Reporting from the Field

This has been a great week. I am not sure why, but I am feeling really positive about the projects that we are working on. Alongside my residential projects (I have three at the moment keeping me fully inspired and happy), I have a couple of smaller projects. This is the nature of my business here in the city, and I think it is typical of other small design firms, too.

This week I went to visit a pair of new clients, and I worked with them for two hours establishing the scope of the project. They are a lovely couple who have been living in their apartment for over a year and really need some help. Their main issue is that they have a lot of belongings and no place to put them. They also need all new furniture to create an aesthetic in the apartment, since they have simply pieced together furniture they have acquired throughout their lives. Their apartment reminds me of a patchwork quilt and what I want to create for them is a beautiful, simple, cashmere blanket. The reason I mention the meeting is that the woman, halfway through the meeting, broke down and began to cry because she is so incredibly frustrated by the state of the disorganized apartment. It is a regular source of stress.

There are times when I feel that what I do is not that noble; I am not saving lives, helping to feed starving children, or working on a cure for cancer. But as I comforted this lovely woman, it made me feel like what I do fills a need. After we finish working on their home, I know that they will have a specific spot for all their belongings, and she will wake up every morning stress free in an apartment that feels like home.

Image by Jenn Ski.