THE Project

If you follow me on facebook, you have seen me complain about "high maintenance client" alot over the last 2 or 3 months. What should have been a wiz-bang job, has now taken over 4 months since the construction began (not the mention the over 2 months of planning before). I knew, during design and planning, that this guy was a character. I called him a "chest puffer" because he just acted like we were lucky to be in his presence. Whenever I met with him, he was on his Blackberry. I should have realized at that point, that he wasn't listening.

Also - he liked to say "Choose what you think will look the best."

You know, while that is flattering, it isn't a good practice when dealing with someone of this nature. Soon after I picked what I thought was best, construction started, and then we kept hearing about his "visions."

Oh hey, maybe if you had gotten off your damn phone while we were meeting, you could have shared these visions with me?

For example, we are currently fighting about lighting. See, he said "I will just bring some stuff in from storage and spruce up the office."

He MEANT "I will purchase oodles of art from High Fashion Home and then yell at you when you didn't put in art lighting! And i ain't paying to fix it, you are!"

Tip. Of. The. Iceburg.

Today, while waiting on a meeting to start, I went rogue and took some photos!

This is the Reception area with conference behind. We have custom wood veneer wrapped portals to set off the space on each side of the conference room. This is a custom built reception desk, with Dark Emperador marble tops. I love this marble, but I am pissed to see it everywhere now so that Suburb Mom #200,000 can have it in her kitchen.

Sorry..

If you are at the desk, this is part of the view towards the elevators. This is one of 2 custom designed book cases to match the desk and take advantage of the recessed area. This is one of about 10 TV's in the space. Dude love's his CNN I guess. Me? I would have one TV on HGTV and one on Food Network.

Can't win them all I guess.

This conference room is pretty awesome if you ask me. Herculite glass wall to the right, so that when you get off the elevator you can see all the way through to the outside.

The wood veneer wall covering is to emulate some existing be-a-utiful paneling in the lobby.

Him: I like the look of the paneling but I don't have the budget.

Me (and my boss): (thinking bullshit) ok well we can use this product that will have a warm wood feel without the cost of the custom paneling.

[pause while it is installed]

Him: this is atrocious! I don't know how many times i said that I wanted it to look EXACTLY like the lobby!

Boss: nope you said you liked that look and didn't have the budget and we showed you this and you agreed to it.

Once another designer came in and told him it looks great, he now agrees.

Turd.

See that large painting? Well, those lights don't light it up properly. I know this. However, you said you were just going to stick something up there, not go buy an enormous piece of art and then yell at me when it isn't lit up like a gallery.

Even the core in the floor for power was in the "wrong spot" since he didn't like the way we placed the table. "I envisioned..."

*where's my wine?*

Custom bench built, again to look like the paneling. This bench - $9,000.

His response: Isn't this GREAT? It was MY idea and it looks GREAT!

Me: um.yeah. (i designed it butthead.)

But this, of all the things that were good and bad, is my favorite thing. A trading desk out in an open area. It is tech mixed with traditional and I love it. It is just about the ONLY THING that has been installed and he had NOTHING bad to say about it!

Whoop!

So, while we are still dealing with the lighting issues he has, this project is finally wrapping up.

I am tired of dreaming about it. Tired of yelling at contractors on the phone because they won't just FINISH the punch list (list of items still unfinished, like paint touch up, etc). These folks moved in right before Christmas... and the contractor is still being 100% bubba and not finished.

I love my job.

I love my job.

I love.

My job.