Michael Abrams Interiors

It is interesting how people recall a sequence of events. Nirav and Deepa Jain are a lovely young couple and I found their energy and excitement in building a new home to be inspiring. They are creative thinkers and passionate about interior design.

Despite what the Jains claim they never did sign the contract presented outlining my terms, but did agree to pay me a monthly consulting fee on what they believed would be the project duration. I was not concerned that we did not have a signed agreement because we were basically working on a monthly consulting basis; however I would never had proceeded with any purchasing. The timeline significantly extended beyond the projected completion date due to long periods of no activity on the client's part. While I was willing to work on a start - stop basis and have my monthly fee suspended periodically because the project was on hold; I was not willing to allow my designs be implemented by unknown workrooms that the client wanted me to use.

The Jains suggested I use materials they could purchase directly from India at a deeply discounted price. Again, this is not my business practice but I agreed to have them show me options to see if we could find a way to work with them and after a few rounds of searching we did find one that could work for window treatment fabric. I had felt we reached a final disconnect when Nirav then insisted on having the window treatments fabricated by a work room of a family friend.

As a designer it is imperative that the end result is a reflection of the quality I consistently provide. In severely limiting my options of materials and then insisting I work with a family friend after providing estimates was the last red flag that I no longer wanted my name associated with work I could not control.