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PODCAST

Damn Good Interior Designer

Cheryl Kees Clendenon and Liz Lapan

Join Cheryl Kees Clendenon and Liz Lapan, the dynamic duo behind the visionary and integrator balancing all the moving parts of a full service interior design firm in their no-nonsense and thought-provoking podcast, the Damn Good Designer. Each episode is full of damn good truths and real talk as they share invaluable insights on how to run and build a successful business while challenging the norms, the industry, each other and YOU. Emphasizing a business-savvy approach, Cheryl and Liz take you

arts design

All Episodes

50:29

Season 3 Ep 68: How Education is the New Advantage...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2026/03/04

Industry events are not vacations, designers can utilize these trips to create relationships with vendors. In this episode, Cheryl speaks LIVE from KBIS and sits down with special guest, Veronika Miller, to break down how designers can use events like KBIS and High Point as business accelerators instead of exhausting field trips. Taking time out of busy schedules to attend these events go beyond walking showrooms and collecting samples. It is about positioning, visibility, strategic networking, and

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22:44

Season 3 Ep 67: Are You Asking? Negotiating with Vendors

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2026/02/24

If you sell product, you should be asking.In this episode, Cheryl and Liz discuss how to build vendor relationships that actually improve your margin with better pricing, extra percentages, showroom discounts, and free samples by strategy. They share how to pre-sell projects, position your showroom as leverage, communicate upcoming sales, and negotiate from clarity instead of hope. Because reps are motivated by volume — and if you’re moving product, you have influence. This is about operating like a

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53:30

Season 3 Ep 66: When Good People are in the Wrong Roles

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2026/02/10

Hiring is one of the most expensive lessons a design firm will ever lear and it’s rarely because the person was “bad.” In this episode, Cheryl and Liz unpack the real reason team hires go sideways: confusing likability with fit, and potential with performance. This is real deal what is happening in our firm now and were owning up to our mistakes as we have been up to our eyeballs in the hiring process. Cheryl walks through the hard truth most firm owners avoid where sometimes the issue isn’t the

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13:41

Season 3 Ep 65: ASKED & ANSWERED - What am I missing...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2026/01/27

Window treatments are often treated as a finishing touch, but that mindset is what keeps them from being profitable. In this Asked & Answered episode, Liz is going solo this week and walks you through the key decisions that actually drive successful window treatment design--from measurement and fabrication to functionality and timing.This episode covers why planning earlier matters, how small details prevent big mistakes, and how window treatments can become a reliable part of a designer’s

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26:37

Season 3 Ep 64: Refining Your Design IQ with Your...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2026/01/20

Refining your design IQ with furniture means understanding how details like orientation, cushion construction, and intended use impact the final outcome. Cheryl and Liz break down the real-world furniture mistakes designers make when they misunderstand the details. From left-arm and right-arm facing to glossing over cushion construction, seat depth, and intended use, they help hone in on the small decisions that can create big problems.This episode is a reminder that expertise lives in the details

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46:25

Season 3 Episode 63: The space you create is the...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2026/01/13

Your workspace is not neutral. It either supports your growth or quietly works against it. In this episode, Cheryl and Liz talk about the emotional, creative, and business implications of where designers work, how staying where you are too long can limit momentum, and how creating intentional space changes how you show up for yourself, your clients, and your business.The episode covers how physical space impacts creativity and emotional bandwidth and why intentionally investing in your workspace

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30:58

Season 3 Ep 62: You are already doing the work, why...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/12/30

Clients don’t know what they need until you show them—and when you don’t engage that conversation, you leave both value and profit behind. Designers often miss additional profit opportunities inside projects where they are already doing the work. From door hardware and window treatments to art and beyond, designers are already making the decisions, solving the problems, and guiding the outcome, yet stop short of selling those services.Additional profit centers aren’t about trying to get more money

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43:18

Season 3 Ep 61: Why waiting for the contractor to...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/12/16

Most project problems don’t start on the job site. They start much earlier, when assumptions are made, roles aren’t defined, and everyone thinks someone else is handling it. In this episode, Cheryl and Liz talk through why setting the stage before working with a contractor is one of the most important leadership moves a designer can make. You are not micromanaging or crossing lines, but instead establishing expectations and defining the individual responsibilities so the designer, the contractor,

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51:38

Season 3 Ep 60: Your Team cannot read your mind. Do...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/12/02

It is always a treat when you hire people you genuinely like until you realize you now have to train them while juggling active projects, client demands, and the never-ending to-do list already sitting on your desk. Cheryl and Liz give you a look at what is going on at In Detail right now and what onboarding really looks like inside a busy studio. Some days your processes may feel like it has to re-evolve by the hour, or hot-potato tasks reveal who’s thinking and who’s parroting, and then other days

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55:02

Season 3 Ep 59: If you confuse them, you lose them....

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/11/17

The confusion you accidentally create long before the proposal ever hits your clients inbox is the real reason clients hesitate. Your price is not the problem. You can unintentionally create confusion through discovery calls, the way you talk about freight, receiving, vendors, timelines, your value, etc. This causes your clients to be constantly collecting clues about whether saying yes to you feels SAFE or SCARY. Learn how your language, tone, and timing shape the emotional architecture your

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20:39

Season 3 Ep 58: ASKED & ANSWERED - I'm scared to tell...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/11/04

Every designer has run into this situation before—the panic of too many projects, too little time, and clients who “need it done now.” Your timelines aren’t the enemy; but poor planning is. When you managed your schedule with purpose instead of panic it means you are understanding your own process. This means before you promise anyone else a date, you know how to communicate timing in a way that builds trust instead of tension.This episode will help you rethink what it means to be “busy,” and see

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49:29

Season 3 Ep 57: Should we, just because we can?

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/10/16

Just because you can take on another project doesn’t mean you should. In this episode, Cheryl and Liz unpack what it really takes to manage your firm’s capacity—not just your time, but your energy, your team, and your profitability. There must be a level of discipline to say no, even if they are a great lead because saying yes to every project is not always helping your business. Consider this episode your permission slip from Cheryl to stop trying to do it all—and to create a newparadigm in our

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25:22

Season 3 Ep 56: ASKED AND ANSWERED - My client is...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/09/30

One of the the biggest challenges designers face with managing client expectations is how to stop overpromising and start being intentional with your process. After a recent coaching call with one of our designers, Liz had the idea to create this podcast based on why intentionality is more than just “showing up with a good attitude”. Instead, you should be setting clear expectations, mapping out project steps, and slowing down enough to plan properly. By exploring how intentional processes, like job

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16:00

Season 3 Ep 55: ASKED AND ANSWERED - Why Having a...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/09/17

Liz is going solo again and giving you her expertise into the art of handling new lead calls with intention and strategy. Liz handles our discovery calls at In Detail and we do a great job at converting our prospective clients because it is not about rattling off your services or rushing into pricing—it’s about active listening. By asking the right questions, paying attention to tone and word choice, and guiding the conversation toward clarity, designers can uncover what a client really needs. We

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49:09

Season 3 Ep 54: Are You Afraid to Define Your Value?

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/09/02

Little did we know our Pricing and Salary Survey results were going to give us great nuggets of information that we could share for many future podcasts to come! One of the biggest challenges we found designers face is defining their product. Too often, “full-service design” means something different to every designer—and that inconsistency makes it nearly impossible to set confident fees, manage scope, or show clients the real value of design work. The secret lies in creating clear deliverables

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57:15

Season 3 Ep 53: Why Selling Yourself Short in K&B...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/08/19

Kitchen and bath design must be treated — and priced — as the high-level specialty it is. These are not "just another room" — instead, they are some of the most complex, high-stakes, and profitable part of your business if you treat it that way. Too many designers undervalue their skills, we discuss how flat fees protect both your expertise and your bottom line, and why being the expert in the room changes everything. From navigating subs and code changes to troubleshooting “transitions up the

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08:29

Season 3 Ep 52: ASKED AND ANSWERED - How to think...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/08/05

In this Ask and Answered episode, we break down the real reasons flat fees can transform your business—and why hourly billing might be keeping you small. The mindset shift designers need to make is to stop thinking like a technician and start pricing like a CEO. Flat fees protect your time, boost your authority, and create a better experience for your clients. This isn’t about guessing—it’s about building a smarter, scalable business model that reflects the transformation you deliver. If you're

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38:41

REPLAY! How to Make Money Selling Project Management...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/07/22

How can you be team player without giving up your own rights? Working with contractors can be a tricky relationship when they want you to stay in your lane--BUT it doesn't have to be. Creating a team approach withpositioning in your marketing, the copy that you use, the verbiage that you talk about, and how you talk about it with other people, all of that is so important. We discuss how important positioning to the clientabout it being win-win-win and how to sell this to the client and they actually

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11:56

Season 3 Ep 51: ASKED AND ANSWERED - Why Every...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/07/08

We have another asked and answered topic this week! We are talking about reframing what many designers see as “wasted” discovery calls. Just because a lead isn’t a fit for full service doesn’t mean it’s a dead end. Consider this as a chance to position your firm as a resource, build brand equity, and generate revenue—especially when you offer varied tiers of service. Start looking for smart strategies to redirect leads, educate potential clients, and how to stay visible—even when they say no. This

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44:24

Season 2 Ep 50: How to Get Press: The secret door to...

Damn Good Interior Designer ·

2025/06/24

Public relations isn’t just about getting published—it’s about what you do after the feature goes live. We thrilled to welcome our special guest who we have been working with for over a year. Alex Abramian, founder of The PR Collaborative, talks with us about the evolving landscape of PR for interior designers. With years of experience as a writer and editor for major national publications, Alex shares real-world insights into what editors are looking for right now and how designers at any stage of

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