Vicente Wolf

Name: Andrea V.
Comment:

Hi Vicente-

After stalking your blog fanatically for the past few weeks, I thought of something to ask you.

What types of questions do you ask your clients in the initial consult? Do you find that it’s difficult for the client to articulate what it is that they are seeking within the interior? If so, what are some methods to navigate the forensics and psychology of building a concept that incorporates both your and the clients vision?

I recently had the misfortune of a client not liking what I pulled together. Which really struck me as odd (and made me kinda want to crawl in a hole, too), because he loved it during the presentation and from my point of view, it was a concept that pulled the whole house together. The whole home lacked cohesion and I absolutely tried my best to give it a better sense of calm and flow (which is what he told me that he wanted, but I digress). It was a really strange situation, but it made me second guess my interviewing skills. So much that I figured I must have not done enough due diligence during the consultation phase. Maybe that’s not what happened and he ultimately didn’t want to spend the money. I’ll never know. But I’d like to gain more insight on how to go about getting the client to build an honest rapport and spill the beans about what they desire and of course, what they want to spend! (Always the hardest part!)

Thank you for having this feature on the blog. I think that your humble nature is incredibly inspiring and I love the open dialogue feeling that you have created in this little corner of the internet Keep up the great work!

Andrea V.

Vicente Responds:

Hi Andrea -

I don’t ask them for specifics of what they want that room to be, I ask them what is the emotion that they want the room to have. If you ask for specifics, they are going to tell you they want this chair and that sofa and that is not what you want. Here’s my list of questions – feel free to use this as a base and adapt it as you see fit.

GENERAL

• What colors do you like?
• Are there particular colors you dislike?
• Do you like textures?
• Do you like stone?
• Are there certain metals you like?
• Antique pieces?
• Do you have any allergies or back problems?

FABRICS

• Silk, wool, cotton, linen?
• Rough, smooth?
• Stripes?
• Leather

LIVING ROOM

• Entertaining
• How many people would you like to seat?
• Do you like deep seating?
• Do you like loose cushions?
• Tight cushions?
• Slipcovers?
• Area Rug?
• Window treatment?
• Floor treatment – stone, wood?
• Table surfaces?  Large, small?
• Colors?

DINING ROOM

• How many people would you like to seat?
• Do you like service in the dining room (side table, etc) or service from another room?
• Area Rug?
• Window treatment
• Floor treatment
• Colors

KITCHEN

• Entertaining
• How many people would you like to seat?
• Appliances?
• Window treatment?
• Floor treatment?
• Colors

MASTER BEDROOM

• What size bed do you like?
• Would like you like book storage?
• Lounge chairs?
• Wall to wall carpet?
• Area Rug?
• Window treatment?
• Floor treatment – stone, wood, etc.
• Table surfaces?  Large, small?
• Colors
• Special Lighting

FAMILY ROOM

• Entertaining
• How many people would you like to seat?
• Do you like deep seating?
• Do you like loose cushions?
• Tight cushions?
• Slipcovers?
• Area Rug?
• Window treatment?
• Floor treatment – stone, wood?
• Table surfaces?  Large, small?
• Colors?
• Office Equipment

BREAKFAST ROOM

• How many people would you like to seat?
• Window treatment?
• Floor Treatment?
• Colors
• Lighting

GUEST BEDROOM #1 & #2

• What size bed do you like?
• Would like you like book storage?
• Lounge chairs?
• Wall to wall carpet?
• Area Rug?
• Window treatment?
• Floor treatment – stone, wood, etc.
• Table surfaces?  Large, small?
• Colors
• Special Lighting

Go through the same questions for the Entry, the Office, Kids’ Rooms, Powder Rooms and Bathrooms or other rooms that are not accounted for here.