password.
5. Click the Log-in button when you have completed the registration form.
6. Once you have completed the registration process, you will arrive at the Companion Site for this book. We recommend that you bookmark this site for easy access throughout your work.

If you have purchased an ebook version of this title or if your access code is not working, please contact Customer Care at 877-762-2974 or at http://support.wiley.com to receive a unique access code for the web resources.

The business of interior design is so complex. I believe that the design/build industry is crying out for a clear and concise method for procedures and accountability in all phases of a project. To answer this need in the marketplace, I have designed a system of checklists to provide interior designers, architects, and builders, as well as design students, a methodology for facilitating their workflow whether they are just beginning or sustaining their practice.

When I started out in the industry, I really had to fly by the seat of my pants. I had interned for a design firm, but my life circumstances forced me to hang out my shingle much sooner than I would have preferred. I yearned for a manual that would teach me how to run a design business and help me teach new employees what I had learned, while also empowering them to do their jobs more effectively.