Mastering Remote Projects: Our Approach to Working Beyond Boston
Through our decades of experience, we've learned that a clear, well-defined design process is crucial to the success of every project—and it’s even more essential when working remotely. It helps build a trust that is extremely important when navigating through the challenges unique to designing a project beyond Boston.
Our exciting yet orderly process continues evolving as we better understand how our clients think and relate to specific design elements and how to best deliver exceptional results, regardless of location. We have learned that building trust creates a comfortable environment that often allows clients to try new ideas, take risks, and see things from a different perspective. This trust also enhances collaboration, which becomes even more crucial when working remotely. Over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to refine our approach to working beyond Boston through projects across the U.S., including Marco Island, Montana, North Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and even the Bahamas.
Here are the key factors in how we've mastered the art of remote collaboration
Leveraging Technology to Enhance Communication Channels
Open communication with the client, architect, and builder is essential for troubleshooting remotely. Many details can be worked out over the phone, email, or even virtual walkthroughs using FaceTime. Having a shared platform like Monday or Procore for project management helps everyone stay updated on approvals, progress, and timelines. At our Narragansett, RI project, the contractor installed a site camera so the clients could log in anytime and stay on top of the progress.
Increased Collaboration Can Ease Homeowner Anxiety
Great collaboration through any project can really help ease anxiety. This is especially important when working together from a distance. In the case of our Chestnut Hill project, our team was local, but the client was international, which meant that an in-person design presentation just wasn’t in the cards. Instead, we sent the design presentation package ahead of our scheduled Zoom call. The package included things like fabrics that were labeled and pictures of various design schemes for each space throughout the home. This enabled us to have a really interactive call, giving the clients the tactile things they needed right in front of them. We found this technique to be a great way to communicate with the client to make it feel collaborative throughout the process.
Drawing inspiration from our Hospitality Design Projects
When working on remote projects, we often tap into our hospitality design experience because we've worked on many hotel projects that are out of town. Through that, we've developed a tried and true process for understanding when it's important to be on the job site and creating ways to communicate when not there. With slight modifications, these are the foundation for how we run our residential projects.
Using our Design Network for Influence and Guidance
At Design Leadership Network, you have the opportunity to meet people from all over the country. It’s an excellent resource for discovering local workrooms and other suppliers within the project location. This is especially useful when your usual sources aren’t available and you are asked to select a reliable partner that you have not yet had experience working with.
Have a project outside of New England that you’d love our help with? Learn more about working with us through our Introduction Brochure for Homeowners, including information about Reider + Co, our process, and our capabilities.
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