Surviving Design

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss the behind the scenes situations in the interior design industry that are rarely talked about. Have you been stuck cleaning a client's home because the contractor's cleaning crew didn't show up? We have. Have you been tasked with repairing a sofa that arrived with a missing leg? Yep. S...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they explore the collaborative process with clients during the construction and furnishing phases of their homes and offices. Text messages at all hours of the day and night? Check. Spinning in circles on which throw pillow to choose? Check. Making unrealistic demands and having over-the-top expectations? Check....

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss the elephant in the room: PRICE! You've heard it before. Sometimes you have to "fake it to make it" or sometimes you need to pick up work to pay the bills until you get to that "top tier" level of design where clients are literally beating down the door. Newsflash: It doesn&a...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, and Melody Smith as they discuss a huge elephant in the design community: Taking credit for other people's work. Architectural Digest received a huge backlash when interior designer Timothy Corrigan noted that one of his projects for a famous celebrity (in which he did a lot of the work) was eventually taken over by another des...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss the latest High Point Spring market. This episode is all about furniture and design trends, funny stories, and the highlights of market,  including excessive amounts of food and alcohol, but if you're going to get interior designers to show up to anything, there better be food and drink!  Music...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss the ins and outs of the interior design industry, especially as it relates to the "tricks of the trade" and lessons learned by making mistakes. After all, you don't know what you don't know, and many important lessons in life are learned by doing - even when it's wrong! Laugh...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss the pitfalls that design school and your mentors never taught you. As the old expression goes, "You don't know what you don't know," and this episode is full of stories about design projects that started off strong only to end up in ugly disputes between the homeowner and contract...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss how the rules have changed when it comes to being in a client's home alone. Cameras, microphones, and other technologies are slowly seeping in, and even when you think you're alone, someone may be watching! Laugh and learn with us about the industry as we share true stories about installati...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they take you behind the scenes in the design industry. This episode is all about receiving and delivery nightmares.  Just when you thought you were safe! The client approved the design. You've placed your purchase orders, and - as fate would have it - you're fighting with your receiving warehouse or th...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as we explain the WHY behind hiring an interior designer. In a world full of social media fake experts and design-build companies that are more concerned about their bottom line than making you happy in your own home, the construction and planning process can be a heavy burden for the end user. On the other hand, in...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss a huge elephant in the room in the design industry: Boundaries! Sick of your clients texting you at all hours of the night and day? Sick of working nonstop and feeling like you're getting nowhere? Sick of contractors asking for things last minute that you either weren't prepared for or sent...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss the various hazards of the interior design profession and why good education or experience is a must if you are going to tackle this monster of an industry! From life safety issues to poor material choices, an interior designer's impact on the project could very well mean a matter of life and de...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley in this special edition Halloween episode: Client Horror Stories Vol. II. Just when you thought it was safe to do your job, these client horror stories will chill you and tickle your funny bone! Enjoy these thrilling, classic tales of intrigue, frustration, shade, and utter horror as we discuss the scariest part of...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss their most recent trip to High Point, NC for the 2023 market. From discussions with vendors to current trends in the design industry, you won't want to miss this episode. We have you covered on the organic modern look, the return of the 1980s in rattan-wrapped furniture, and a sneak peek at what...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, and Melody Smith as they discuss how good vendor relationships can impact your business (and your sanity). Trust us. We have plenty of war stories, and we have made many mistakes over the years by either trusting someone to get the job done correctly only to find ourselves scrambling to try and resolve an issue that could have been...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as the discuss the gritty details of the interior design world! In this episode, we discuss client responsibilities and how they can impact the overall aesthetic - and experience - during the design process! From simple things, like providing inspiration, to more complex problems, like actually reading their contrac...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Melody Smith, and Timm Dolley as they discuss how to incorporate current trends into your clients' designs. From what trends are driving us crazy (think shiplap) to the ones we would entertain (think pink), you'll be listening to us trash... um, trend talking, about the latest crazes, like the retro organic curves that harken to the la...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, and Melody Smith as they spill the tea on the behind-the-scenes workings of the interior design industry.  On today's episode we talk about the struggles of being an interior designer, from contractors, subcontractors, employees, and vendors letting you down, to myriad issues with the industry. It's a doozy of an episode,...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, and Melody Smith as they discuss the extreme level of knowledge and expertise it takes to pull off a design project for their clients. What does it take? An inch deep and a mile wide of myriad knowledge for a variety of applications. Plumbing fixtures? Specifications and installation is different between brands, especially if you&ap...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, and Melody Smith as we talk about our most recent trip to Paris, how it inspired us, and how taking a break can sometimes lead to the design inspiration you've been looking for! From stories about the Louve, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, St. Tropez, Arle, and more, taking a much-needed vacation can make you feel so much better...

Join professional interior designers Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, and Melody Smith as they discuss all things interior-design related. You think you know this industry? You don't know the half of it! In this special edition episode we interview famous Palm Beach interior designer Jennifer Garrigues to hear about her illustrious career as well as her take on the ups and downs of the interior d...

Join Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, and Melody Smith as they discuss all things interior design. In this episode we talk about how "making it" in the interior design industry can often lead professionals to suffer from Impostor Syndrome, e.g. Do I deserve to be here? Am I good enough? Am I competent enough? The truth is even seasoned professionals second guess themselves all the time - esp...

Join Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, and Melody Smith as we take you behind-the-scenes in the interior design world! In this episode, we delve into the world of designer show houses, what they are, and what the process is if a designer wants to participate and market their business. We also discuss the recent Kips' Bay Decorator Show House in West Palm Beach, and we take you through some of our...

Join Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, Melody Smith, and our special guest Kim Jones, owner of Tropical Vibes. As an owner of a lifestyle brand, Kim spills all the tea on what branding is truly about and how it can impact your design business. So what are you waiting for? Laugh and learn with us about the interior design business, and let's start Surviving Design! Music Credit: StockAudios

Join Melissa Guerra, Timm Dolley, and Melody Smith as they discuss the "why" behind their interior design profession. What got them into the business? What makes them tick? Why is interior design so intriguing, and why is it such a coveted career? Laugh and learn with us, and join us in Surviving Design! Music Credit: StockAudios