How to Know When You've Arrived
Last week we talked about Barry Schwartz’s The Paradox of Choice, specifically as it relates to interior design. The paradox being, ”we have so many choices, the sky is the limit, how wonderful for us!” and “We have so many choices, How do I choose? How do I know I chose the best? What a burden this became!”
Since I’ve been a “Jr. Designer” for about 10 minutes now, I’m already acutely aware of the challenges of sifting through endless choices (Remember, I’m a Maximizer). A simple assignment for a “Bedroom” design board could last a week trying to choose a bedframe, side tables, lamps, dresser, rug, artwork, bedding, pillows, accessories, (did we discuss wallpaper options)? Except that it can’t last a week because clients pay hourly for your time.
The eager achiever that I am, I press Jolene for wisdom on how she knows “when to halt the search and commit to a design” so that I too, can delight Jolene and her end clients with stunning work in remarkable time.
The answer was a little more esoteric than I was hoping for. “You can stop the search when the room meets your vision for the space.” Jot that down. Okay, uh, how do I get and hone a vision of what this will look like complete? Jolene concedes that this takes creative energy, and that it takes time, all of which is difficult to bill for. Jolene adds, “It’s not always something that happens in a flash, it often takes studying a space and a client to determine.”
To give you an idea of an idea of just how complete Jolene’s vision can be, see this before and after kitchen transformation!
Jolene can walk into a home for the first time and see the way things “should” be arranged, how it could be laid out if it were, say, a staged home. The challenge is that you’re balancing the “art of the possible” with client expectations, functionality, and of course, budgets. She tells me tales of clients who may suggest things that they want in a space that it was never meant to be while simultaneously underestimating the cost and time investment of such a transformation. She speaks of others who are totally hands off, say “Go!” and love everything you put in front of them. (Those are rare though, she admits).
What I’ve gathered is that Satisficing in Interior Design—knowing when it’s “Good Enough”— (see previous post for context) is a bit of a mix of art and science. The art of it is to give Jolene enough space and time to ideate and to create, The science is to wrap your needs, timelines and budgets around that vision. It’s not the easiest thing to articulate, how to know “when you’ve reached your vision,” and there’s certainly no silver bullet when you’re dealing with hundreds of personalities and 1,000’s of design variables. But what I can articulate is that experience matters. Jolene knows which rabbit holes to avoid that will burn through your budget and when going custom is the most efficient solution.
The mark of her success? Returning clients. I think nearly all of the projects she’s brought me on are former clients. You know it’s “Good Enough” when they like it, love it, and want some more of it!
XO,
Sam
