Why I Still Take the Occasional In-Person Interior Design Project

A little while ago I took on a residential interior design project in person. Which might surprise you if you follow me regularly, because it doesn't happen very often.

Once or twice a year at most, and only when something about the project or the client makes it feel worth it.

But that project reminded me exactly why e-design has become my preferred way of working. And if I'm being honest, it was a bit of a nightmare from start to finish.

The project that reiterated everything

A few months ago I took on a residential interior design project for a family home. Full brief, site visits, contractor coordination, the works. On paper it looked great. In reality it reminded me of everything I'd quietly moved away from.

The site visits alone took half a day each time — travel there, travel back, time on-site. The client was lovely, but the brief evolved (as they always do), which meant more visits, more revisions, more unpaid time sitting in traffic. Payment was phased, so I was delivering work weeks before money hit my account. And when the project finally wrapped, I worked out my effective hourly rate and quietly closed my laptop.

That's the reality of in-person interior design work that nobody puts on their moodboard.

What e-design changed for me

When I shifted the majority of my business to e-design, the transformation wasn't just financial — although the financial shift was significant. It was the rhythm of my work life that changed.

E-design projects are scoped, priced, and delivered online. No site visits. No travel. No waiting on contractors before you can move to the next phase. I deliver a complete, professional design package — and the client receives something genuinely valuable — without either of us losing half a week to logistics.

More importantly for my cashflow: payment upfront. Every time.

E-design and in-person work aren't enemies

Here's what I want designers to understand — e-design doesn't have to replace in-person work entirely if you don't want it to. For many designers, especially those just starting to build their online offer, the two can work brilliantly alongside each other.

Your in-person projects give you credibility, portfolio depth, and those high-touch client relationships you're good at. Your e-design offer gives you consistent, predictable income that doesn't depend on whether a contractor turns up or a client delays sign-off.

Together, they create something most interior designers don't have — a business that has income coming in whether you're on-site or not.

The cashflow shift

This is the bit that surprises designers most when they start taking e-design seriously. Because in-person project income is lumpy. You finish a project, you invoice, you wait. Meanwhile your expenses keep going.

E-design income — especially when you have a clear offer and a system behind it — can be consistent month on month. Smaller projects, faster turnarounds, upfront payment. It smooths out the peaks and troughs that make running a design business feel so financially unpredictable.

I'm not saying in-person work isn't valuable. I'm saying that building an e-design income alongside it, or instead of it, changes the way your business feels to run.

In the last week alone 46 interior designers have worked through my simple 5 step process and landed their first e-design project. Designers who were stuck on the same in-person hamster wheel, juggling difficult clients, chasing payments and wondering if there was a better way to use the skills they already had.

If that sounds familiar, The E-Design Income System walks you through exactly how to set it up and land your first online client in five days.

It's just £27 and it's honestly the most useful thing I've put together for designers who are ready to stop trading time for money and start making their skills work harder online.