There's a moment on every project where all the planning (the mood boards, the fabric samples, the months of back and forth) stops being theoretical. Install day is when it all becomes real, all at once, usually in the span of about ten hours. It's chaotic, physical, and honestly one of my favorite parts of this job. Here's what it actually looks like.
The morning starts before the morning starts
I always do yoga on install day mornings. No exceptions. It's partly practical, since I'm going to spend the day crawling under furniture, adjusting rugs, checking cord placement, and reaching for things on high shelves. And it's partly mental. Yoga keeps me centered before a day that's going to ask a lot of me, physically and logistically. I've learned over the years that how I start the morning shows up in how I handle the inevitable curveball around 1pm.
Honestly, a good night's sleep the night before does more work than anything else. You can't fake your way through a 10-hour install day on four hours of sleep and hope for the best.
Then comes the uniform
Every install day, I put on the same thing: a dark teal Dickies jumpsuit that's become my signature at this point. It's practical, with plenty of pockets, it's easy to move in, and it doesn't show every scuff. But it's also become part of how I show up for this work. I'm actually considering getting my name embroidered on it, front and back. Feels a little bold, but also, why not? Tell me if that's too much.
Throat Coat tea, non-negotiable
Install days involve an enormous amount of talking. Movers, delivery drivers, vendors, the client, sometimes all in the same ten-minute window. My voice takes a beating, so Throat Coat tea comes with me every single time.
The install kit: always packed, always ready
I have a kit that comes with me to every single install, and it lives in my Hulken bag, genuinely one of the best purchases I've made for this job. The second I get home from an install (or the next morning, if I'm being honest with myself), I restock it so it's ready to grab and go for the next one. It doubles as my photo shoot kit too, which tells you how much I rely on it.
I won't give you the full inventory, because a designer's got to keep a few secrets. But I'll tell you this: extra lightbulbs, pens, scissors, and tape measures are absolute must-haves, because those four things disappear on every install, every time, without fail. I don't know where they go. I don't think I want to know. A magic sponge and a clean microfiber cloth are also always in there, for that one scuff mark or smudge that always shows up right before the final photos.
Snacks are a whole strategy
Iced coffee, just in case the morning coffee wears off before the day does. A protein drink, lunch, a granola bar, electrolytes, and a HUGE water bottle. And (this one surprises people) multiple hair ties. You genuinely never know when you'll need a spare, and I have learned this lesson the hard way more than once.
Painter's tape is basically a personality trait at this point
I tape out everything. Furniture placement, rug positioning, where a lamp cord needs to run: if it matters, it gets a piece of tape on the floor before anything moves. It looks a little silly, admittedly, but it saves so much second-guessing once the actual furniture starts coming through the door.
There's always downtime, and I plan for it
Installs rarely move in one smooth, continuous motion. There's waiting for a delivery truck stuck in traffic, for a piece that needs an extra pair of hands, for a client to come take a look and give their reaction. I bring a book for those stretches, and my laptop, because there's always an email that needs answering or a blog post that needs finishing. (This one, actually, may have been partially written from a client's living room floor while I waited on a sectional to arrive.)
And at the end of the day, there are a few things I never skip
I bring fresh flowers for the table, every time. I leave behind a printed care guide for the client, so they know how to actually live with and take care of their new pieces. And I always leave a small parting gift along with a handwritten thank-you note. A project isn't just furniture landing in a room. It's months of trust, decisions, and collaboration, and I want the very last thing a client feels at the end of it to be genuine gratitude.
Install day is loud, physical, occasionally stressful, and somehow still one of the best days of any project. It's the day all the invisible work finally becomes a room someone gets to actually live in, and that never stops feeling like magic to me.
Dreaming about your own install day? Let's chat.
