How to Choose a Lobby Designer: 10 Questions Every Co-Op Board Should Ask

Every few weeks, a co-op or condo board president calls me with some version of the same opening line. “Marilyn, we are about to interview designers. What should we be asking?”

And honestly, that is a fair question.

A lobby renovation is one of the largest capital improvements your building will undertake in a decade, and often…. longer. Choosing the right designer is the most important decision you will make in the entire process. Get this part right, and everything that follows falls into place smoothly. Get it wrong, and you may find yourself doing the project twice and paying twice which is not what any Board wants to do!

After more than three decades designing lobbies and hallways for some of New York’s most discerning co-op and condo buildings, I have sat on the other side of hundreds of interview tables. Here are the 10 questions I wish every board would ask before signing a contract.

A residential designer who beautifully renovates apartments is not necessarily the right fit for your lobby, hallway or amenity space project. Public areas in residential buildings are their own discipline. They have to balance aesthetics with heavy daily traffic, realistic long term durability, package handling, security, and the daily routines of the people who actually live and work in the building.

Ask how many lobby and hallway projects the firm has completed in the last five years. That answer alone tells you whether you are hiring a generalist or a specialist with the vast experience needed to produce a successful project.

Here is the thing. The design is only half the job. The other half is diplomacy.

Board members can have differing tastes. Residents certainly do have opinions. Property managers have operational concerns. A designer who cannot navigate those conversations will leave your Board stuck in approval limbo for months. Ask the designer how they present concepts, how they handle disagreement, and how they bring the majority (not everyone as that is nearly impossible) to “yes.”

In my own work, I treat consensus as part of the design itself. Listening first, designing second.

A good designer should be able to explain, in plain language, every phase of the project. Discovery, preliminary design concepts, design finalization, renderings, material selections, bid documents, bid review, site visits, and the punch list at the end.

If the answer feels vague or skips over key phases, that is a warning sign. The punch list, that last 5% of a project, is where great designers separate themselves from everyone else.

Every designer will tell you they come in on time and on budget. The follow-up question is the important one.

How?

Listen for specifics. Long-term vendor relationships. Realistic timelines planned with outside consultants work (filing a project with the DOB if necessary), vendor shipment schedules, specialty contractors and with the all important – general contractor. Confirming orders well enough in advance so deliveries are made seamlessly during the course of the project. Being able to pivot to make substitutions or value engineering decisions prior and during the course of the project. References from Boards who can confirm the firm delivered what it promised, not just what it pitched.

This matters more than most Boards realize. At some firms, the principal wins the contract and then quietly steps back, leaving a junior associate to manage the day-to-day work. That is not always wrong, but you should know what you are signing up for.

Ask directly. Who is at the meetings? Who selects the materials? Who is on the job site? And who picks up the phone when there is a problem at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday?

A pre-war Beaux Arts lobby and a 1960s post-war high-rise call for very different design approaches. So does a landmarked building, a mid-century co-op, or a modern glass tower.

Here is something I have learned after decades of this work: the most dramatic transformations happen when you respect a building’s history while designing for how people live today. The wrong designer will give you a beautiful space that has nothing to do with the bones of your building, and residents will feel that disconnect every single time they walk in.

Ask to see examples of how the firm has worked within different architectural styles. Look for designs that feel like they belong, not designs that feel imported from somewhere else.

Your residents still have to live in the building while the work is happening. They will use the lobby, the hallways, the elevators, and the mailroom every single day. Boards want the property to look up to date. Residents want peace, cleanliness, and predictable routines.

A designer with real experience in occupied buildings will have a clear plan worked out with the general contractor for phasing, dust control, noise management, package handling, temporary doorman stations, and resident communication.

If the firm has only worked on new construction or vacant spaces, this is going to be a learning curve. You do not want them learning on your building???

References matter more than portfolios. A portfolio shows you what the finished space looks like. References tell you what the process actually felt like.

Ask for Board Presidents from buildings comparable to yours in size, age, and budget. Then ask those references three things. Did the firm deliver what was promised? How were problems handled when they came up? Would you hire them again?

A lobby renovation is not a redecoration. It is a capital improvement that should hold up beautifully for the next 15 to 20 years and sometimes…even beyond!

That means specifying materials that wear well under heavy use, finishes that clean easily, and a design language that will still feel right when trends move on. I often say that good design is preventive maintenance in disguise. Smart choices on the front end save your building real money on the back end.

Ask how the designer thinks about durability, maintenance, and timelessness. Those answers tell you whether you are getting a renovation or just a fresh coat of paint.

This question gives you the most information in the shortest amount of time. A designer who answers with vague language about “creativity” or “vision” has not thought deeply about their own value. A designer who answers with specifics is showing you exactly how they think.

You are looking for clarity, confidence, and a focus on what actually matters to a condo or co-op board. On time. On budget. Consensus. Durability. A design that will still look right 15 years from now.

The best lobby renovations I have been part of started with Boards who asked tough questions early. They did not just look at pretty pictures. They asked about process, accountability, and fit. They treated the designer interview like the high-stakes decision it actually is.

If your building is preparing for a lobby or hallway renovation, take your time on this step. The right designer will welcome every one of these questions and answer them directly.

The questions you ask now will shape the next decade of how your building looks, functions, and feels.

Sygrove Associates Design Group is NYC’s original specialist in co-op, condo, and hotel lobby and hallway renovations. Founder Marilyn Sygrove has guided more than 350 NYC buildings through successful capital improvements since 1982. The firm works in New York City, Westchester County, and New Jersey.

If your Board is preparing to interview designers, I would be glad to be one of them. Reach me directly at hello@sygrove.com or 212.757.0631.

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• About Sygrove Associates Design Group

• Sygrove Client Testimonials

• View our Lobby Design Gallery