Frequently Asked Questions

We are a full-service interior design studio expertly managing the process from concept to installation. We specialize in both residential and commercial design projects. If you are building a new home, we can work with the architect and or contractor. We also offer consultations paid by the hour for smaller projects where you may be looking to purchase a few new furniture pieces, wallcoverings or window treatments purchased through The Red Chair.

Yes! You don't have to do a full room project if you are just looking for a one off piece of furniture, custom soft furnishings like drapery, bedding and pillows. We are happy to meet with you in your home, take measurements and design the perfect soft furnishings for you.

Full service means creating a turn-key design for your project, from initial concept to the final installation. It is about letting the TRC team handle all the details from research to sourcing, purchasing and coordinating to installation. Full service applies to a full room or group of rooms or entire home in a single installation. Many of our clients like to work in phases, and so many of our full service projects are done one complete room at a time. Full service applies even if you already own some of the pieces we will use to complete your project.

We feel it is important to have a well stocked resource library to help inspire our clients. Our design studio located at 7802 B. Long Beach Blvd. in Harvey Cedars is equipped with thousands of fabric samples, wall-coverings and window treatment samples that you are welcomed to schedule an appointment to come in and browse.

We also frequently visit markets & trade shows to source items and stay on the cutting edge of design trends.

We always strive to make the design process easy and fun for our clients. A major part of what we do for you as your designer is we source all the beautiful and unique materials for your home, along with all the great furnishings to create that fully finished home, with all the gorgeous layers that will be just your style and personality.

But we also act as your retailer. Instead of designing a beautiful space for you and then handing you the plans to go off and do your own purchasing and managing of all the small details, we do that all for you.

You're going to buy furniture anyway, so we do require that all the furnishings that will be purchased for your project be done through us. That way we can manage and control all the fine details and issues that come up with the procurement phase.

We have cultivated relationships with our trusted suppliers, vendors, artisans and trades people in every product/service category imaginable, who value our business and will offer us the best service and pricing.

At the design presentation meeting, you are presented the full budget breakdown for every piece of furniture we are purchasing for you. This way you have a very good understanding of what you are paying for every item. Nothing is ordered until you approve, sign off and pay the deposit required upfront. We make the process of ordering through The Red Chair very clear and transparent for you.

Our team is fully equipped to manage all the issues that may come up with purchasing, logistics, storage of your furnishings to final installation and styling in your home. You don't have to lift a finger when you work with us. We guide you through the initial design decisions and then we fully execute the design for you, down to the light bulbs.

Of course we are happy to incorporate pieces you already own into your design as much as we can, as long as they work.

While we are known for creating organic, warm, inviting interiors inspired by the natural coastal landscape of the beaches of Long Beach Island. We also pride ourselves on our flexibility and ability to produce the right design for our clients.

Most of our clients seek us out for our organic, warm, inviting interiors inspired by the natural coastal landscape. Think organic elements/textures, driftwood finishes on furniture and accessories, woven wood roman shades, linen fabrics, sisal or jute rugs, grasscloth wallpaper. The possibilities are endless!

Great question! Many clients don't realize that they should hire an interior designer from the very start. From the time you even begin to dream about your new home or renovation to your existing home, the help and guidance of an interior designer will be the best investment you will ever make.

Even if you have an architect drawing up the plans, we can work with them to make sure your home meets your needs for your lifestyle, style and routines. Your architect is responsible for things like, how your home sits on the lot, the exterior and the room layouts. They typically work from the industry standards and don't always take into account how you will live daily in your home and how your furnishings will fit in the big picture.

Your builder or remodeler, is responsible for executing the plans that are already drawn up, and they typically don't handle anything to do with the design of your home or the materials selected.

In hiring in us, we will review the plans to make sure they work for you way beyond the construction phase. We will select all the materials for you, make site visits during construction to ensure materials installations and layouts are being executed according to plan. The ideal situation is to work alongside your team, as a team with a common goal of making your house a home for you. Our goal is to create your dream home that will not just be beautiful, but will function for your needs, be comfortable and inviting.

So, the short answer is, hire a designer right away!

DESIGN QUESTIONNAIRE - To get a brief overview of what you're looking for to ensure we're the right fit for you.

DISCOVERY CALL - This is where you have the opportunity to get to know who we are, as well as helping us better understand your vision, goals, expectations and budget of your project. Because we charge a fee for the design consultation, we want to make sure it is valuable to our prospective clients. The discovery call is a way to get a good feel for one another to see if we are a good fit before paying for the consultation.

IN HOME CONSULTATION - After the discovery phone call, once we have determined that we are prospectively a good fit, the next step is the in home consultation. We charge $125 for our 1 hour in home consultation. This is a working session where we will take a tour of your entire home, and help you focus on a defined project scope. We discuss your style and lifestyle needs, your vision (and ours), your budget (we help you estimate one if you are unsure), timeframe based on scope, manage your expectations about the process, review our tried and true design process in more detail, and details about how we work, how we bill for our services and how we manage every detail of your project.

DESIGN FEE - We will take what we’ve learned about you, the scope of your project and email you an estimated design fee proposal within 3-7 business days following the consultation. This outlines the scope of work and our terms and conditions to get started. Once the design fee has been paid, that signals the start of the project.

CONCEPT DESIGN - We scour the globe for pieces that reflect your style that all work together. Then, we take the best that fits your budget and show it to you, along with samples of furniture finishes, color palettes, fabrics and materials to touch for your approval. This will likely be done at an in-person meeting, Zoom call, or via email. Once approved, we will purchase, track, receive, store, deliver and handle the complete setup.

*We ask all the decision makers are present for the design concept presentation, to receive everyone's input and vision for the space.

Reviewing any inspiration images that you have collected, such as from magazines or Pinterest, will help us further uncover your style and direction. It might also be a good idea to have some pictures of styles you do not like, so our designers know what to stay away from during your interior design project.

Great question and we are happy you asked!

We understand that we are embarking on a project that will last quite a few months - maybe years if it is a new build. Therefore it is important that we get to know each other and establish trust.

Trust, great listening skills and communication is very important to us and we strive for that from the onset.We begin the process with a discovery call, where we will learn more about the project scope and what your vision is. We will then meet for a consultation in your home, where we get to understand your lifestyle, how you want to live in your home, how you want it to feel, what is important to you and your family now and in the future.

The consultation is a comprehensive session where we provide a lot of value, but we keep it fairly laid back and organic, and allow you to open up about what your ideal home is to you.

Of course, we share a lot of information on our website & social media, and our design work should give you a good idea of the types of projects we have worked on in the past. Our great testimonials speak of the outstanding relationships we have built with our clients, many of whom are repeat clients or referrals. We are happy to provide references if that is ever needed.

We are our clients' biggest advocates, and when you hire us, you save time and money. You don't have to lift a finger because we take care of it all for you!

We will discuss upfront how you prefer to work, and craft the scope of work with that in mind. We enjoy working with all personalities where some clients like to be very hands-on and involved in the process, or some who prefer to entrust everything into our very capable hands. We have found through years of experience, that the design process runs smoother, and your design dollars go further, when we fully manage the project after learning your needs/desires for your home. We value our clients' ideas and input which ensures that the space will reflect your style and lifestyle. We will present you with great choices and options, make recommendations and guide you through decisions while educating you in the process. We strive to make the process simple and fun for our clients. We take a very personable approach, and make it an enjoyable collaboration. We ask that you give us the chance to earn your trust. We do all the work and take care of all the details.

We are happy to work with your contractors and subcontractors. We will do our part to provide detailed information and communicate with them at every stage of the process.

Of Course! In fact, we encourage clients to incorporate some of the treasured pieces that they already own. That is what makes for a homey and unique design.

We respect our clients' desire to repurpose and reuse pieces as much as possible.

With that said, we are also very honest about what works and what doesn't - for example if a piece is just too big for the room, we will recommend moving it to another room where it might work better.

We offer many options that are customized to the individual needs of each client and the space we are designing. This could include upholstery, drapery, bedding, and finishes on case goods. Custom touches help give a space the uniqueness most clients desire. Of course, not everything has to be custom. We work with a lot of trade vendors and would be happy to incorporate ready-made items into your design. Keep in mind that custom does not automatically mean expensive. Regardless of whatever route you choose, we guarantee that the finished design will be personalized to suit your lifestyle and style.

Your comfort and pleasure is always our top priority, we understand that sometimes you may want to see and sit in the pieces before we order. We want to honor that as much as possible. We have some pieces in our studio for you to sit and test before we order.

What you can rely on is that we establish relationships with quality trade vendors and we take the time to learn all about their product lines, so we know how the products we source are made and can guide you through the features/benefits of each product. We also visit markets, to see, touch and feel these products on behalf of our clients, so we have a very good idea of what they look like and how they sit.

We take the time to understand what your specific needs are in an upholstered piece - how deep, how high, how tall, the cushion type etc, to help make the best decision with you.

You have up to 7 days to review your design and request changes. Once the proposal is sent to you, prompt payment is appreciated. Pricing may change the next day due to vendor pricing and we cannot guarantee the price we quoted you.

You'll have an opportunity throughout the Design Phase to review every product for your space, including color, style, investment and will have ample time to provide feedback and request revisions. This detailed process ensures your satisfaction well before products are ever ordered or installed in your home. Once an order is placed and acknowledgement received from vendor it cannot be cancelled. This is especially true for custom orders. Stocked items can be cancelled but tyically a restocking fee is charged. These fees range from 20% to 35% + freight charges depending on vendor.

“Shipping” (or freight) charges are incurred when an item travels from the manufacturer to our receiving warehouse. Under the umbrella of “shipping” fees are “crating” fees that are sometimes incurred for items that must be packed into wooden crates to be shipped safely. “Delivery” charges are incurred when the delivery team brings the completed items from our receiving white glove delivery warehouse and places them in your home.

We prefer to have all of our items shipped to our white glove delivery receiving warehouse. They are trusted professionals who unpack and inspect every item, note damage or turn away broken items, and safely store until installation day. If you accept the shipment yourself and something was damaged in transit, is it very difficult to get the vendor to refund us. For larger items, you must also be available during certain hours to accept, unpack, and inspect the item, and often the shipping company will not place the item in your home where it needs to go. For these reasons, many vendors require that their pieces are shipped to a receiving warehouse rather than to a private residence.

We also strive to have all of your items delivered and installed together to give you that “WOW” reveal moment. Seeing your space as a finished and cohesive design is preferable to seeing individual items arrive over time.

This is our favorite part of any project! We like to call it THE BIG DAY! because it is truly what we are all working towards. There is a lot that happens before we get to the big day and we coordinate everything behind the scenes.

As you may already know, all the furnishings go to our warehouse and then they are white-glove delivered and carefully placed in your home by our team and then styled to perfection for the big reveal. A couple weeks before the big day, we will reach out to schedule. Expect that clearing your space for install day may take some advance planning. Do you have outgoing furniture that you would like to have donated or handed-down? Maybe your niece just moved to her first apartment? — let us know, so we can refer you to movers/haulers, or we can suggest charitable organizations open to receiving your donations.

We ask that our clients not be home during installation, and animals put away, because your home will be a bit of a major staging area before it gets pretty. We try to move quickly through the installation to get you back into your home as quickly as possible.

We strive for the big reveal moment that you will be blown away by.