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06.17.08, 11:03 AM General Topics
18 replies
any decorator/designer mom on? [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
General Topics 06.17.08, 11:03 AM Flag
 

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how may I assist you ? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:04 AM Flag
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op:hi. We hired a "decorator" who seems to be researching his work as he goes along and I'm not sure what to do about it. For instance, we asked for new light fixtures for all the rooms. He sent a few choices from 1 web store. I asked for more options, he sent 4 choices from another web store. I liked one of them and asked for more options for living room since he'd only sent one to begin with! He sent a few more options from the 1st webstore. We live in Manhattan and there are heaps of lighting stores in town and surrounding areas. I asked if he's seen any of the options he's sending us and he said no. Is this normal? Am a little wary of buying something online - what if we don't like it when we see it etc? Tia [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:17 AM Flag
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Has he given you a "plan" for the overall design ? Did you get references and see his work ? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:19 AM Flag
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op:no plan for overall design. And we only got one reference (friend of ours) and liked the work he did in their bathroom. Now I'm worried that he's only good with bathroom. When we interviewed him he said no problem to everything we said we wanted done but am getting the distinct feeling that he is learning as he goes along. Eg. we need to upgrade our fireplace. He said he knew exactly what to do, 4 weeks ago. Last week I asked what progress he's made and 2 days later he sent me a link to a possible replacement. I went through all the info and picked what i thought could work but I didn't u/stand some of the terms. Asked for clarification and he said he'd get back to me. Today I asked again and he said he'd get back to me. Now he sends an email asking me to sned over digital photos of the fireplace for him to send to fireplace manufacturer. Surely this is something he shd take care of, not me? FYI, we have not yet signed an agreement with him since he has not sent us one, despite us asking for it. How bad would it be if we 'released' him now? Wld that be totally nasty of us? Tia [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:24 AM Flag
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^^sorry. To continue, now he sends me an email asking me to send him digital photos of the fireplace so he can send them to the fireplace manufacturer. Just feel he's taking us for a ride. FYI, we have no signed agreement with him. We asked for one and he said it's so simple that he'll have it over to us later. We first spoke to him in April and his first 'official' visit to our place was in mid-May. Our contractor is ready to start end of June and will not wait for us as he has another job lined up. Can we just "release" this guy ie fire him? Would that be totally nasty? Appreciate the advice. Tia [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:28 AM Flag
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I would just send him a Dear John email telling him that you enjoyed working with him but that you think you might be better off with someone else... [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:38 AM Flag
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op:I'd love to do that! But is that bad faith? I know I shouldn't worry abt his feelings (!!) but even though I want to tell him to go take a running jump, I'm wimpy enough to worry that it's "bad" to just fire him! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:44 AM Flag
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If you haven't gotten a formal project plan, you need to get one... [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:48 AM Flag
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op:what if we don't continue with him. The real reason we hired him is because we were running out of time attending to the renovations. We had a contractor we liked and who'd given us his availability for the second half of the year. New db is due Nov and we thought hiring someone to coordinate eerything made sense as I also have another dc to attend to and dr's appts etc. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:54 AM Flag
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I would tell you that he sounds a bit like he's either taking you on as a quick "bonus" client and he has no grand plan or that he is learning on the job... IMHO someone taking on a job for your home should have a concrete idea and vision for the job, lay out for you what he sees happening and the time frame, and you should feel that you do not have to be on him to get everything completed to your specifcations. Has he given you any type of presentation about his thoughts on the job ? If not, I may say go somewhere else... [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:41 AM Flag
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op:thank you! No, he hasn't given us any presentation. He said that is not how he works. His first 'official' visit was spent looking around the apartment and taking measurements. Then nothing for 2 weeks and when he came back, he had 12 lighting choices and samples for bathroom floor tiles. The following week he asked us if we could go by his apartment to pick up samples for kitchen backsplash. Last Wednesday he told me, when I asked abt it, that he'd placed an order for the bathroom tiles (which we had picked out before hiring him). Yesterday since I was fretting that we won't be able to start on schedule and also doubting him bigtime, I called the tile place and they confirmed that no order had been placed. I had them call him and he told them that he was just about to place the order. I just don't trust him anymore. Can we just tell him we're not impressed and want to discontinue working with him? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:50 AM Flag
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^^^btw, I think you're right about taking us on as a quick bonus. I think he has another project that is a gut renovation with a big client (overheard his conversation with a tile salesperson!) and he has carte blance with that one... [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:52 AM Flag
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he's not doing you right and a plan is how it is done... Not everything has to have big presentation boards and all that, but there should be a concise overview presented to you so that you are both in agreement as to how the job will be accomplished to everyone's satisfaction. This is your home and your money and you deserve to be kept fully aprised of the project and his strategy for it [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 11:52 AM Flag
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op:thanks. Will talk to dh about it tonight. I'm finding this way too stressful and feel it shouldn't be. His latest email of a few minutes ago was to say that we should reconsider starting end of June since so many things are undecided. But he doesn't acknowledge that he's been the cause of some of the delay. One of the instructions we gave him was that we woould like to only see items that were in stock. Chose new bathroom stuff and yesterday he told us that the vanities were not in stock and he was exploring other options. Just too stressful. I appreciate your feedback and advice (I think there is another poster too? not sure but thanks!) and will talk to dh. Thanks again [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 12:02 PM Flag
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good luck... a decorator is there to eliminate the stress... not add to it. in fact, I had a friend help with my home to take eliminate some stress... it should be enjoyable... [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 12:05 PM Flag
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thanks. I thought it would be fun too...and a lot easier. Just one last question:would a contractor be able to measure and work out how much stone/tile I need for the kitchen backsplash and order it? I know what I want but not sure how much I need. Tia [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 12:08 PM Flag
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yes... he should easily be able to do that for you [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 12:09 PM Flag
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op:thank you again. I truly appreciate being able to talk to someone abt this! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.08, 12:11 PM Flag
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