10 THINGS WE TELL OUR CLIENTS ON EVERY JOB
1. SPILLS AND THRILLS
Family-friendly decorating is at the core of our business. We're mothers, and we know that family life isn’t perfect all the time. We know all too well that the new puppy will pee on your rug, that your children will eat grape popsicles on your white sofa. No family home is free from accidental spills and tales of exploding sharpies. We’ve got your back.
2. DECORATING IS FUN
There are some misconceptions about what we do — that it’s all serious business, that designers are snobbish and unapproachable, that decorating your house will drain your time and resources. It is a privilege to be trusted with the task of designing your home, and, while we take that responsibility seriously, we do like to have fun while we’re doing it! We’ll get to know each other, we’ll share some laughs, and we’ll work together to build something beautiful. When it comes to the design process, you can be as involved or as blissfully removed as you’d like. Either way, we’ll make it as smooth, easy, and enjoyable as possible.
3. A HOME EVOLVES OVER TIME
We develop long-term relationships with our clients and help them through various phases of their lives. Babies become teenagers before you know it. A dream beach house becomes a reality. While we aim to create what you want right now, we also look at how the design can grow and change with you and your family.
4. ADD VINTAGE ELEMENTS
A house needs some history, some character, some pieces with a backstory. We love clean, modern design, but we don’t want your home to feel like the showroom of a department store. We’ll find vintage elements that complement the overall design scheme of your space while breathing some extra life into it.
5. IT’S YOUR HOUSE
You know that one outfit you keep coming back to week after week, the one that perfectly represents your style, that’s comfortable and familiar but when you put it on, it makes you feel just a little more pulled together, a little more polished? That’s what we want for your home. We’ve got our ideas and design perspectives but, ultimately, we want to create a space that makes you happy. We’ll be honest with you about our design opinions, and you should be honest with us too. The goal is to design the ideal home for you and your family, the one you’ve envisioned but don't quite know how to create, or in most cases, the one that’s better than you ever could have imagined.
6. FAMILY FIRST
We love to put your family into the design. From mapping out custom picture walls to adding framed family photos on install day, a house really starts to feel like a home when it's personalized with family memories. We always take the time to understand the core values of your family and how we can translate that into our design.
7. A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING
As parents of young children, we know that a household needs organization. Proper storage is a consideration at every point in our design process. The more we can help you reduce (or hide) clutter, the better your home will function, and the more you’ll thank us later!
8. PUT IT TO THE TEST
We like to test things out, and we encourage our clients to do the same. Sit on chairs to see if they’re comfortable, walk barefoot on a rug to see how it feels underfoot, pour wine on that countertop sample to see if it’s really stain-resistant. Testing products is key to what we do, and we’ve got a lot of great resources up our sleeves.
9. MURPHY’S LAW
Things will go wrong, but we can fix it. Yep, when you try to collect and order products from all over the world and install them in a home, there’s bound to be a few hiccups. We deal with broken furniture arrivals, fabric bolts gone missing in customs, 10 gallons of the wrong paint color showing up at the job site, etc. That’s one of the many benefits of hiring a designer — we’ve seen it all, and we fix it all.
10. IT TAKES A VILLAGE
The pieces we ultimately place in your home are the end result of hundreds of hard-working people who have contributed in some way to the design, creation, marketing, shipping, and delivery of your sofa, your rug, your vase. We practice gratitude, and we understand that talented artisans, designers, carpenters, accountants, and delivery people in a variety of industries have contributed to every single element in your house. Your purchase supports them. We think about it often, and we hope you will too.