Red Chair Designs LLC

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a self-employed realtor, and I do property management. I remodel, buy, and sell real estate.

What challenge were you trying to address with Red Chair Designs LLC?

Roxann (Interior Designer & Owner) helps me remodel and design the holistic style of 32 apartment units at an apartment building.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our engagement started with one vacancy in the apartment building. It needed a lot of work, so I approached Roxann and asked how she could help me out. Then, she helped me put pieces together by finding a contractor who would oversee everything. She then picked a design for everything, including the cabinets, appliances, and fixtures. Together, we came up with the overall style of the units, and after that, she set up the rest of the infrastructure to get the project going. 

Currently, we’re moving from unit to unit, and she’s created a cookie-cutter template that we’re using to design all of the units. 

What is the team composition?

Apart from Roxann, I’ve also interacted with a couple of people from Red Chair. They both have design experience, but one of them is the technical assistant. They’ve both helped me with the details of communications in terms of the things that I need to order and pay. 

How did you come to work with Red Chair Designs LLC?

Roxann has been my long-time friend. My experience with her work started when I had to move things around in my apartment. That time, I didn’t spend any money at all. She helped me pick colors, and I realized how talented she was with spatial management and design. I just threw things in the corner, but she took what I had and helped me figure out my personal style. I appreciated that, so I hired her for this project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent a little over $10,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started remodeling the apartments in January 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Not only do I agree with Roxann’s outputs and how she does things, but I also see that she accomplishes what we’re setting for, such as making the apartments desirable or raising the rent. If the property managers love the look of everything, then I can raise the rent. At present, the managers love everything that we’re doing. 

All the money I’ve spent with Roxann has been completely realistic for what I wanted to do. We’ve spent a little more money than we thought we would, but that’s because of my instructions and not due to her services. We’ve done a lot of things, such as gutting and rebuilding floors and pipes, and those cost me a lot more than expected. 

Roxann makes sure that everything is done correctly, and I’m really thankful for that. Apart from that, she’s accomplished what style I’m going for and not what she wants the units to look like. Everything is completely in tune with what’s in style and what people are looking for in terms of renting a place. 

How did Red Chair Designs LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

The hard part of being a contractor comes in scheduling and knowing when things are going to happen, especially when things get crazy. However, the Red Chair team has performed very well in terms of project management. They have a centralized system where they keep notes, and they keep up with communicating with me — I appreciate this, too. We’ve used Google Documents, where we centralize some of the ETAs we have.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Since the Red Chair team has become my friend, they’re so nice. They’re not like other usual snobby design centers. Instead, they’re approachable and fun, and that makes doing the project enjoyable. 

They also know their vendors in town, so they know where to get resources. On top of that, Red Chair is well-versed in current style trends. They look at our entire goal, try to understand where we want to be, and help us achieve what style we’re going for. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s been an issue in the area of communication because this has been a difficult project with a lot of moving parts. The contractor, property manager, and Roxann have been asking me questions at different times, and no one’s communicating with each other. As a result, she’s had a tough time figuring out communication styles for different tasks. Apart from that, we’ve had problems finding out from the very get-go how to plan the whole system, but this is partly my fault. 

I’m working on something so complicated — I’m in the middle of changing property managers, which is utter chaos — but they’ve been doing a great job with what they have to work with. Roxann is revamping her communication processes on a daily basis, so they’re getting better at that. So far, she’s done a good job of bringing things up to date and keeping in touch with everybody. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Say out loud what you’re thinking about, what you like, and what you’re looking for. Be open and honest about what you do and don’t like. Sometimes, people are too touchy, and they’re afraid to tell other people that they don’t like something. However, if there’s no open communication between the two of you, Roxann can’t do the job that you want.