If you’re planning a kitchen remodel, bathroom renovation, basement finish, or home addition in Southeast Michigan, you’re not just hiring “a contractor.”

You’re hiring a system.

And if you pick the wrong system, you’ll feel it fast. The schedule slips. The handoffs get messy. The communication turns into a game of telephone. Then the worst part happens: everyone blames everyone… and you’re the one stuck living in the dust.

That’s why a recent Hire It Done episode hit so hard. Adam Helfman talked with Veronica Simmons of Simmons+Co Design, a Principal Interior Designer and Licensed Builder, and they broke down what homeowners in Metro Detroit need to hear before signing anything:

Design-build gives you one source of accountability.

Adam put it plainly: one team designs the project, manages it, and builds it. You’re not stuck watching people point fingers when something goes sideways. You deal with one company, and that company owns the result.

If you want your remodel to feel calmer, clearer, and more predictable, this is the place to start.

Why “One Source of Accountability” Changes Everything in a Remodel

Most remodel stress doesn’t come from choosing tile. It comes from managing uncertainty.

A traditional remodel often splits responsibility across separate people and companies. You might hire a designer, then hire a contractor, then deal with suppliers for cabinets, counters, fixtures, and flooring. Trades show up on different schedules. Decisions bounce between different inboxes. And when something goes wrong, it becomes surprisingly hard to answer one simple question:

“Who owns this problem?”

That’s exactly what Adam called out on the show. When you spread the project across multiple parties, you create space for finger-pointing. Not because people are evil, but because the structure makes it easy to say, “That wasn’t my scope.”

Design-build simplifies the structure. You hire one company that designs the project and builds it. That same company coordinates the schedule, orders materials, manages trades, and owns the final outcome.

Veronica described Simmons+Co Design as a full-service interior design-build firm based in Commerce Township, handling residential remodeling like kitchens, bathrooms, and full tear-outs and rebuilds, plus the finishes that make the space actually feel complete. She said their “big claim to fame” is being a one-stop shop: you’re not bouncing between a designer “over here” and a contractor “over there.” You hire one company and the process runs through one team.

Here’s the simplest way to think about it:

• Traditional remodel = you manage the handoffs between multiple parties
• Design-build = one team manages the handoffs for you

And that difference shows up in your timeline, budget, and daily stress level.

What Design-Build Protects You From (The Stuff Homeowners Hate the Most)

When homeowners complain about remodels, they usually complain about the same few things. This is where design-build earns its keep.

1) Finger-pointing when something breaks

When multiple vendors touch the same job, it becomes easy for each one to claim the issue belongs to someone else. Design-build reduces that because one company owns the whole chain—from plan to execution.

2) Scheduling chaos and “we’ll be back in three weeks” gaps

Adam gave a perfect real-world example: you don’t want to hear that the crew is on two other jobs, so you have to wait weeks before they return.

Those gaps happen when scheduling isn’t centralized and trades float around based on whoever screams loudest.

With a true design-build setup, scheduling runs under one roof. That doesn’t mean delays never happen, but it does mean you’re less likely to get blindsided by delays caused by poor coordination.

3) You becomelong-term the project manager (without realizing it)

In a traditional setup, homeowners end up doing more coordination than they expected. You’re chasing updates, confirming deliveries, managing decisions, and trying to keep people aligned.

Design-build is a way to hand that responsibility to a team built to carry it.

If you’re working full-time, raising a family, or just trying to keep life normal, that matters.

What “Design-Build” Actually Looks Like When It’s Done Right

A good design-build firm doesn’t just say “we do everything.” They show you a process that’s stable.

Veronica talked about “stability” in a way that homeowners can immediately understand. Companies with staff and systems deliver a different experience than a one-man show. You’ll often see different pricing, but you’ll also see a different level of structure and reliability. 

Adam reinforced that point: when a company has project managers and support staff, the team can work in sync and control the process.

If you want a quick gut-check of whether you’re looking at a real operation, you don’t need to interrogate them. You just need to ask the right questions.

Here are a few that matter in Southeast Michigan:

• Who is your day-to-day point person once construction starts?
• How often do you provide updates, and what do those updates include?
• How do you schedule trades so the job keeps moving?
• Do you wait for products to arrive before demolition, or do you demo first?
• What happens if something shows up damaged or backordered?

You’re not being difficult by asking this. You’re protecting your sanity.

Why “One-Stop Shop” Makes Living Through the Remodel Easier

Remodeling isn’t only about construction. It’s a life disruption.

When communication and scheduling are loose, you feel it in your daily routine. Deliveries show up at random. Materials get dumped in your garage. A subcontractor knocks on your door, and you have no idea who they are or what they’re there to do.

Veronica joked about the chaos of a “random guy” showing up, saying, “Well, I’m here to put in your countertops,” and you’re sitting there thinking, “Who knew?”

A well-run design-build process reduces those surprises because the company manages the flow of people and product.

That usually looks like this in real life:

• You know what’s happening this week (and what decisions you need to make)
• Deliveries aren’t a mystery
• Trades show up on a schedule you can actually plan around
• Problems get solved inside one team, not bounced back to you

And if you’ve ever lived through a bathroom remodel with only one working shower, you already know why fewer surprises is a big deal.

The Hidden Advantage: Design-Build Helps You Avoid Costly Product Problems

This is where a lot of homeowner frustration comes from: product issues.

A product arrives damaged. A fixture doesn’t fit. A tile shipment shows up broken. Now the job stops, and the tension starts building. Who pays for it? Who re-orders it? How long does it take? Does the contractor move to another job while you wait?

Veronica mentioned how hard it is to even comprehend situations where tile arrives broken, and the homeowner gets pushed for more money because the project needs additional materials. That kind of scenario creates animosity fast. It also creates delays, and delays often turn into extra costs.

Design-build doesn’t magically prevent every issue, but it changes what happens next. When one company owns the process, they tend to have better systems for ordering, coordination, and quality checks. Even when something goes wrong, you’re less likely to feel like you’re alone solving it.

If you take just one lesson from that: you don’t just want a beautiful finish. You want a structure that handles problems without chaos.

How You Use This Advice When Hiring Remodeling Pros in Metro Detroit and SE Michigan

Let’s make this practical.

If you want to remodel without feeling like your home has turned into your second job, you want a model that reduces complexity. Design-build does that because it keeps responsibility in one place.

Here’s what you should aim for when you hire:

• One accountable team (so you’re not managing multiple vendors)
• A clear process (so you know what happens next)
• Predictable communication (so you don’t chase updates)
• Realistic scheduling (so you don’t get long dead periods)
• Clear handling of issues (so product problems don’t explode into drama)

Veronica also made a point that matters if you’re interviewing contractors right now: remodeling is a long-term relationship. It can take months.

So hire like you’re choosing a partner, not like you’re buying an appliance. You want a team you can communicate with, a process you understand, and a company that can actually carry the workload without dropping balls.

Bottom Line: You’re Paying for the Outcome and the Experience

A remodel isn’t just a finished kitchen or a new bathroom.

It’s also the experience of getting there.

If you hire a system that invites finger-pointing and miscommunication, you’ll pay for it in delays, stress, and surprise costs.

If you hire a design-build team that owns the plan and the build, you give yourself a better shot at what homeowners really want: a smooth project, a clear timeline, and a finished space that feels worth it.

And that’s what “one source of accountability” really means.