Working with Interior Designers.... a partnership with mutual benefits.

Over the past 10 years I have noticed something that was an "unwritten rule" at most audio/video companies. We were taught to fear and loathe Interior Designers!

Why? I've heard it all. When I was just starting out in the industry I had a sales manager who told me that you should run away whenever a client introduces you to their designer. He said "the designer will hate every idea you have and ultimately you will have to fight for everything you want to propose." I was also told, "Designers brainwash the client into thinking that no TV could possibly look good in a room... don't even think about selling floor-standing speakers!"

I am happy to say - after a few years - I realized that what I had been taught was dead wrong. The advice I had been given couldn't be further from the truth. Interior Designers are my friend... we have the same overall goal which is to make our client's happy. What I learned is that if you position yourself as someone who wants to work with the designer and not against them you will develop bonds that spread among many clients over multiple projects.

I learned that over the years I had never had a designer question me when I said something sounded good. I was only questioned when I tried to say something looked good!I learned that although I do know what sounds good in a room I may never understand what looks good in that same room.  I learned that together we can achieve balance. I might not sell the 5ft tall tower speakers that sound like Carnagie Hall, but together we can create something that sounds great and looks great as well. Everyone wins!

The truth is that the industry is to be aplauded for designing products which allow for synergy between form and function. TV's can be had at less than two inches thick and you can even put a piece of artwork around them! Speakers can be hidden in walls and celilings and subwoofers can reinforce the sound from a hidden location. Touchpanels are sleeker and lighting control switches are designer friendly. We now live in a "best of both worlds."

Designers - be comfortable knowing that the industry has changed and what we have to offer you and your clients can more easily fit into any space. Audio/Video Professionals - understand that the designer knows more about how the client lives and what the end project needs to look like than you ever will. Embrace the partnership and work together to do what is in the best intersts of the people who pay our wages: The Customer!