The Madness of Design – Breathe Deep & Take Cheer

I recently worked with a darling, young married couple. They were expecting their first child  and we were redoing their living room and kitchen. At one of their  meetings, I saw them vacillating between the same feelings of excitement and total terror that all clients move in and out of throughout the various stages and phases of this 12-armed-octopus-thing called Interior Design. In this case, they hit a budget wall and were trying to decide if it was worth keeping or replacing their current kitchen island as a contrast (all perimeter cabinetry would be new). Should they replace it now or live with it a while and decide in the future? Here are the words of comfort I sent in an email that evening. Perhaps they’ll comfort you too as you wrestle your way through your own design dilemmas. It’s called The Elegant Problem.

“Dear _________________,

Great meeting today! We made superb progress. I’ll update you later this week on the status of all discussed. In the meantime, there is one point I’d like to mention to you.

It’s about this very time in design that I remind clients to stop, take a breath and enjoy the whirlwind of design “in process.” At this very stage, nothing is yet delivered or fabricated, things are still being ordered as selections are being made like mad and you are squinting your eyes to try “to see” it all in your head. It’s hard for clients. However – know that I see it all and it’s beautiful. So rest easy. I know you are debating about your island. Try not to. It will work in the short run, or long run. I won’t let you make a bad decision. We have selected lead dining chairs that help the current island. And if you elect to change it in the future – we will make that beautiful, too.

And in the end – remember something else that I tell clients when they are starting to fret during this stage. The gift of having your kitchen being redone is the place to focus – on the gift and luxury of it all. Enjoy it. What to do with your island – long or short term –  is actually an elegant problem…meaning a problem you are lucky enough to have because you are redoing your kitchen!

All is well. Enjoy this wonderful time in your personal lives with the gift that is coming this summer…and enjoy the fun, maddening ride of design. When it’s all installed, down to the last lamp and piece of artwork hung, you’ll look around you, breathe deep and think “Wow!  This looks great!  What else can we design now?”