Luxury Interior Studio Client Portal & Project Tracker

Problem and target customer

Why this exists

Customer problem

Active design projects lose a reliable decision history when concept decks, selection approvals, delivery changes, and milestone updates are scattered across inboxes and spreadsheets.

Who pays

High-end residential interior studios managing active projects with clients who expect a polished, private review experience.

Business model

Monthly studio subscription based on active projects

Editorial note

Interior clients need to know exactly what they reviewed and what happens next. Numbered concepts and item-level decisions turn aesthetic feedback into an operational record without flattening the studio's presentation.

Procurement belongs in the portal only at the client-visible status boundary. Purchase orders, margins, and vendor operations can remain in existing studio systems until a validated integration is justified.

Choose your next step

What do you need next?

Evaluate the operating tradeoffs quickly, or inspect how to build the MVP.

Evaluate this ideaSee the cost and deployment preview

Compare the three operating paths at the default workload before opening the full calculator.

See cost preview Build this ideaInspect the build blueprint

Review MVP scope, workflow, states, data rules, architecture, and acceptance criteria.

Open blueprint

Evaluation preview

What would it take to run?

Directional infrastructure estimates for the current 500 approval requests assumption. Open the full calculator when you are ready to change it.

Open full cost and deployment

ManagedSelected

$10-$35/ month

Run the web app and Postgres as managed services with capacity for the first approval requests.

Lowest operating effort

Lean self-hosted

$5-$12/ month

Operate the app, database, and scheduled jobs on one small server with manual backups.

Lowest baseline cost

More control

$40-$84/ month

Separate application and data capacity, add managed database backups, and retain room for a worker.

Most separation and control

Build blueprint

Build the first paid use case

Product goal

Who it serves and what it must change

Target user: A high-end interior design studio and its active residential clients.
Problem: Concept imagery, selections, purchasing status, milestones, and approvals spread across presentations, email, and spreadsheets, making the agreed version hard to identify.
Measurable outcome: A studio can publish a concept version, a client can approve or comment on each decision item, and both can see which purchases and milestones are waiting without consulting email.

MVP scope

What ships now and what waits

Included

Private project dashboard
Versioned concept boards with decision items
Client approve, reject, or comment actions
Procurement item status and expected-date tracking
Project milestones and studio announcements
Project-scoped message thread

Excluded

Public portfolio and lead generation
Vendor purchase-order automation
General accounting
3D rendering
Construction scheduling

UX and user flow

Screens, actions, and states

Project Home

Summarize the current concept, pending decisions, milestones, and procurement exceptions.

Open pending decisionView milestoneRead update

Concept Board

Present a versioned design direction and individual selection items.

Review itemCompare detailApprove itemRequest change

Procurement

Show client-visible ordering, shipping, delay, and delivery states.

Filter statusOpen itemAcknowledge delay

Milestones

Explain project phases, target dates, completion, and dependencies.

Open milestoneView updateSee dependency

Studio Console

Publish concept versions and manage client-visible project status.

Create versionAdd decision itemUpdate procurementPublish announcement

Primary flow

Studio creates a project and invites client participants
Studio publishes a numbered concept board with decision items
Client approves items or requests changes with contextual comments
Studio records procurement and milestone updates tied to approved selections
Both sides review pending decisions and exceptions from the project home

Loading, empty, and error states

Project setup
Active
Concept draft
Awaiting client review
Partially approved
Revision needed
Approved
Not ordered
Ordered
Delayed
Delivered
Project complete

Core entity outline

Entities and business rules

DesignProject

Defines studio ownership, client participants, project status, and visibility.

Fields: studio_id, name, client_name, status, start_date, target_end_date
Relations: Has ConceptVersions, Has ProcurementItems, Has Milestones

ConceptVersion

Freezes a numbered board and its client decision window.

Fields: project_id, version_number, title, status, published_at
Relations: Belongs to DesignProject, Has ConceptItems

ConceptItem

Represents one furniture, finish, fixture, or direction requiring a client decision.

Fields: concept_version_id, name, category, description, image_key, decision_required
Relations: Belongs to ConceptVersion, Has ItemDecisions

ItemDecision

Appends a client's approval, rejection, or change request to one item.

Fields: concept_item_id, client_user_id, decision, comment, decided_at
Relations: Belongs to ConceptItem

ProcurementItem

Tracks the client-visible lifecycle of an approved selection.

Fields: project_id, concept_item_id, vendor_name, status, expected_on, client_visible_note
Relations: Belongs to DesignProject, May reference ConceptItem

Milestone

Shows a named phase, target date, dependencies, and completion.

Fields: project_id, name, target_date, status, client_visible_note
Relations: Belongs to DesignProject, May depend on other Milestones

Business rules

Publishing freezes a ConceptVersion and its item content.
A client decision is append-only; a replacement decision must reference the prior one.
Procurement items may be created only from studio-confirmed selections.
Vendor cost and internal margin fields never appear in client responses unless explicitly marked visible.
Completing a milestone with incomplete dependencies requires a studio warning and reason.

Architecture and data flow

Components, integrations, and controls

Client portal

Displays project status, concept decisions, procurement updates, milestones, and messages.

Studio console

Publishes concept versions and controls all client-visible information.

Project API

Enforces studio ownership, participant access, publish rules, and append-only decisions.

Postgres database

Stores versions, decisions, item states, dependencies, and visibility flags.

Private media storage

Serves concept images through project-scoped signed URLs.

Integrations

Required: private object storage for concept imagery and attachments.
Optional: transactional email for invitations and pending-decision reminders.
Optional automation may mirror approved selections to an existing procurement system after a decision is recorded.

Data flow

A studio member creates a DesignProject and invites named client participants.
Publishing a ConceptVersion exposes signed concept media and opens decisions.
Client actions append ItemDecisions without changing the published item.
Studio staff create or update procurement records from approved selections.
Project Home aggregates pending decisions, delayed items, and milestone changes.

Failure handling

If a media URL expires during review, refresh authorization without losing the client's draft comment.
If two client decisions arrive for the same item, preserve both and show the latest as current.
If an external procurement notification fails, retain the approved item and expose retry status to staff.

Security

Require project membership for every private route and media URL.
Keep studio-only fields out of client serializers.
Expire invitations and signed media URLs.
Record actor, timestamp, and version for every publish and decision action.

Rate limits

Throttle invitation sends and comment posting.
Limit signed media URL generation per project member.
Batch project-home aggregation to avoid repeated asset queries.

Deliverables and acceptance

Definition of done for the MVP

Deliverables

Studio and client applications
Project invitations and permissions
Versioned concept board
Append-only decisions
Procurement and milestone tracking
Private media and audit tests

Acceptance criteria

Publishing a new concept does not alter the prior version or its decisions.
A client outside the project cannot retrieve metadata or signed media URLs.
A decision records the exact item and concept version reviewed.
A failed notification leaves the approval available for staff retry.
Client responses never contain fields marked studio-only.

Recommended stack

Enough technology for the first version

Web portals

Next.js and TypeScript

Supports separate studio and client navigation with server-rendered project summaries.

Data and authorization

Postgres with row-level policies

Fits project membership, immutable versions, decisions, and field visibility.

Media

S3-compatible private storage

Protects concept imagery while issuing short-lived project-scoped links.

Notifications

Node worker and email provider

Sends invitations and reminders without making delivery part of approval truth.

Why this is sufficient

The core is a permissioned decision ledger around visual assets, so relational versioning and strict media access matter more than AI, search, or a broad project-management framework.

Not required for the MVP

LLM APIPayment processor in the MVPMaps APIReal-time collaboration engine

Next stepTurn the blueprint into an execution plan

Copy the build prompt, model the operating cost, and choose where to deploy.

Build and ship

Execution

Build, price, and deploy the MVP

Once the blueprint is clear, use the prompt, cost model, and deployment options to start building.

Build prompt

Copy this into a builder

Use Lovable to validate the visual hierarchy and approval interactions, then implement project permissions and immutable decision history server-side before inviting clients.

Build prompt

Your build prompt is ready

Open the prompt pack whenever you are ready to take this blueprint into your builder.

Based on the blueprintReady for your builderFollow-up steps included

Cost calculator

Model the MVP operating cost

A technical run-cost estimate for the first production version. Team, acquisition, payment fees, and business COGS are excluded.

Estimated monthly total$10-$35

$20-$70 per 1,000 approval requests

Approval requests per month500 approval requests

Selected pathEasiest

Pricing checkedAug 2, 2026

Cost breakdown

$10-$35 per month

Low and high values allow for usage variance and plan headroom.

Managed Railway deployment

Run the web app and Postgres as managed services with capacity for the first approval requests.

5K approval requests included, then $5-$15 per 5K approval requests

$10-$35

Included

Web runtime and database
Concept image storage allowance
Scheduled reminders
Basic logs and backups

Not included

Studio labor
Vendor purchasing
Payment fees
3D rendering
Accounting integrations

Pricing basis

The estimate combines the selected infrastructure path, required operating modules, selected optional modules, and usage above included monthly allowances. Taxes and regional uplifts are excluded.

Railway pricing

Deployment options

Pick the operational tradeoff

Choose based on operating preference, not only the headline price.

EasiestRecommended

Railway

Deploy the interior project client portal with managed runtime, Postgres, environment variables, and logs in one project.

About $10-$35/month at beta usage

Good fit

Fast handoff
Managed services
Simple scaling

Limitation

Usage-based compute can become less predictable as traffic grows.

Deploy on Railway

Cheapest

Vultr

Run the app, worker, and database on one small Vultr VPS with Docker Compose and explicit backups.

About $5-$12/month before backup add-ons

Good fit

Low fixed cost
Simple server
Predictable bundles

Limitation

The operator owns database maintenance, monitoring, and recovery drills.

Deploy on Vultr View the lean VPS guide

More control

DigitalOcean

Separate application, worker, data, storage, and backup responsibilities as the workload grows.

About $40-$84/month for separate app and data capacity

Good fit

Service isolation
Managed database option
Capacity headroom

Limitation

More components increase setup and operational work.

Explore DigitalOcean View the separated cloud guide

Start building

Prototype, automate, then deploy

Recommended route

01Vibe-coding builderPrototype client approval clarity

Build the project overview, concept board, item decision, milestone, and procurement views with distinct studio and client actions.

Open Lovable 02AutomationRelay approved-item updates

Use Make only to notify an existing procurement sheet or inbox after a client decision; the portal remains the approval record.

Open Make 03DeployDeploy the private project portal

Run project access, versioned concepts, item decisions, milestone updates, and media metadata with Postgres on Railway.

Open Railway

Luxury Interior Studio Client Portal & Project Tracker

Is this worth validating?

Build this if

Avoid this if

Validate first

Why this exists

Customer problem

Who pays

Business model

What do you need next?

What would it take to run?

Build the first paid use case

Who it serves and what it must change

What ships now and what waits

Included

Excluded

Screens, actions, and states

Primary flow

Loading, empty, and error states

Entities and business rules

Business rules

Components, integrations, and controls

Integrations

Data flow

Failure handling

Security

Rate limits

Definition of done for the MVP

Deliverables

Acceptance criteria

Enough technology for the first version

Next.js and TypeScript

Postgres with row-level policies

S3-compatible private storage

Node worker and email provider

Why this is sufficient

Not required for the MVP

Build, price, and deploy the MVP

Copy this into a builder

Your build prompt is ready

Model the MVP operating cost

Usage assumptions

$10-$35 per month

Included

Not included

Pricing basis

Pick the operational tradeoff

Railway

Good fit

Limitation

Vultr

Good fit

Limitation

DigitalOcean

Good fit

Limitation

Prototype, automate, then deploy

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