Installation day is an exciting part of the design process for both the designer and the client. Most trade and contracting work has been completed, and now it's time for the vision to become a reality. Furniture gets delivered, art gets hung, and accessorizing begins. And, for most projects, this is when photography and staging needs to be completed as well.
With so many moving parts (quite literally), it's unsurprising that there may be a few hiccups along the way. Today on The Kuotes, we're sharing our top ten go-to's that we've found to be EXTREMELY helpful during installation day—from making sure furniture is delivered with care to attending to the needs of your client (or even your client's dog!). We hope you enjoy!
1. A Practiced Wallpaper Hanger
We like a good DIY project as much as any design lover, but on installation day, we are also huge advocates of leaving some tasks to the professionals. Installing wallpaper is one of those tasks. It's a design craft in and of itself, and it takes an expert to provide a high quality job. Our KKH Design Services team always has a local wallpaper hanger on file that we trust. A good wallpaper hanger will ensure that your wall space and wallpaper is measured correctly and address surface issues. They will also cut the wallpaper for corners and outlets to make sure your covering adheres smoothly with all repeats properly aligned and in place. Remember that not all walls are created equal, and remind your client that installing is much harder than it looks. Our advice is to find a picky installer who's going to get everything perfect. Price is important, but we'd go with passion over budget any day.
2. An Experienced Fine Arts Handler
Similar to a wallpaper hanger, every interior designer should have a fine arts handler on call for instillation day. After all, you never know when you may need to cut a frame down or resize a mirror last minute. A good art handler should be a knowledge bank for all of the art-related issues you may not have learned as an interior designer. Art handling is about specialized knowledge and care, but it's also about technical capability and performance reliability. Find someone with years of experience who can develop creative, on-the-spot solutions.
3. A Reliable Furniture Disassembly Service
We don't know where we'd be without these guys. Seriously. Installing furniture in New York City is like one of those shape-sorting toys you had as a child—except the holes are all circles and the pegs are all squares. Fitting sofas in elevators and sliding credenzas through 24-inch doorways just wouldn't be possible without a dedicated furniture disassembly service. One common national service we've had success with in the past is Dr. Sofa. They offer services from furniture reupholstery to disassembly/reassembly to furniture repair and more. That said, we also encourage you to search your areas of work to find local repair services that you can grow a relationship with.
4. Fresh Flowers
It might seem like the simplest thing, but just adding fresh flowers to a space on installation day brings your design to life for your clients. It'll make their home feel loved, energized, and complete. Here in NYC, we're lucky enough to pick florals up early in the morning the day of from one of the several great flower stores in the city. But regardless of where you live, find a florist you trust that is able to work with your design style and end vision. Our word of advice when it comes to flowers? You'd rather overdo it than under do it.
5. A Bookcase of Sample Decor
In our office, we like to keep a sampling of our best accessories on hand that we can use for our installations. If you're taking photos of your finished spaced, it's nice to have extra decor pieces to play around with, and we all know that even when we try the best we can, there's often an item or two that doesn't arrive on time, gets lost, or isn't the right color. Having a small collection of tchotchkes (especially bowls, books, and vases) on hand for instillation day is a nice safety net to have just in case!
6. Fabric Glue and Duct Tape
For installs and photoshoots, there are bound to be a few quick fixes until long term solutions can be implemented. And believe it or not, most of these issues can be fixed with fabric glue or duct tape. Use fabric glue to glue up hems on curtains for presentation purposes until they can be removed and hemmed properly. And duct tape solves....well, pretty much anything that's cracked, broken, or that won't stay in place (at least temporarily).
7. Dog Treats, Candy, and Your iPad
What? Nobody told you your job as an interior decorator is to be a part-time pet and baby sitter? On installation day, there's a lot going on, and not only can kids and pets get in the way, but they can also get hurt! If your client has a dog on site during installation, bring dog treats, bones, or toys to keep your client's furry friend busy (and safe and happy!) while everyone's at work. With kids, candy might do the trick, but we often find that letting kids play games on your iPad is the key to their cooperation!
8. TaskRabbit and PostMates
If you don't have these two apps, download them now and make your installation day (and your life!) that much easier. Let's start with TaskRabbit. While it's not the best resource for finding contractors like your electrician or millworker, it's definitely the best way to find quality contract workers for smaller jobs. Need furniture assembled? Do you need boxes packed or unpacked? Want to hang a few extra hands painting the walls? Need almost any random errand completed? All you have to do is select the task you need done, get matched with an appropriate "Tasker," and you're good to go. You pick the hourly rate you're willing pay, and same day appointments are available for when you need something finished in a jiffy. Postmates is a food delivery app we use all the time on site. While there's nothing wrong with calling and ordering pizza for everyone, sometimes it's nice to get exactly what you want from some of your favorite eateries in your area. Both apps are available in most urban areas in the US.
9. Our KKH Installation Day Kit
Every interior designer should have a kit that includes all of the tools and items they need with them on site. Tailor your interior design kit to your particular preferences and needs. But if you're looking for some ideas, use our collage of must-haves that we bring to every project we work on below. Of course, not everything pictured is needed for every project, but you'd be surprised how many times this kit has been our saving grace!
10. Faith, Good Humor, Chocolate, and Caffeine
The installation phase of interior design can be the most stressful part of the design process. In fact, the launch of our Design Services was an effort to make this phase easier and more accessible to our customers. If you have everything we mentioned in this listicle, then you should be set. But sometimes things can go awry when you least expect it, so we always come to our project installations with a little bit of faith, good humor, caffeine, and lots and lots of chocolate to go around. Everyone on your team will appreciate you for it.
