I was at a drapery installation recently and stood back watching my two installers. They were installing in the great room into a brick wall, and into the dinette. I watched the attention to detail, the drop cloth to catch anything falling on the floor, rolling up the blinds tightly so they wouldn’t catch the dust, wiping down the wall and windowsill to clean up after the drilling and finally the pleat packing and positioning of the drape. While the client was there, she looked over at me and said, “Your entire team is on point”. She communicated that our design team was in constant contact. The warehouse manager reached out the day before the installation with what she could expect from the warehouse team, and then, watching the installation and clean up, everything was back better than they found it.

I have to say, it was one of my proudest moments. I feel strongly that we stand out in our industry. We employ most of the work we do because I don’t trust that it will be done right unless we control it. Yes, I am a control freak, but my clients usually get a better outcome because of it. In addition, as we grow, we must continue to invest in what we can offer.

I want to reintroduce you to Lee Douglas Interiors. It has been 35 years since I introduced it the first time and with only three employees then. We have spent this time expanding our products, perfecting our outcomes, increasing our team to over 50 and now we’re ready to show off.

I’m not good at sharing and patience is not one of my virtues, so I don’t want to subcontract a lot of our work. If a client of mine is having a party and wants something NOW, I want to be able to yell “All hands on deck”. That is primarily why we invest in our own team. We can design the project, do the actual work, order the product, track it, receive it, inspect it, file a claim if needed, bill it, deliver it, install it and post it – without ever leaving our own house.

Introducing my team and the functions and departments of LDI.

 

Interior Designers | Associate Designers | Design Interns

Introducing our interior designers, associate designers, and interns. This group starts the process, and we are confident that we have the best!  Our designers boast education, experience, and good taste. Whether they are consulting with a client, putting a furniture package together or drawing a plan for a new build or remodel, they are constantly creating, planning, drawing, and presenting. We feel our lead designers must have a team to back them. Our designers and associate designers assist in drafting, estimating, client interaction, project management and ultimately rounding out the teams.

Faux Finish

Our faux finish artisan has been employed by Lee Douglas Interiors for over 20 years.

Not only has he been professionally trained, but he is also naturally talented as an artist. When you put those two together, he’s like a mad chemist who can come up with any wall finish. He stays relevant by continuing to train for finishes and products that he can bring back to Nebraska. We invest in him because we want him all for ourselves and our clients. He is the best faux finisher I’ve ever seen, and if you haven’t seen his work, stop in the entryway of the Lee Douglas Interiors and check out his hand-done brick. You won’t believe it’s not painted brick, and his ability to mural is apparent by the sideways Mona Lisa outside of our Lincoln store. Our clients love him. He’s thoughtful, detailed, and more talented than most. He is Lee Douglas Interiors’ full-time, on-staff faux finisher.

Orders | Tracking | Claims

Our operations department houses staff dedicated to ordering products, tracking them weekly, and filing claims for anything that is not up to snuff.

Once your order is placed by our orders department, we track it every week, they touch every order, every week and communicate with our vendors to ensure the timeline we promised is accurate. Once they receive information, they report it to the design teams weekly for communication with clients. I don’t know of any company that employs a full-time person just to monitor every single order, but I know it makes our lives a lot easier.

To be fully transparent, an item can get finished by our vendor and we can track its completion, but it can sit on a dock and wait for pick up from a carrier for weeks. Having tracking in charge of knowing when it’s completed by the vendor gives us the ability to gauge actual delivery timelines. Not having this information or being privy to it weekly would make me crazy, so I employ this position for not only my benefit but yours.

Once the item is received, our warehouse team inspects it, and any imperfection or damage is filed on behalf of our client. Together they work to make sure that your product is perfect and when it’s not they are bulldogs! I don’t trust just any receiving dock to my client’s merchandise – so therefore we employ it.

Warehouse | Receiving & Inspection | Delivery Team | Installation

Our Warehouse, Delivery Team, and Installation is the crew I mentioned at the beginning. Bragging about their attention to detail. Every single item that is received on behalf of a client is inspected, pictures are taken and sent to the design teams the day it is unwrapped and filed in the client file. Once received in good condition, it is communicated to the design team that it is ready for delivery or installation. Most firms contract out receiving and delivery, I just can’t – this step is too important. Every time a truck rolls up to your project, be assured they are our employees. We work hard to take care of them so they can take care of you.

Remodel | Project Management | Construction

I decided to hire a construction team on staff. When you don’t employ someone, you cannot be sure they will show up to the job and apply the standards of quality or the outcome you want. We worked with our current construction team on many projects previously and decided we wanted them all to ourselves! Having a contractor in the office and on staff makes us better at our jobs. We can “spitball” ideas, build out, talk through, and distribute bids faster, and work together to maintain schedules. It’s not just another remodel now, it’s our remodel as a team.

Marketing

Our marketing and e-commerce team is responsible for the social media content, emails, website products and so much more that you see daily. They run all accounts for both Lee Douglas Interiors and our sister store, THE LOFT by Lee Douglas Interiors. Having them on staff to work directly with in-house teams gives you the latest products, real-time results of ongoing and current projects to spark inspiration and overall, what’s happening in our design studios and stores.

Retail Sales Associates

Our team is rounded out with the newest addition of our sales associates. In the past, our design teams have rotated in our stores to help walk-in and retail clients. We realized this wasn’t the best for them or you. When design teams are focusing on a project, they have blinders on and if it was your project, you would want that. Stopping and starting was problematic. In addition, if a client walks into our store, we want them to know that 100% of our attention is theirs, therefore… the addition of our retail managers and associates. We want you in the stores often, strolling, shopping, being inspired, and assisted as needed. This is one of the best moves I have made, bringing on a full-time, dedicated, retail-focused staff makes me know the showrooms and stores are always ready for visitors.

Operations | Human Resources | Finance & Accounting

Last, but not least, operations, human resources, finance and accounting. These people think with the left side of their brain (weird) and are essential to making this place tick. Managing the properties, hiring the staff, training, and paying the bills is a crucial part of our success.

In 1989, I would see clients, call vendors to order, Doug (Co-founder and Vice-President) and I would go together to install it, and on Sundays sit and pay bills. On Monday, I would start all over again. Today, I have the best staff ever, the best designers, the best warehouse, delivery and installation team, the best faux artisan, the best construction team, the best marketers, and the best staff to support every function (in addition to the same best supportive partner and husband – he just doesn’t deliver or install anymore). In 35 years, we have perfected this, but we will continue to perfect it for every project, client, and retail walk-in.

So, there you have it, what I don’t trust will be done right, I employ it for your benefit and mine!

Allow us to re-introduce ourselves,

We are Lee Douglas Interiors – Our Signature is Unmistakable