A lawyer discusses working with architects and interior designers

The market for renovations has come back and there is a lot of interior renovation work going on. Anyone who is thinking of working with either an architect or an interior designer should first understand the kinds of services they provide and whether they need the services of an architect, an interior designer or both. While interior designers are increasingly vying for the same projects as architects and developers have increasingly turned to interior designers to give their projects a special "look" or "brand," the services interior designers provide are not interchangeable with those provided by architects. Architects are licensed and can design buildings. They are involved with life and health safety issues. Interior designers are more involved with the "look" and layout of the space and the aesthetic aspects. Architects can provide interior design services, but interior designers cannot provide architectural services. Many interior designers try to bridge this gap by affiliating with architects. Before you retain an interior designer working in this fashion, you should consult with an attorney knowledgeable in this area to understand the nature of this affiliation. When clients consult with me on this there are many issues we need to discuss, not the least of which is who will be providing which services and whether there are proper contracts and insurance in place to cover those services. Owners should not assume anything. One European client came to me for advice about a renovation project in his pied-a-terre condominium. There had been some problems with the contractor's work and he was complaining to me about the architect and blaming him for the outcome. He said, "You know it was a turnkey project and the architect was responsible for everything. He even hired the contractor." While this may have been what he felt was the case, the contract with the architect did not say this at all. He had signed a very traditional owner/architect contract in which the architect had agreed to prepare plans and to observe the work of the contractor to see that he was implementing the designs. Many people have a false sense of what they are hiring architects and interior designers to do. They do not inspect the contractor's work. The scope of the design professional's services needs to be drafted into the contract. They also only periodically visit the project. This is something many people do not understand. They are not there every time a delivery is made. They are not there every day either. In some cases, clients do not hire them to administer the work at all and just say, " I will call you when I need you." That is a very bad idea on both sides, because while the clients are trying to save money, they still have the same "expectation" that they will be there to observe the work and tend to "blame" them when something goes wrong, even though they have not been hired or paid to do that. I believe clients need to have them provide this service and it should always be in such contracts. One interior designer spent a lot of time observing the work and billed the client for it on an hourly basis. When the client refused to pay the invoice, the interior designer came to me to review the contract, which I found did not say anything about paying him hourly for that service, even though it would have been "fair" for the client to have done so. The client thought it was just part of the designer's overall fee. Similarly there may be a lot of "extras" that need to be discussed in the same way that there are change orders with contractors. Many design professionals come to me for advice about being "overworked and under paid" by the client; however, when we look at the contract between them, it may not say anything about being paid for those services. For example, if the interior designer is going to advise the project architect about finishes, there must be a contract provision which says that the interior designer will be paid for that consultation time. If the designer tells the contractor where the electrical outlets and fixtures should best be placed, the contract must have a provision allowing the designer to be paid for that time. If it does not, there may be no basis for further discussion. Developers and interior designers should spend some extra time negotiating and drafting the contracts between them with an attorney knowledgeable in this area before they start working together. As the project progresses, they will find that the time was well-spent and there will be fewer problems. C. Jaye Berger, Esq, is an attorney and the principal of Law Offices C. Jaye Berger, New York, N.Y.