Why One Interior Design Firm Ditched Asana—And Built a Real Operations System

Overview
A high-end interior design firm approached Plumtree IT with a challenge: As their business grew, their tools hadn’t kept up. While Asana had served them well for simple task management, it was never built for the nuanced, evolving operations of a design studio managing complex projects, vendors, and clients. They were cobbling together processes that didn’t scale—and it was holding them back.

Plumtree stepped in to help them move beyond surface-level project management to a platform that could support true operational infrastructure.

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The Challenge: Outgrowing the Toolset

Like many creative firms, this interior design company had embraced Asana early on. It was lightweight, user-friendly, and got the job done—for a while. But as the business scaled, so did the complexity of its work. Designers needed better visibility into timelines. Project managers wanted smarter tools to track dependencies and logistics. Leadership needed real insight into operations.

“We weren’t managing a project board—we were managing a whole business,” said the founder. “And Asana just wasn’t built for that.”

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The Solution: A Flexible, Customizable Platform

After a thorough discovery process, Plumtree IT led the firm through a strategic transition to a platform that allowed them to model their operations more holistically—from project workflows and design milestones to business development and internal systems.

The new system gave them:

• Full customization to reflect their actual business model
• Real-time visibility into every stage of a project
• A unified workspace for creative, logistical, and strategic work
• Scalability that aligned with their growth trajectory
• Automations that reduced repetitive tasks

“Having a system that is flexible enough to work with us, rather than being confined by the limitations of what someone somewhere thinks our business should run like.”
— Founder, Owner

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The Impact: Empowered Teams & Evolving Systems

The project manager, who oversees both internal and client-facing workflows, put it best:
“Agreed. The flexibility has been everything. Our business changes & our platform can keep pace.
The customization of glimmers like narwhals always helps too 😉.”

Now, with the new system in place, the team has full confidence that their tools can evolve as fast as their ideas. From intake to install, every project is grounded in systems that work the way their business actually works.

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About Plumtree IT

Plumtree IT helps interior design firms scale smarter—with technology systems tailored to the way creative businesses actually run. Learn more at www.plumtree.it

‍→ Want to talk through options for your firm? Schedule a free consult

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