Interior designers have a bad rep on building sites for being demanding, difficult and dis-organised, but is this fair? In their drive for perfection, are interior designers their own worst enemy? Do designers efficiently provide the information needed by builders, or do contractors sometimes wilfully misunderstand their design intentions? What can designers and contractors do to make each other’s lives easier? In this episode, Jeff and Susie are joined by renowned interior designer Joanna Wood, Founder of Joanna Wood Interiors and Paul Fitzgerald, Founder and Managing Director of Hawksmoor Construction to answer these questions and more.
This episode was recorded as part of the Design Talks programme at Decorex 2025. Thanks to Decorex and to our episode partners, Sofas & Stuff for their support.
Chapters
- (00:00:00) - Interior Designers: Difficult, Diva and Irrit
- (00:01:01) - Interior Design and Construction
- (00:01:48) - Both of the presenters start off with a brief introduction
- (00:03:22) - Do Interior Designers Have a Bad Reputation Among Contractors?
- (00:05:06) - Are Interior Designers Accused of Neglect?
- (00:05:54) - Do Interior Designers Have Prejudices About Their Jobs?
- (00:06:40) - Are Interior Designers Bad For Contractors?
- (00:11:02) - Projects and Construction Contractors
- (00:13:09) - Tender Process
- (00:16:41) - The quality of the Tender Pack
- (00:19:05) - Choosing a contractor
- (00:23:57) - Interior Designers: Do You Need a Contractor?
- (00:26:18) - Paul, have you ever refused to work with an interior designer on
- (00:28:26) - Paul and Joe: The Contractor Relationship
- (00:31:24) - How often do you need to go to site on a project?
- (00:32:59) - What's your biggest bugbear?
- (00:37:12) - Interiors Design: When Problems Occur, Do Designers Let
- (00:38:26) - What's the funniest, maddest thing a designer's
- (00:40:14) - The Worst Contractor Ever Do
- (00:42:26) - Inside The Interior Design Business Podcast
