Transformative Homes with Mitchell Thompson Interiors

From Concept to Completion: The Mitchell Thompson Interior Design Journey

• Roy & Diane Mitchell • Episode 8

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What’s The Process Like When Working With Your Team On A Home Redesign Project?

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes when professional interior designers transform a home? Roy and Diane Mitchell pull back the curtain on their comprehensive design process in this illuminating episode that reveals the intricate steps and dedicated teamwork involved in creating dream homes.

Through the lens of an actual 7,000-square-foot Colorado vacation home project completed during the pandemic, the designers share their journey from initial consultation to final delivery. What begins with a thorough two-day on-site assessment evolves into a detailed plan encompassing furniture selection, window treatments, custom bedding, art installation, and countless other elements that bring personality and cohesion to a space.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the Mitchells reveal their proven ability to work remotely with clients anywhere in the United States. Their strategic partnerships with specialized receiving companies and local service providers ensure seamless logistics, professional white-glove delivery, and meticulous attention to detail—no matter the distance. Whether managing comprehensive renovations virtually or taking a hybrid approach with occasional site visits, Mitchell Thompson Interiors has refined a process that puts clients' needs first while delivering exceptional results.

The episode also addresses a common misconception: professional design services aren't exclusively for massive projects. Roy and Diane welcome consultations on spaces of all sizes, offering their expertise to help homeowners align their living environments with their current dreams and aspirations. After all, transformative design is about creating homes that truly reflect the people who live in them.

Ready to explore how professional design could enhance your home? Visit MitchellThompsonInteriors.com to schedule your complimentary 30-minute discovery call and take the first step toward making your vision a reality.

To learn more about Mitchell Thompson Interiors visit:
http://www.MitchellThompsonInteriors.com
Mitchell Thompson Interiors

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Transformative Homes with Mitchell Thompson Interiors. Join hosts Roy and Diane Mitchell, the creative force behind Mitchell Thompson Interiors, who together bring over 50 years of expertise of residential interior design across the US. Are you navigating a major life transition, upsizing or downsizing your home, purchasing a vacation home or redefining your space? You've found the team to guide you so your home truly reflects your unique dreams. Stay tuned and learn how to schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery call.

Speaker 2:

Let's delve into today's topic what's it really like to work with a seasoned design team from start to finish. Roy and Diane walk you through their process and what makes it truly collaborative and enjoyable. Welcome back everyone. I'm Sophia Yvette, co-host, slash producer, back in the studio with Roy and Diane. Owners of Mitchell Thompson interiors. Roy and Diane. Owners of Mitchell Thompson Interiors. Roy and Diane. How's it going today?

Speaker 3:

Wonderful. How's it going for you?

Speaker 2:

It's going wonderful for me too, and that's great to hear Roy and Diane. So everyone wants to know what's the process like when working with your team on a home redesign project.

Speaker 4:

We thought what we would do today is describe for you an actual project that we did in the height of COVID. Actually, it was in the fall of 2020. The backstory this family was purchasing a second home in Colorado, and so they made the purchase and called us, told us what they had purchased. It was very much about having a home for entertaining and being able to host not only their family but also lots of guests. So it's a six bedroom home with a couple different living spaces, a lot of outdoor space including fire pits, and patios.

Speaker 3:

It was about 7,000 square feet. We flew in, spent two days and measured every room, every crevice. Then we went back, took all of our notes and went back to their studio.

Speaker 4:

It really was room by room. I don't think there's a room in the house that we didn't touch with, either adding furnishings or window treatments, changing out the area rugs, adding some functional elements along the way as well. The design process was very collaborative with the homeowners and we also had some vendors that we reached out to in Colorado to help accomplish some of the project. Window treatments In particular, we collaborated with a company who specialized in window treatments out there and they took the majority of the lead on that particular product because they were very large, complicated windows and it was better to have someone on site managing that.

Speaker 3:

A lot of people wonder if we work with another designer from another state, can they deliver our furniture? Can they take care of what's going on in the background? Yes, because you know we have shippers, we have warehouse people that receive the product.

Speaker 4:

Infect it, make sure there's no damage. If there is damage, we take care of it. Either get a replacement or make some repairs. We take care of it either get a replacement or make some repairs and then schedule coordinated deliveries of product depending on the homeowner's preference, so you can have a delivery every time something comes in, or you can gather up many, many items and have one major move in date. So, yes, we always have a partner in the region that we're working in. That is essential in the logistics of implementing the design.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, from even state to state, not just Colorado, the big California, torrey Pines we worked on another house there and basically the same thing. What?

Speaker 4:

we'd like to do to describe the overall process is go through a project that we actually did back in 2020, 2021, and a little bit into 2022. Covid time, yes, and the backstory. This family purchased a second home in Colorado, and this is a home that was intended for entertaining and having lots of guests family, friends, business collaborators and so the home itself was six bedrooms six bedrooms and thousands square feet.

Speaker 4:

Yes, the it had. It had conveyed with furniture from the previous owner. So Roy and I flew out to the Aspen area and spent two days going through the house with the homeowner and discussing what their wishes and dreams were for this home. We measured every surface.

Speaker 4:

Two days, a lot of time and taking a lot of photographs and video and it was really an enjoyable experience. But there really wasn't one room in the home that we didn't touch in some way, whether it was changing carpets, adding window treatments, changing furnishings, area rugs, art. It was a very extensive project, big, big project scope.

Speaker 3:

On that one, yeah, we went through the house, took pictures along with the measurements. Then we went back to our studio and looked for all the pieces that we needed and called different manufacturers in the Colorado area, such as drapery companies that we've worked with, and put the scope together, sent pictures off to the client, samples, and they said go, the rest is history on that one.

Speaker 4:

So once you start ordering product, of course you have to send it in, and Aspen is not a very easy place to get to. Anywhere that we work in the United States, we always have a partnership with a receiving company and it's a specialized receiver that understands furniture. They will receive the furniture, they will inspect it immediately and notify us of any potential freight damage or manufacturer's defects. If there's anything to be dealt with, then we can head that off before it ever goes to the client's home and we'll either get replacements or make repairs, and then we collect the furnishings over a period of time and then make deliveries to the client's home. The delivering process is quite important to us because one these partners that we have need to have their people trained in delivering furniture. A lot of people will hear it as white glove delivery service. That's truly what it is. They need to know exactly how to carry furniture, how to set up furniture and how to manage the taking out of goods and the putting in of goods. They will hang artwork, they will hang draperies if necessary.

Speaker 3:

They're very experienced and they know where the rug goes and how it should go. Hanging art just very skillful of hanging art. You have two big guys hanging a 200 pound mirror. They have the sources for that. As far as hanging it on the wall, it's just not throwing a nail up so the client can be comfortable what where the pieces are going and they're going to be hanging well and they're not going to fall off the wall.

Speaker 4:

Yes, and so this is a key component when we're working in different markets across the US and we're always overseeing all of it and keeping our own list of inventory and letting them know what's coming in and looking at timeframes, and there's a lot of our implementation process that really just has to do with logistics. There's also, you know, the budgetary considerations, for that we definitely take into account, when we're putting together the project scope and budget, all of the fees that are going to be associated for that level of service. So you don't need to be worried about, you know, surprises at the end of the day when these services are being taken care of. So anyway, back to the process.

Speaker 4:

The homeowner then came back to us after kind of a first round of interior redesign for this home and she wanted to change all of the bedding on the beds and developed a personality for each room and selected materials to make custom duvets and shams and accent pillows, and each room had a little different flair to it but was still kind of a traditional, mountain style, traditional home. And so sometimes we will phase projects, you know, phase one, phase two, phase three, and then, after the homeowner lived there for about a year and a half. She had a few other things that came up that she wanted to move around shift add a piece, take away a piece. Round shift add a piece, take away a piece, that kind of thing. So you know, we're always so accommodating to the speed at which a client wants to move and it really just doesn't make any difference to us.

Speaker 2:

It's their home and, roy, do clients need to be local or can you work remotely?

Speaker 3:

We work all over the country. I don't think there's a state that we haven't been in, trying to think Wyoming's probably one of them. Yeah, there are a few up north there. We've been all the way up into Boston, new York, connecticut, vermont, so we've been all over being able to work remotely.

Speaker 4:

And sometimes it's a hybrid. The project we were just describing we did a lot of that work remotely and really only physically. We were there twice in the whole project. We have other projects we've done 100%, virtually, A combination of renovating, supplying selections for renovation materials, coordinating the color palette, selecting plumbing fixtures, sinks, mirrors, lights, all of those sorts of kitchen and bath style implements that we've done I can think of three times off the top of my head, completely virtually.

Speaker 3:

We have something coming up in the next week. We have the Manolia Network, which we did that home virtually, which we did that home virtually. I think we've only showed up maybe once, and that was all done by phone email sampling.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, the hybrid approach seems to be very comfortable for clients based on the scope of the project. But we want everyone to know too that we're here for smaller scopes, where people maybe just want advice and how to bring their project together, and so we can just consult and talk about whatever they want to talk about. That will help bring their home into alignment with what their dreams and goals are right now alignment with what their dreams and goals are right now.

Speaker 2:

Well, as always, Roy and Diane, thank you so much for the informative and helpful information you gave us today.

Speaker 3:

We'll catch you on the next episode. Have a fantastic rest of your day.

Speaker 1:

You too. Thanks for tuning in. That's a wrap on this episode of Transformative Homes. Are you ready to begin the journey toward elevating your home and lifestyle? Visit MitchellThompsonInteriorscom and schedule your complimentary 30-minute discovery. Call Roy and Diane will explore making your vision your reality. Join us for the next episode as we continue discussing elevated lifestyles through the lens of interior design. One unique and exquisite home at a time.