Beyond Interior Design Podcast: For Interior Designers Who Want More · Marc Müskens

#029 - High-End Client Attraction — New York Success Story with Landscape Designer Steve Griggs

·50 min·3 clips

An eight-foot wall collapsed, flooded a pool, and sent mud into the house.

Don't design it for yourself. That blunt line sets up a conversation where Steve and the host keep pulling the work back to the client: what they value, what they can spend, and whether they still trust the designer when things get messy. Beauty is in the room, sure, but ego gets less airtime here. The designer's job is guidance, especially when clients are making money decisions and need someone to connect the design to value without making it weird. Steve comes across as a landscape designer with a sculptor's eye, someone who treats the garden like a creative playground, but the episode does not let the craft float away from the business. Money gets said out loud. Clients are listening for transparency and confidence, and they notice when a designer can explain why something matters. Then the story hits trouble. A hard project moment, including a big wall, becomes the test. Smooth projects are easy to forget. When something goes wrong, the client gets to see who takes responsibility. Steve's stance is clean: do not point fingers, own the problem, and make it clear the buck stops with you. From there, the talk moves into how designers handle the handoff between design, construction, project management, and the team around the client. There is no one neat model. The host describes a designer-led setup where collaborators support the build while the value of the design stays clear. Steve keeps bringing it back to the client. Many clients want the designer around after the design phase, because construction decides whether the original vision actually survives. The episode lands where it began: money matters, but form follows meaning.

As heard by us

Good design earns trust through judgment, not polish.

The episode treats premium design as a service built on judgment, clear communication, and a steady focus on the client. The designer is cast as the person who points the way, keeps money decisions grounded, and treats outdoor space as both useful and expressive.

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Why you'd press play

You want to be the guide, not the hero, and have clients trust your judgment.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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