How to Handle an Impossible Interior Design Client

The interior design business can be a triumph or a trial, and sometimes both. There are always lessons to be learned and improvements you can make in your practice. I’m leaving names out to protect both the innocent and the guilty. If you’ve been in business over 5 years, and likely over 1 year, you’ve experienced an impossible interior design client.

One of mine was a referral from a friend of mine, and while we’d known each other through networking, she knew me as a business coach and speaker, not as a designer. She and her husband had purchased a new home, literally in the last month. They moved from a very contemporary high rise condo to a Charleston/New Orleans style two story home with a big wrap around porch in a neighborhood 45 minutes away or an hour if there was traffic (and there usually was.)

I had just 21 days from date of agreement signed to delivery because she’d planned a large celebration around a significant birthday, and was expecting 100 people. They needed painting, lighting, flooring, demolition on a couple of pieces, furnishings, rugs, and a lot more. And they wanted it on a very tight budget. Little did I know they’d become an impossible interior design client.

Key takeaways

✓When an interior design client becomes impossible to manage, stepping into your professional best instead of walking away can transform friction into success. Melissa Galt shares three strategies for handling difficult clients: let them control their investment by presenting clear pricing upfront, allow them to muck up project management when they insist on micromanaging (so they learn to trust you), and focus on delivering your best creative and professional work even when you’re ready to quit. Not every referral is a great fit for your practice, and knowing how to handle challenging clients is the difference between growing your design firm and staying small.

✓Interior design firm owners should present selections with upfront pricing based on budget guidelines, but let clients choose what they want and control their own investment.

✓When a client insists on micromanaging, sometimes it’s easier to let them try and prove they can’t handle it than to argue, so they learn to trust your project management.

#1 Allow Your Client to Control Their Design Investment

You are not in charge of your client’s money, they are. While you can present selections based on the budget guideline, allow them to choose what they want. Let them know the price, upfront, on every item. We worked via Pinterest boards. I created boards for each room and would add and subtract based on feedback and selections made.

The project could not be done on the budget stated, and it was clear, based on what they’d purchased before I began working with them, that they would invest more. They simple needed selections they liked that were appropriate.  In the interior design business, you want to provide appropriate style, quality, and price based options, and let your client be in charge of their investment.

#2 Give Your Clients a Chance to Muck It Up

In the interior design business, you must be an ace project manager or hire one to work with you. I do my own project management with the assistance of my bookkeeper, an intern, and my contract team. I manage so my client doesn’t have to. However, in this case, my client wanted to micro-manage (the hallmark of an impossible interior design client.)

Despite being up to her ears in three other businesses all with deadline driven projects, the client started to jump up and down (almost literally) because she felt she wasn’t in the loop. So I invited her into the loop with my painter. She sent at least a dozen texts to him and in each one was changing which rooms and even which walls were getting painted. He was close to walking from the project without clear direction or agreement. We had only 5 days to go and this needed to get on schedule with a deposit or wasn’t going to happen. She mucked it up, I saved it at the eleventh hour.

In the interior design business it can be easier (though painful) to avoid arguing with a client and instead just give them enough to prove they can’t handle it, and to trust you to do so.

#3 Do What You Do Best in the Interior Design Business

In a project like this, with friction created by a controlling client, there came a time when I was in full resistance and ready to walk off the job. I’m not proud of that, and I know, through the designers I coach, that I’m not alone in that place. The key is knowing what to do when that happens. First, let go. I didn’t say quit. I had a choice, I could pull the plug on everything and let the project fail in just a single day because of client issues, or I could be my professional best and keep going. I chose the latter and friction turned into her husband dubbing me “The House Fairy” because it all looked so good. In the interior design business, there will be times you want to quit, instead step into the very best professional and creative you can be and watch what happens.

The project was completed on time, they controlled their investment (it’s not up to me), and they had a wonderful celebration as planned. It all turned out in the end, though there was a moment or three when I wasn’t sure it would. If you’ve ever had a challenging client (or an impossible one) love to hear the story in COMMENTS, no names necessary.

Difficult clients are part of every business and knowing how to handle them can be the difference between growing your design practice and staying small. It’s also about the kind of client you’re attracting, not every referral is a great fit, even if you feel obligated to work with them.

Frequently asked questions

How do I handle an interior design client who wants to control the project?

Let your client control their investment by presenting selections with upfront pricing based on budget guidelines, but allow them to choose what they want. When they insist on micromanaging project details, sometimes it’s easier to let them try and muck it up so they learn to trust your expertise. Focus on delivering your professional best even when friction arises, rather than walking away from the project.

What should I do when I want to quit working with a difficult interior design client?

Instead of quitting, step into the very best professional and creative version of yourself and keep going. Let go of resistance without pulling the plug on the project. Focus on what you do best and watch the situation transform, even when you’re not sure it will work out.

Should I work with every client referral I receive for my interior design business?

No, not every referral is a great fit for your practice, even when you feel obligated to work with them. The kind of client you’re attracting matters, and knowing how to handle difficult clients is the difference between growing your design practice and staying small.

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About Melissa Galt

Melissa Galt is a sought-after business coach, marketing consultant, and keynote speaker who empowers designers to build highly profitable businesses without the burnout. Drawing on three decades as principal of her own successful residential design firm, she helps creative professionals earn more in less time, with less stress.

She is the author of four bestselling books, including Marketing Luxury Design, The Language of Success, Design Discovery, and Proximity to Profits. She also hosts the weekly Design Business Freedom™ podcast, sharing unfiltered advice on mindset, money, and marketing for interior design pros ready to elevate their game. When you’re ready to take your practice to the next level, book a complimentary Design Business Assessment with Melissa.