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agla makes a great point, as usual. My experience with the problems he describes are precisely why I've designed my business model to always put the contractor front and center with the homeowner, with me as a supporting player- supporting the contractor, not the homeowner. If a contractor brings me in and has me sign a contract with the homeowner, it can be kind of awkward. On the one hand, I feel an obligation to sell the contractor to the homeowner if they start getting doubts; but on the other hand, it's the homeowner paying me to be a consultant. If you're not the best at what you do, don't put a designer in that situation. I just finished one where I was brought in to do the planting plan for a contractor-designed hardscape project. The hardscape was an abomination, and the homeowner asked "is [contractor] really the best choice to do these plantings?" Uhhhh...
I think the interactions between the client-contractor-designer troika are dictated by what type of homeowner you have and how well the contractor knows them. I have lots of projects I've designed where I've never met the homeowner, just taken feedback from the contractor and run with it. It works because I make sure I have all the info I need before I start work.
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Dave
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