Hey guys! We’ve had so much fun covering this side of all things business on our site, and today we’re sharing Things Your Designer Wants You to Know {getting started, part 2}!
If you’re not familiar with us, we covered a little bit of what we do in our FAQ’s post, and Things Your Designer Wants You to Know {getting started, part 1}. Today, we’re jumping in with another part to this series: Things Your Designer Wants You to Know {getting started part 2}. We definitely recommend checking out these other posts, if you’re not familiar with what we’re covering, or if you’re curious. So let’s jump in, shall we?
Things Your Designer Wants You to Know {getting started part 2}
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know: There is No Such Thing as Small Job.
You’ve heard the phrase when it comes to actors: “no small parts”, right? Likewise, there is no such thing as a small job in the design world. Each space takes just as much energy from us, because we always bring our one hundred percent, no matter what it looks like. While something larger may take more time, they all take equal amounts of love and care and effort. Cheesy, but true.
Sometimes, people call us in, and want us to choose little things for their space. They’ve already chosen the big things, but they got stuck. Someone might be surprised to find out, that this one usually takes more work and time, and that we can’t just “whip something up”. Look at it like an outfit: instead of starting fresh, we’re now matching a shirt to your yellow pants and navy blue shoes, and that vintage barrette you grabbed at the yard sale, that you should probably part with, but won’t even though it does nothing for your hair. {Do you like my extended metaphor?}
Let me be clear that my job would be boring without challenges. We love them. We also adore working to customize, especially for your space. And we will probably make lots of suggestions on how we can help you enhance it. But that doesn’t mean it’s a ‘small job’.
We learned a long time ago to have healthy professional boundaries so that we don’t get burned out. So, we have a minimum to protect our time and the client, too. We want to ensure that you get the very best of us, just like all of our clients. The person who needs a few changes gets just as much effort from us as the person with an entire house redo. Know that good things take time, and sometimes it’s more work to offer “just” a few items because it takes energy and effort, too.
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know: Design is Not a One Size Fits All.
In other words, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
And because you can’t, probably means you shouldn’t. Or something. I’m still working on it.
Once upon a time, a client called us in to give them suggestions on their two story house. They were obsessed with open concept and wanted to knock out every wall on the first floor. {Yes, it was the height of HGTV fever. Make it stop.} When we told them we didn’t recommend it because a. it didn’t work for their house layout, and b. it may not be structurally possible and therefore c. would be costly when their rooms were working just fine the way they were, {and D. didn’t make sense} they didn’t want to hear it.
While a structural engineer is always a must to take a look at your space before knocking anything back… we’re, sadly, not so sure they did. Just because it looks good on Pinterest, doesn’t mean it works for your space. We’re here to offer our guidance based on years of experience. That means {see our first post} we might not always tell you what you want to hear.
We’re not here to blow smoke. We’re here to come up with smart, sustainable and real solutions that will still be beautiful in ten years, and beyond.
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know: Trust Us.
The design process is a lot like therapy. I’m honestly always interested to know personality types and lifestyles before diving into a new project, so that I can communicate in a way that may be helpful to our clients, as well as choose the best solution just for them.
We want our process to feel like working with friends. For instance, an enneagram 5 may want to know more of the reason why option a. is the smarter choice. Or an enneagram 7 may want to hear about how fun a shower speaker will be. An enneagram 8 will probably want to be reassured that we are on their side when working with subs, and so on. So the more we know about our clients, the better. Getting into someone’s lifestyle and house is a personal thing, because we want it to work for you in a way that will make you happy. Is there a way to reformat a space so that it serves you better? How can we flip things around to make it make more sense?
That being said, there is a level of trust in the process. We know that working together on your home, is a big honor that we don’t take lightly.
When I go to the doctor, someone who has earned their position with years of education and hard work, I don’t tell them how to do their job or question everything they’re saying. I might get a second, or third opinion, sure… for arguments sake, once a level of trust is earned and a relationship established with my doctor, {once you’ve chosen to work with us} I don’t bark at them to order an MRI when a throat culture is all that’s needed. Trust is essential in this collaborative relationship.
We’re working with you because we care. We’re on your side. Our process {and we’ll cover this in the next installment} is one we take on together. There aren’t many hills I will die on. I try to be helpful and relatable in the process and guide others. Usually, when faced with a tough choice, I will present a client with a or b, and they win with both. But we need you to hear us out. Communication is a big part of that {see our first installment of this series, here.}
So trust us to do our jobs. We’re keeping the lines of communication open and are truly willing to pivot accordingly. But please know it will be a process. And you have to trust that process. Especially if you’ve never done this before. Which leads me to…
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know: You’ll probably fixate on something.
{See: project fatigue}
There’s something about object permanence and the stages of a renovation that throw people off. I do this in my own home, every time. I think that there should be some kind of a psychological study out there pertaining to this. Not everyone does, but a large percentage do. When something changes in the space after they’ve grown accustomed to looking at it a certain way for some time, they’re not sure how they feel about it in the end.
For me, it was the double hung windows under our stained glass in our kitchen. We’d gone through all the things and I was exhausted and one day when they were installed, I decided I hated them. I have no idea why. I think it was project fatigue, {which you’ll also suffer from, because you’re human} and I made said windows my scapegoat. I didn’t even know who I was anymore for like, a whole afternoon. Am I glad I have them now? Absolutely. But in the moment, it made me so ragey I was ready to burn the house down. I think I even cried.
Yes, I just admitted my champagne probs in this post.
Yes, I had a moment.
Most of you will probably, too. We try to prepare clients for this because it’s perfectly normal. I guess it goes back to that trust thing. Things aren’t always as bad as they seem, and we hope that because of good communication, we can help you through it. Just be ready and we can help talk you off the cliff. Believe it or not, that’s also why we’re here.
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know: You’re not bothering us.
Ever. We welcome questions, suggestions, feedback and communication. We love meeting and talking and covering all the bases. We love selecting those finishes, from the very beginning all the way to that last basket we place for the photo shoot in the end. We could pinch ourselves because we get to do this, even when it’s really hard. We welcome all the things and look forward to more. So you’re not bothering us. EVER.
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know: We’re working with you because we care.
Just circling back around to this. I feel like we’ve probably already established it here, but we do want you to know. We think it’s evident as we work with people one on one… but it always feels good at the end of the day, to see happy tears over a job well done. We want a home that makes you happy. And we love helping you through the process.
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This, dear friends wraps up part two of things your designer wants you to know! We hope this helps give you an idea of what to expect when you’re getting started with us. Or maybe what to look for, if you’re working with someone else.
Next up, we’ll be covering part three, branching out to other parts of the process. What are some other topics you’d like to see covered in this area? Any questions? Add them below! If you’re a designer, what would you like to add to this list? We’d love to hear!
Did you know that we take on clients in the Nashville area and nationally? We’d love to hear from you! Contact us here!
Have an inspired day!
psssst… see the rest of this entire series, here!
• In our FAQ’s post, {where we’ve outlined a little of our company}
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know {getting started, part 1}.
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know {getting started, part 2}.–you are here
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know {the process, part 3}
• Things Your Designer Wants You to Know {red flags, part 4}
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