It has often been said that interior design would be a great job if it wasn’t for the clients.

They can be unappreciative, indecisive, and unreasonable even when their project is on track and bellicose, belligerent, and litigious when things go wrong. In fact, the designer-client relationship which often begins as a love affair can sometimes end tragically in the bitterest of divorces.

But is there really such a thing an awkward client, or are any problems just down to poor communications? What can make a good client turn bad? And how can designers effectively manage this most important and sensitive of relationships? Jeff and Susie are joined by Simon Mayhew from Txtured and James Roberts from James Roberts Interiors to answer these and other questions in front of a live audience of designers at the Design Central North West event at Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire.

Thanks to our series partners Naturalmat for their support.

• (00:00:00) - Intro to the Interior Design Business
• (00:00:39) - An awkward Client
• (00:01:41) - Three of the Designers
• (00:03:06) - Getting Off On The Right Foot With Your Clients
• (00:04:53) - How To Lead a Design Team With Age
• (00:08:40) - How To Win A Friend's Over
• (00:09:18) - Are there any client categories that you avoid?
• (00:12:38) - On Working With An Angry Partner
• (00:13:26) - How to manage a big project's budget
• (00:14:12) - The importance of access to the client
• (00:16:37) - How to Talk Budget With the Client
• (00:17:53) - Budgeting in the UK
• (00:20:15) - Projects' length and timings
• (00:23:37) - The Challenges of Leading a Project
• (00:27:29) - The Importance of a Fee Proposal
• (00:31:17) - Interior Design: Natural Mat
• (00:35:43) - A Good Team For Tougher Clients
• (00:38:03) - The Big Picture
• (00:41:34) - Structural engineers: Quality of design and cost
• (00:46:37) - "It's like a funeral..."
• (00:46:53) - How To Read 2-D Plans
• (00:51:49) - How to Deal with Difficult Contractors
• (00:53:19) - The On-Site Blame Game
• (00:58:21) - "When to say enough is enough?"
• (00:59:00) - What Do You Do When a Client Threatens to Sue You?