Wednesday, November 16, 2011

A week of installations!

We have a big week lined up here with a few different client installations happening.  I'm so excited!!!!  I love installation days (or in this case, weeks) because your clients finally get to see the design plan fully realized.  And, more importantly, they get to live in and love their new spaces!!  The holidays are great deadline-makers and so we've got a bunch lined up just before Thanksgiving.  As I mentioned a while back in this post, we do our installations pretty much all in 1 day.  We have a team of people who inevitably work together on every project.  Having an amazing team is the key to successful projects and it has taken me a few years to put it together: 

Before we can even get to installation day, Mike Carr and his team from CarrMichael Construction usually get the space in move-in condition.  They handle any painting & electrical that needs to happen along with pretty much anything else. 

On installation day or a day or so before, Tolvin & his people from the Carpet Customizer deliver the rugs when the room is empty:

{Tolvin, on the left & his great guys on the right.  My husband, Dave, often makes an appearance at installations to help with a thing or two...  or fifty.}

I bring over a car full of one-of-a-kind accessories & smaller items that I've been gathering for the project so that I can try different things out:


The whiteglove delivery service comes with all of the furniture:


My {awesome} assistant Meghan -whose picture I don't have because she is so photo-shy..  oh wait, here's here Halloween pic:- runs around "getting it done" and making the day better.  She pretty much just makes things happen.



Paul & Nancy Johnson of Paul David Design come & hang the window treatments they've made and bring all of the pillows & reupholstered pieces they've done.  They help hang art too. I can't dig up a good picture of them right now but suffice it to say we couldn't do it without them.  Our electrician also comes on the day-of to install the fixtures which has such a big impact on the spaces. 

Once everything is in the house, we scramble to get it all into place & make it look perfect before our clients come home for the big reveal.  It's both exciting & a little nerve-wracking because everything needs to be just right & there are so many pieces that need to fall into perfect place to get it all done.  I've noticed that since I've been pregnant, I've been more forgetful with bringing things for installations (part sleepiness, part preggo brain) so I'm really hoping I remember everything today so that we don't need to drive back to the office. :)   We have the most amazing clients who really trust us with everything, and making them happy is honestly the most rewarding part of this job.

Today we're working on this space:


and we're installing a variation of this plan:


..And then we have a few more for the rest of the week.


...SO, wish me luck that all goes smoothly (or ends well...  there are always hiccups ;) this week!


xoxo, Lauren

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