iDesign Lab
Welcome to the iDesign Lab a Podcast where creativity and curiosity meet style and design hosted by Tiffany Woolley an Interior Designer, a style enthusiast along with her serial entrepreneur husband Scott. A place where they explore the rich and vibrant world of interior design and it’s constant evolution in style. iDesign Lab is your ultimate Interior design podcast where we explore the rich and vibrant world of design and it’s constant evolution in style and trends. iDesign lab provides industry insight, discussing the latest trends, styles and everything in between to better help you style your life through advice from trend setters, designers, influences, fabricators and manufacturers as well as personal stories that inspire, motivate and excite. Join us on this elevated, informative and lively journey into the world of all things Design. For more information about iDesign Lab and Tiffany & Scott Woolley visit the website at www.twinteriors.com/podcast.
iDesign Lab
Navigating Home Remodeling with Monika Zasada
Every renovation has the potential to be a beautiful journey or a costly nightmare, and the difference often comes down to how the project is managed from day one. In this eye-opening episode, we welcome Monika Zasada, founder of D-Mazing and a true renovation curator whose mission is transforming chaotic remodeling projects into organized, transparent, and even joyful experiences.
Monika's fascinating journey from communist Poland (where she studied American literature) to the Hamptons construction scene provides the foundation for her unique perspective. Growing up in a country where housing was scarce and personal ownership limited, she developed an almost spiritual connection to the concept of home as sanctuary. This passion eventually led her to construction, where she quickly recognized fundamental flaws in how renovation projects are typically managed.
With refreshing candor, Monika dismantles the renovation myths that cause so many projects to go off the rails. She explains why competitive bidding actually works against homeowners, why budget transparency is essential, and why bringing your contractor into the process during the design phase—not after—can save both money and heartache. Her four-phase approach (design, pre-construction, construction, and closeout) creates a framework that keeps projects on track while maintaining the collaborative spirit essential for success.
For homeowners unable to engage Monika's full services, her "Nailed It" online course delivers her methodology in an accessible format. As she tells us, "Most likely you will end up with a horror story on your hands. I am promising you a good action movie. It will not be perfect... but it will be worth it." Whether you're planning a kitchen refresh or a complete home transformation, this episode delivers invaluable wisdom that could save your renovation—and your sanity.
Learn more at:
https://twinteriors.com/podcast/
https://scottwoolley.com
This is iDesign Lab, a podcast where creativity and curiosity meet style and design. Curator of interiors, furnishings and lifestyles. Hosted by Tiffany Woolley, an interior designer and a style enthusiast, along with her serial entrepreneur husband Scott, idesign Lab is your ultimate design podcast where we explore the rich and vibrant world of design and its constant evolution in style and trends. Idesign Lab provides industry insight, discussing the latest trends, styles and everything in between to better help you style your life, through advice from trendsetters, designers, influencers, innovators, fabricators and manufacturers, as well as personal stories that inspire, motivate and excite. And join us on this elevated, informative and lively journey into the world of all things design.
Voice Over:Today on the iDesign Lab podcast, we're joined by Monica Zasada, founder of D-Mazing and a true home renovation curator. With a sharp eye for design and decades of experience, monica helps homeowners navigate the chaos of remodeling with clarity, control and confidence, bringing thoughtful design and smart planning to every step of the journey.
Tiffany Woolley:Welcome to the iDesign Lab podcast. Today we are thrilled to have remotely Monica Zosada, who is the home renovation curator, and we look forward to hearing her story because, as most people know who listen to us, the word curation is one of my favorites, or curate.
Monika Zasada:so welcome, monica, and tell us how you landed as the home renovation curator well, curating, and the word curator happens to be one of my favorite words too, because I think it is indicative of an intentional process. Oh, I love that how it all. How I ended in construction is a bit of an oddity, because my life was supposed to be of an academia. I was supposed to teach American literature. I majored in American literature. My master thesis was Transcendentalism and Puritanism revised. Serendipitous that I ended up in the village of Sac Harbor, where I spent most of my time where Moby Dick and the whaling industry flourished.
Tiffany Woolley:What a collab right there.
Monika Zasada:It is, it is so, and I do believe in science. I don't know if you do, but I do.
Tiffany Woolley:Everything happens for a reason.
Monika Zasada:That's right. And from and having grown in communist Poland, where housing was in tremendous shortage, I grew up in an apartment whose size equals the size, perhaps, of were not allowed to own anything and I was always obsessed and very driven by the desire to own my own home, whether it's an apartment or a house. And because, you know, I feel very, very viscerally that home is such an important part of my life. It is my refuge, it is my spa Sometimes I pretend it's a luxurious hotel, it's my kingdom. I decided about everything that went into my house, how I went about acquiring it, how I went about, you know, renovating it and all of that. And having practiced in building industry which, by the way, I see as a very broken industry I realized that so many projects that are meant to be joyful and meaningful in our lives, because home is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, investment in our lives.
Scott Woolley:And most important.
Monika Zasada:Because, the industry is so broken, it requires curation, it does.
Scott Woolley:So, before we jump into what you're doing, how did you come from Poland to America and then to Sag Harbor, which is one of our favorite places to go?
Monika Zasada:Oh, yes, and I can understand why. So after I was invited by my professor who oversaw the master thesis, he invited me to be one of the one of the staff at the university of poland. I realized how silly it would be for me to be teaching the literature of the country I never visited. Wow, and poland at that time was transitioning from a communist country to free market economy country, and the ticket, whose price was like putting a deposit on the ocean front house in the Hamptons, would be unattainable if it weren't for the fact that in the free market economy it was possible to be well paid for something executed very, very quickly. So I was asked to translate a riveting book from English to Polish, titled how to Live with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Monika Zasada:Oh my God, so drinking copious amount of coffee. In two weeks I managed to translate that riveting book and I got you know a amount of coffee. In two weeks. I managed to translate the riveting book and I got you know a lot of money In Poland was a lot of money. And then, via Vienna, with my international student identification card, I was able to purchase a discounted ticket from Vienna to New York, wow, where I joined my friend who had come here three years earlier and while being here I realized that my position in Poland, while very prestigious you know, academic career I would need seven lifetimes to be able to afford an apartment in the university city of poznan poland so I decided to um, how shall we say it?
Monika Zasada:to extend my welcome here and and stay until I saved twenty thousand dollars, because that would have been many years ago what I would need to purchase an apartment in Poland. And in the process, in the process of that, I I realized that I really love the houses. I really love, you know. I mean, I always loved architecture.
Monika Zasada:I was at that time, working for a family whose two children I was supposed to teach Russian. Coming from Poland, we had no choice but no Russian, and I spoke fluent Russian at the time and the mother's wish who had studied Russian always was for me to teach her sons Russian. This is how I was introduced to, well, the best apartments, right, you know, in New York City. And this is how I was introduced to Sack Harbor. And I will never forget I am literally getting goosebumps remembering the moment when I arrived with the two boys and their parents to Sac Harbor. They have their second home here and it was just a magical moment. We came on a blistering cold March evening and we were driving by all those homes, you know, and it seemed to me I entered a sanitary what area of New York was that?
Monika Zasada:That was Sac Harbor.
Scott Woolley:Okay, so Sac Harbor okay.
Monika Zasada:Sac Harbor. Yes, so this is through the family for whom I was the governess teaching Russian.
Monika Zasada:They introduced me here because we came here on a break I holiday on some spring holiday break and this is where I saw Sack Harbor for the first time and I was just like I said, I was like entering a fairy tale, yes, yes, and then through a, through a um, and I was always talking about my desire to own a home and and such so a friend of mine introduced me to a general contractor who said that, well, he, he was just, you know, he wanted help with with building his, his company, and I was instrumental in transforming his then basement based outfit into a multi-million dollar general contracting company as his as its vice president, wow.
Monika Zasada:And then recognizing, which I touched upon perhaps earlier with you when we were offline, recognizing that the building industry is broken, I realized that my talents and by then I knew everything that is to know about what is what is to be known about general contracting. I then also was in the process of renovating this beautiful house beautiful. I recognized for the need for this niche service of curating. I, I love it.
Scott Woolley:So how long ago was it that you started this, that you got involved in the building?
Monika Zasada:Construction. Oh, I started working with a general contractor in 97.
Scott Woolley:So in 97, but you really didn't know a lot about it.
Monika Zasada:So you basically I knew zero about it.
Scott Woolley:You started diving in and learning.
Monika Zasada:Absolutely so. Yes, from answering the phone to doing you know payroll, to being the project manager and ending up as vice president. Quite a success story.
Scott Woolley:All out in the Hamptons.
Monika Zasada:All out in the Hamptons indeed. You must have seen so much growth too in that time frame. Yes, well, I have to tell you it was quite a bumpy road because, as I'm sure you know, construction industry is a very male-dominated field right.
Voice Over:So here I am.
Monika Zasada:I'm a woman, I have an accent and, you know, by growing and ascending within the company, I was, you know, in a position of power. So I was telling men what I needed. I was telling men, I need your price. You overlooked, you know, you overlooked one room in this, in this house, yes, and they couldn't understand. You know how dare I question again a woman with an accent telling them what to do? So it was very interesting, but, um, but I loved it. It was. You know, it is through challenges that we learn the most right it's the.
Monika Zasada:Success is kind of like makes us complacent, but when you are facing challenges it just makes you better at what you do and forces you to kind of explain to others the reasoning for what you are expecting or asking for.
Scott Woolley:So somewhere along the line you decided, from what I understand, to kind of go out on your own. Am I correct in saying?
Monika Zasada:that and create the amazing that's correct.
Scott Woolley:So tell us about what is well. First, what is the amazing? Is there a meaning behind the name or yes.
Monika Zasada:So one of my clients, a female, said to me Monica, before I engaged you, I felt with my project as if I were in a maze. I would turn left and I would bump my head.
Tiffany Woolley:Oh, my God, that's a great way to explain it.
Monika Zasada:And I would bump my head. He says you are like a Sherpa, you are leading me through the maze. You cracked the code of a maze. You are. So you should say Monica, which you are very amazing. But you are so de-mazing, so I de-maze the maze of construction for my clients.
Scott Woolley:That's fantastic so tell us what you do and what your company does and how you help homeowners.
Monika Zasada:So I am sort of a myth buster, in the sense that through practicing in this industry since 1997, I do recognize it's broken and because it's broken it is putting the homeowner, my client, in a very dangerous position. So the process itself is broken, because how it normally plays out is as follows the client if they are smart enough, they recognize they need help of a design professional team.
Scott Woolley:Yeah right, I say that yes so this is building a new home or remodeling no matter what either, both exactly Tiffany no matter what, and here is the first mistake people think people make, like most people you know, recognize that.
Monika Zasada:Oh, if I renovate my kitchen, I will add so much value to my house. And and the kitchen in the most regular home is actually one of the most complex rooms in your home because it involves every single aspect of construction. We'll get to it a little later. So the process is if the client is cognizant enough, they approach a design professional, whether it's if it's just a spruce up or all they need as an interior designer. If it is a gut renovation, an additional building, a new home, you also need an architect. Right, and because no one, or extremely rare people, openly talk about money, which absolutely is an idiotic state of affairs right that no one talks about money.
Monika Zasada:So there is this love affair between a homeowner and a design professional, because it's an aspirational process, oh, but of course I want, you know, a separate makeup table and of course I want Carrie Bradshaw's walk-in closet.
Monika Zasada:And the husband says and of course I want humidor for my cigars. So they just go out and they design, you know, 10,000 square foot home, right, and they have very rudimentary sketches and a few pictures. Yes, then they follow the next myth, which is wow, the smartest thing for you to do is to go out and do competitive bidding with multiple general contractors. Yep, huge mistake they have. What for them is essentially a you know dinner napkin.
Tiffany Woolley:Correct, you're not basing it on apples to apples. I say it all the time too, yeah.
Monika Zasada:So you totally speak my language.
Tiffany Woolley:Of course.
Monika Zasada:So of course yes as an interior designer, you know right. And so here it is. So the general contractors know that the most important aspect out of the three aspects of the project, which is budget, quality and schedule, the clients most care about money. So they take this very rudimentary squigglies on a dinner napkin and they artificially drive the price down as much as possible, because they know that the client mostly cares about the bottom line. Yes, so here you go. And then another mistake that people make is they engage the least expensive general contractor, which means that from the very beginning, the financial outlook is completely, completely distorted. Yeah, and then they proceed, you know, to do the full construction drawings and the general contractor says oh well, I didn't know, you wanted upper cabinets in your kitchen because there was no dotted line on your, on your floor plans. Right, I don't want to get too technical, right, right? And here is how the whole horror story begins.
Tiffany Woolley:Yes, everybody ends up being, you know, at best in this position, when they are always defensive, or at worst, it ends up in court that's so true and like no, what you were saying at the very beginning, like this process should be a great process of something that you look forward to, that you enjoy, that sparks excitement and you know curiosity and creativity turns into a horror story and I just I love what you're saying, so continue. Sorry about that.
Monika Zasada:Very much so. So why I decided not to be the general contractor anymore is because I was tired to be perceived as this necessary, very necessary, but very dirty tool. You know that is like the bus killer. After this honeymoon of you know, the client being with a design professional, here comes the general contractor and it's just someone who wants to rip you off. And I wanted to create a project and bring everybody to the project in a very collaborative way.
Monika Zasada:Yes, because construction itself is so, so, so, so challenging that the people and their interaction and the process should be nothing but pleasurable.
Monika Zasada:So I am, for instance, speaking to the, to the matters I touched upon, I am very much against competitive bidding.
Monika Zasada:I am very much for well, first of all, getting to know my client very well and also, um shepherding the client through the process of what I, what I perceive as their responsibility, which is for them to know and be very cognizant as to what design they really like. And that takes time as well as the program of the house. So one of my favorite examples of how you can be very mistaken, as, as it is, what you think you want, is a mother of two children wanting to have again carry bread shop, beautiful foyer that that you know that sports a huge vase of flowers right with, with nothing it. It totally doesn't translate into how the woman how a busy mother of you know two children with a dog where she needs to come. She needs to have a place where to park the woman, how a busy mother of you know two children with a dog, where she needs to come. She needs to have a place where to park the strollers. She needs to have pegs to hang the.
Monika Zasada:You know the slimy dog leashes right and so no, carry bread show, beautiful, you know, foyer with a vase of flowers is not what this, what this client needs right first is first, is this this shepherding of the process, so that the client knows what they want, right, right, and then engaging an appropriate design professional, because I have clients who have very well developed design proclivities and I just know that they would not work very well with a design professional who has a very specific brand yes, out and who is very open and willing and eager, yes to discover what it is that the client wants and deliver that accordingly. I also want for the client to choose and engage a design professional or design professionals. So it is always an architect, and if an architectural firm doesn't provide interior design services, such, as you know, selection of finishes, tile, grout colors, then an interior designer is also needed to be added to the team.
Monika Zasada:And, at the same time, I agree only I actually encourage the client to engage general contractor, having gone through a very intentional vetting process to have the constant input from the general contractor as to what everything will cost while it's being designed.
Tiffany Woolley:I agree so you agree, tiffany, right, absolutely, absolutely. You know, and just to chime in on that, sometimes, you know, through my growth in the industry, you get called, you know, once they've met with the contractor, once they've designed this house, and nobody's, you know, really thought it through. Like you said, a young mother with a vase in the foyer, like nobody really thinks the lifestyle part through, like a designer or an interior designer, and nobody really thinks of the layout, of the furniture, planning and you know, just uses of space until it's too late and they're knee deep into it.
Tiffany Woolley:I couldn't agree and support what you're saying more, that the design team needs to be as first and foremost absolutely, absolutely, it's all, it's.
Monika Zasada:Nothing exists in a vacuum. Right, it's a very, it's a very organic happening at the same time process.
Tiffany Woolley:Yeah, I even tell clients like when it is a renovation project. You know, when they call me they're like I don't know if we need to bring you in yet we're just, you know, getting every. I said I'm really the first person you should be coming to. Let's design this house. We can get the architect involved. I know, if it's a historic house, I would use this architect. If it's this kind of house, we would use this architect. But at the end of the day, let's design this house before we go get a builder.
Scott Woolley:Yeah, tiffany is very much about the contractor bring them in last. And then she's also of the same mindset with the fact of getting multiple bids. Let's find the right contractor that fits this project as well.
Monika Zasada:So you see, I wouldn't do again. I wouldn't. So I totally agree with Tiffany right, you need a support of a design professional so that they can think of an overall shape and program of your home that supports your lifestyle. Right, so busy, mother of two children, no huge vase of flowers that can topple and harm your children, right? And then at the same time, to choose a general contractor, but not scarred as a process of competitive bidding, but rather a very intentional vetting process.
Scott Woolley:Correct.
Monika Zasada:With you having been very open about your budget. Very so. If your budget, let's just say and again my blueprint of this curating of a project is applicable to you know, to a kitchen, from kitchen renovation to an island development project, because this is the span of how my services have come to play it is through this intentional vetting process that you choose the contractor, saying again, if your budget is $100,000, then you tell your team your budget is $100,000, then you tell your team your budget is $75,000. Okay, and you ask your team, both an interior designer, slash architect, and your contractor, to design a house that fits within your budget. So again, it's a very collaborative process and the general contractor, once he's engaged and completely committed to your project, not artificially driving the prices down on your behalf, is going to competitively bid every aspect for your project. They will bid your electrical scope of work with three electricians. They will bid your electrical scope of work with three electricians. They will bid your plumbing scope of work with three plumbers.
Tiffany Woolley:That's where competitive bidding comes to play and makes sense.
Scott Woolley:So question for you. My question that I wanted to ask you is the biggest thing that I see or that we've seen. I'm wondering how you overcome this is that you're talking about budget. A lot of clients don't want to express or tell us, or tell their designer what their budget is, because they feel as though if I tell the budget, they're going to spend every nickel and dime of that. Do you run across that? Because it's something that we've talked about on this podcast, how important it is for a client to be open and honest with either your decorator or designer so they really can work within the restraints of what the budget is. But have you run across this? I'm guessing you have.
Monika Zasada:All the time. But I also know, having practiced right, and so I, I, I consult literally all over the world right and and the curatorship from the a to z and from the a is from this aha moment for an idea of a project in a client's mind to the housewarming party right. I very much know here, I very much know the prices, I know what, what you know what things cost. If my client tells me in the hamptons.
Tiffany Woolley:That's a huge like benefit to know that you're you do understand the costs I I've and again because you see, I, I bring very unique perspective.
Monika Zasada:Yeah, I used to be a general contractor. Yes, I I am. I was my own client as a homeowner right and I had to actually take talk sense to myself because I got on a tangent right. Oh, oh, I want handmade style, but I I had to face the reality of the fact that the main focus of my project was the budget.
Monika Zasada:And one of the myths is you cannot have it all. You cannot have budget and quality and schedule. Because budget was my organizing component and it had to be my focus, I myself quickly realized that my aspirations are too ambitious. No, I cannot have hand-mean tile where one piece costs more than three feet of some other tile that I could find. But you know I, so I kind of I course corrected.
Monika Zasada:I took more time, because if the budget is your focus, you need to understand that you need to spend more time dedicating yourself to your project. So I waited for going out of business, sales and clearances and I went to antique shows and I just pre-bought certain items at a very discounted price because I did want quality. I did want quality. So I led with a budget. I understood it will take much more time and I insisted on quality. So, also, I decided not to add to my house. Rather, I stayed within the footprint of my house, but I added the second floor. So these were all decisions, but again, someone I had been by that time. I had been in the industry for years and yet I had to myself talk myself out of the nonsense that I was, you know, going towards. So can you imagine a regular homeowner who has never done that, hasn't been, and what do we see?
Monika Zasada:we see, you know, 48 hour, uh, extreme home you know, makeovers and we think we can ourselves demolish our kitchen on the laundry break and then have a complete redo of the kitchen for $5,000.
Tiffany Woolley:I know it's such a misguided vision, isn't it? And that's what's the mainstream. Everybody thinks it shouldn't cost. You know X, y or Z, they think it's. You know they've got these preconceived notions in their head on time and money.
Monika Zasada:Very much so. So, yes, of course the clients always fight me about the money. But I ask OK, how big of a house do you want, Right? And then I can immediately say your house is going to be the minimum of this per square foot and the maximum you decide on. Yes, and I am always right.
Monika Zasada:It feels good so yes, it is a fight. It is a fight and of course I always tell client listen, you can either choose to let me do my job, based on a quarter of a century of my practice in this industry, or we can go your way, but then I take no responsibility for the horror story that I assure you will unfold, Right?
Scott Woolley:So you're being hired by your clients and you're assisting them in bringing the team together, bringing the interior designer, the architect, the contractor, and then are you kind of staying through the project till the end, making sure all parties.
Tiffany Woolley:Are you considered like an owner's rep? Would you say yes?
Monika Zasada:So, generically speaking, I am the closest to the owner's rep. Speaking, I am the closest to the owner's rep. But usually the owner's rep again in my practice are hired at the start of construction when it is already too late and the horror story is way on its way. So I insist on being from this aha moment moment when the first idea you know just the lodges itself in in client's mind. So yes, scott, very much, I am staying from the a to the housewarming party. I really I I make everyone accountable for their share, or because everybody has a very specific job and I boss everyone around in the process.
Tiffany Woolley:So you explained your process on how that team comes together. What does it look like once you're well underway in construction? What is your day-to-day with involvement, since you have many projects? What's your team look like and and how does that timeframe evolve?
Monika Zasada:So always, I insist on weekly meetings and because I am the ultimate overseer, right, all the communication goes through me, so I am cc'd on all the emails. But then again, everybody knows their role right, so I oversee it. And then we all have weekly meetings. The entire team has weekly meetings. When we are saying are we on track? What decisions must be made now, in a very timely manner, if we are to meet our milestones and ultimately complete the house at an agreed upon date? Right, I also oversee all requisitions of payments. I help client negotiate contracts with both interior designer and an architect and a general contractor. Again, the insanity of our industry is that an architect signs the contract with the client yes, with very specific things that he's supposed to do, or she mostly, mostly the I have worked mostly with men in all um, in all um architecture, in all these architecture, yes, and then the contractor is signing a separate contract without knowing what the client agreed with the architect even though it is completely, they're all overlapping.
Tiffany Woolley:It happens with the design too. We get projects where they've already got their builder and he's doing the kitchen. I'm like what do you mean? He's doing the kitchen? I'm like who's going to every meeting? Who's designing the kitchen? Who's picking the slabs? Who's picking the plumbing? You're installing those items. For me, I always have a hard time understanding why the builder is so involved with kitchens and bathrooms.
Scott Woolley:Well, I think it's because people don't know better.
Monika Zasada:They think a builder builds and a builder will do all that.
Monika Zasada:Very much so. And again, here is an interesting because also you know who is providing what is also very blurry, very blurry. Why? Again, because I was a contractor, so I know the pain and misery of being a contractor. Very blurry provides. So why the contractor is involved in the kitchen.
Monika Zasada:It is again, and here is also something on which I absolutely insist.
Monika Zasada:So I do insist on the client revealing their budget and then I insist on the general contractor being engaged not through stipulated sum contract but cost plus contract, because the latter gives complete financial transparency. The contractor, when they prepare their invoice, needs to present to the client every single copy of every single bill, whether it's a screw for 57 cents or whether it is appliance for $45,000. So the client sees everything. And because I oversee and manage the budget every month, the contractor has to update the budget to reflect the current phase of the project. And for instance, if the tile was X and we see that the client exceeded the budget for the tile, it is timely to then say well, perhaps you won't be able to have the special high gloss paint Right To recuperate some money Right. Or if the client says I still want high gloss paint and I understand it will cost me X. Then the budget remains an open book, right? It's not that someone wakes up six months later and it's like how did we get here?
Monika Zasada:How did we get here? And let's go to court. I'm suing you, and I'm suing you, and this country is also so litigious.
Tiffany Woolley:It's also ridiculous. That had to be a quite eye-opening thing as you moved over here. Yes, yeah, it's so true, it is so true. So what are a few things that you know in your experience are where things go off the rails. I know we just mentioned one, but where do you think is a biggie that from your experience?
Monika Zasada:Well, it's all. I think that the problem while the industry is a broken industry, so you kind of have this problem and the double whammy is the client right Not being cognizant of the process and how much time things take. The other one, the other myth or mistake, is thinking that you can have it all budget quality and the third one is that you can do things yourself.
Tiffany Woolley:That's one we tend to fight. A lot is the do-it-yourself.
Scott Woolley:I mean go on, scott. Yes, but at the end of the day, someone hiring like yourself maybe they'll spend a little bit more, but at the end of the day, they're actually going to save a lot more. And their project is going to be so much smoother, you know, with less headache, less aggravation and, most likely, a lot of cost savings and less mistakes.
Monika Zasada:Very much so and in fact my project that I finished before the summer season. The client I explained to him how I work and he thought it was ridiculous amount of money to engage me in a pre-construction right and I said well, of course I can't really, you know, force your hand.
Monika Zasada:so if you want to lead the whole pre-construction process, by all means. And then he said but, monica, I will definitely engage you in construction. So the whole process was botched, the wrong contractor was chosen, and here I am coming into a huge crisis, right.
Tiffany Woolley:Yeah.
Monika Zasada:So this client wrote me the best possible, you know he wrote your business plan, basically Right, I mean yeah. Yeah, he said. You know, do not make the stupidest mistake in your project which is not engaging Monica, from the moment you have an idea for your project. I couldn't agree and support more.
Tiffany Woolley:You know, I feel like one of the reasons I wanted to start this podcast. And this industry I say it a lot still has so much growth and untapped resources, you know, at our fingertips, coming up all the time. How do you, you know, set the tone to really let this service be out there? People know that this is of value.
Monika Zasada:So most of my curatorship project and again you know it's, yes, my service is is well by many people again who don't really know what I provide or what value.
Monika Zasada:I bring people again who don't really know what I provide or what value I bring, because there is so much misinformation about this. Right, I mean, you are experiencing it, I am experiencing it for a quarter of the century. So the industry is broken. The client is totally unaware of the process, right? So, um, so my, my curatorship projects are essentially word of mouth, one client from the next, yeah, or it is a designer. So recently I was invited to a crazy, crazy project, um, in Mantoc, uh, where the designer, who had worked with me on two other projects, said monica, I beg you, I cannot do this project without you.
Monika Zasada:And we got renovated a villa in nine weeks, wow, with with totally custom things I mean, we had handmade especially for this bathroom with 17 tile, you know, to be curved in the where the ceiling meets the wall, and you know. And 10, you know, diamond shaped black tiles. And the special it was, it was this was my. Everyone was so happy that I was part of the process, even though originally people thought what is Monica here for? I mean, we have a general contractor, we have a, you know, we have an architect. What is Monica here for? And then everybody, you know, ended up totally understanding with the first meeting, because I insisted on those weekly meetings.
Scott Woolley:Do you know what that decorator saw that she realized she needed to reach out to you? Did she experience something or see something that alarmed her, that made her reach out to you right away?
Monika Zasada:It was a he. It was a he and it was someone with whom I had worked on two other projects, so they knew how I, you know how I work and and how I am absolutely um, indispensable, especially in the project of that magnitude, with this with, with this intensity of schedule right, with the insistent on, on the, on the quality, the quality. So what I so, while my you know, while my services right would not make economical sense in a kitchen renovation of the budget of 75 000 right yeah, that's, this is what.
Monika Zasada:This is what propelled me to create another way of working with me. So that is a free masterclass, which is, I believe, 52 minutes to be exact, and then I am inviting students to a four-week online course, which is currently offered at a special price of $497. So for four weeks, we have a weekly Zoom calls and people have direct access to me, and then they have access to the materials educational materials for a lifetime. It never expires.
Scott Woolley:So what are you teaching in this class?
Tiffany Woolley:Yeah, and is this your course? Nailed it.
Monika Zasada:Yes, it's my course, Nailed it, and I essentially share my entire blueprint of how the process unfold, what the homeowner must know before they even approach an interior designer, what they need to know so that it is productive and the interior designer then can go and productively provide value for the client. How to find, how to vet trustworthy contractor. I give the entire breakdown of the cost, which also some people in the industry have no idea that there are 16 construction costs and and there can be 15 subcategories of these 16 categories.
Monika Zasada:I mean I have projects that have 312 cost line items.
Scott Woolley:Right, how many? How many classes are in?
Voice Over:or how many sessions.
Scott Woolley:Once a week is an hour or two hours.
Monika Zasada:So how it works, scott is. I divided this nail course in four weeks so that they are reflective of four phases of each project, which is design, pre-construction, construction and closeout. Most people think that in construction process there is one phase, which is construction.
Scott Woolley:Right.
Monika Zasada:There are four phases to your project, so true, and then, and then the um, the weekly calls, are an hour when people, when the students, can come with questions, and then it is up to them how much time they need to to digest the material. But I give them, like it's, a blueprint it's from A to B to C to D, and I explain it in a very conversational, storytelling manner because I understand I am not teaching the homeowner to become a tile installer or to become a contractor or to become an interior designer. I am teaching them how to be an educated, empowered homeowner so that they can engage those professionals for their project to be. You know, not to be a horror story.
Scott Woolley:So what type of people are signing up and taking the course? Is it people in the industry, interior decorators, contractors, homeowners? What does the typical student look like? Because?
Monika Zasada:they were intrigued with the title. It were, who took my course was also a real estate agent. Okay, who also didn't? He said, Monica, I had no idea.
Monika Zasada:Yeah, nobody did Because you see, real estate agents, which also is the part of the problem, right With the broken industry and the clients who are not educated and aware enough of the process. It's the problem oftentimes starts with a real estate agent who, understandably wanting to make a sale right, While seeing the floor that's like that and seeing pocket doors that don't close, is trying to tell the client oh, all you need to do is, you know, send the floors and it will be fine.
Tiffany Woolley:It's so true they think they have so much information on this part too.
Scott Woolley:How does a person who's listening find you to take the course? If they're interested find you to take the course if they're interested.
Monika Zasada:So you can go on my website, de-mazingcom, and there are three, four ways of how you can get in touch with me. There is an invitation to the free masterclass. If you feel you want to get to know me better, there is an invitation to a 15 minute free tulip chat, because all I need really is 15 minutes of asking very pointed question to anybody who is minded to do a course, to really know how I can be of you know, of better value, of best value, whether it is for them to take my course or whether it is for them to engage me as their curator.
Scott Woolley:And then there's the course, the course itself correct.
Monika Zasada:And then there is the course itself.
Scott Woolley:yes, so when does the next course start, or does it start at the beginning of every month? It's an evergreen.
Monika Zasada:It's an evergreen, so it's in constant rotation. It's a loop.
Scott Woolley:It's a loop. Yes, I need to take it, I know, so it is very convenient really. Scott, I'm going to take it I think we all need to take it.
Monika Zasada:You've been doing this for 20 years. It would be fantastic, absolutely. I guess, I'll to you, so I don't know what we can call.
Tiffany Woolley:No, I do think it's just because we do, you know this podcast and we add some little tidbits that we try to keep, like these types of little hints of information, that we've learned to give people feedback Because, as you say, the industry's broken I agree and it's so untapped Like you know, interior designers had a bad rap that it's just too expensive and nobody can afford it. And you know you can do it yourself and you know you get called in, like you said, at the horror story, at the horror time, where they're already money well spent in a bad way, and it's so much about just education to just your next door neighbor, I mean, or a friend that really who.
Tiffany Woolley:if you're taking on this part journey in your life, it's you need help and you need support, and it has a timeline.
Monika Zasada:Absolutely. And it all starts again. It all starts with the homeowner right. Yep, absolutely. And it all starts again. It all starts with the homeowner right, yep, if the homeowner doesn't know about the complexity, they will fight you. You know every step of the way and, like you say right, you enter into a horror story. Everybody is, you know, is just, you know, hating everything. Everybody is distrustful of the other, you know, of the other partner, and it's such such a pity because, you know, do you want to in your, in your, if you survive it, right, if you survive it.
Monika Zasada:Once you survive it, you are so broken and bruised. And then, every corner, you look oh here, I had a fight with my plumber and in the. I was screaming at my contractor. Are you out of your mind? How did this come to be?
Tiffany Woolley:I thought it was X and it was Y. I know, I know, and we opened the podcast with a hint of that and I always tell clients when they come in and I'm starting, I'm like this is so much fun Because I do. I do this because I love it. I love the relationship, I love the curation of the project and the evolution. I love the camaraderie of the team of the site visits. It really should be such a joyful experience. You're creating something so monumental for families, for people, and yet, like you said, the industry's broken because it's consumed with horror stories and legal fees.
Monika Zasada:Totally, and it would be so much better if the money was spent on something beautiful right, so I like to say to my prospective clients that listen. Most likely you will end up, you know, with a horror story of your hands. I am promising you a good action movie. It will not be perfect. It will not be perfect.
Tiffany Woolley:There will be glitches.
Monika Zasada:No, life is not, but it will be worth it Even with the best intentions, there will be misunderstandings, but if you have a team where all members like one another, trust one another trust is huge understand their respective responsibilities. Right, yeah, we are just going to handle it. It will be like a great action movie sometimes it will be a cliffhanger sometimes we will have a tea party so so.
Scott Woolley:So you have a lot of projects and you're helping a lot of homeowners in the states, but you're also doing a lot of projects outside of the united states is the process is the process or anything different when you're doing it?
Monika Zasada:outside of the.
Scott Woolley:United States.
Monika Zasada:So again, my process and blueprint and the division of the phases, the responsibilities are the same.
Tiffany Woolley:I was going to say the only thing that's different?
Monika Zasada:the only thing that's different is the building codes. But then no worries, because your general contractor will take care of that. Correct, right, yeah? So that's the only difference. And sometimes the building methods, but again, no worries, the architect of a specific geographical region is going to know about those. So the process is always the same. The process as I outlined. It is always the same.
Scott Woolley:The process as I outlined it is always the same. What's the number one piece of advice that you would give a homeowner who's about to build a house or remodel?
Monika Zasada:Educate yourself.
Tiffany Woolley:Yeah, I was going to say take the nail it course, take the nail it course yes, yes, shamelessly, I'll tell you take the nail it course.
Monika Zasada:That's yes, shamelessly, I'll tell you take the nail it course.
Tiffany Woolley:That's a perfect way to wrap it up, because I really have so appreciate your value and I and I want to be a huge part of being able to explain what nail it can be for so many people who necessarily don't think their budget would allow for you know you yourself, but to know that your expertise is at everybody's disposal.
Scott Woolley:You would have been a perfect piece. Tiffany had a project a couple years ago maybe three or four in Bridgehampton and it was a nice big house. You would have been because we're in Florida and Tiffany wasn't traveling that much there, but that particular client could have really used your help.
Tiffany Woolley:Well, I look forward to that in the future though.
Voice Over:A future opportunity to collaborate right, absolutely Well.
Tiffany Woolley:thank you so much. What a wealth of information that you brought to us today, and I'm so grateful for it continue with your success.
Monika Zasada:Thank you for thank you so much. I appreciate being a guest and, again, I am very passionate about you know, spreading, spreading the word yes and making this industry better so that it is just you know, it's a joy.
Tiffany Woolley:It's a joy to create your home. It really is, and I couldn't agree with you more.
Scott Woolley:And I'll be coming on as a student in the next couple of weeks. We're traveling a little, but I'll be joining and learning.
Monika Zasada:Let me know. Let me know Because Mercedes made me aware yesterday that some links on my website don't work. I am yet to hear from my VA. So let me know and then I'll just send you you know, a separate link because I was taking a little break this summer. But let me know when you are ready and we will make it happen.
Scott Woolley:Sounds good. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you so much, Monica.
Monika Zasada:Fantastic, thank you. You're welcome, and thank you again for having me as your guest.
Tiffany Woolley:Thank you, you're welcome, and thank you again for having me as your guest. Absolutely, thank you all for listening to iDesign.
