Learning on the (first) job
I’ve been busy lately working on my first actual interior design job and – shocker – it’s not a child’s bedroom! As you may or may not know, I’ve started my training in interior design with the end(ish) goal of working specifically in children’s interiors. Fast forward to half way through my KLC online course, and I’m working with a client who lives over 200 miles away on the planning and design of her new open plan kitchen-dining-living extension. The wonders of the Internet, hey!
In the short time I’ve been working on this project, I’ve realised a few big lessons both personally and specific to interior design, so I thought I’d share them with you now.
Lesson 1: My vision is someone else’s blind spot
This is a sentiment that my friend and business coach, Lauren O’Sullivan, regularly reminds me of. That we often take for granted the things that come to us with ease, as not everyone finds the same things as easy or enjoyable.
If, like me, you’ve ever suffered with imposter syndrome (I think we all do at one time or another), then you’ll know that thoughts along the lines of ‘why would someone pay me to do this?’ and ‘anyone can do this, why do I think I’m any better than anyone else at it’, can be crippling. I think these thoughts daily and have to work really hard to push past them.
My ‘portfolio’ (aka. Instagram)
The client I’m working with now is well aware that I’m training and, frankly, inexperienced. She has never seen any of my work (and by ‘work’, I mean my Instagram account, see above, which gives a sense of my style and shows my only design work to date – my kid’s bedrooms). She knows nothing about me and yet she contacted me on Facebook asking me for help because she felt so out of her depth and overwhelmed at the thought of designing her new space. Now, after 2 weeks of being in contact with me while I did the things that I find relatively easy and enjoyable, she’s said she can already envision how the end result could look and she’s so grateful for the direction and focus that I’ve given her so far (her words, not mine).
I’m not saying this to blow my own trumpet, but because it’s been such a realisation for me that Lauren was right all along; that our strengths can balance out someone else’s weakness and we all have something to offer which is of interest and value to other people. You just have to find those people, or even better, they’ll find you.
Lesson 2: Process is everything
I’m learning this one the hard way. My KLC course is very much about the process of interior design so I’m well aware now of the process that an interior designer should go through to get the best result. I’m now also well aware that the theory of this process doesn’t always translate well in the real world!
The way this project came about (via social media) and the stage that the client is already at in their project have made it quite an informal and fast paced job, the kind where emails are passed back and forwards any time of day and night, and in place of a client questionnaire (as per the ‘process’) we had a conversation and a Pinterest board set up within minutes.
One of the many inspo photos shared with my client in a late night chat
Now this is fine for this particular project. It’s actually working well around my current situation of part time work/full time mum and is allowing me to learn on the job while I set up processes which work for me. However it’s neither a sustainable or preferable way of working in the long term. Especially when it’s all about the online communication, there needs to be a few boundaries in place and a process set out from the start to save both my sanity and my much needed work-life balance, not to mention actually making it a profitable business.
Processes give us a sense of organisation and control, and when so much in our world right now feels out of control, taking a little back for ourselves is the ultimate power. I’m winging it for now but this first project has already been an insight into some of the challenges I’ll be facing further down the line.
Lesson 3: ‘It’s not my house’ is my new mantra
I’ve wanted to work in interior design for a long time now (since primary school, when Changing Rooms was the best thing on TV). In recent years the pull has been even stronger but I’ve been a classic case of procrastination and doubt, convincing myself I can’t or shouldn’t even try.
My idol. I got to work with him a few years ago and he was everything I’d hoped he’d be and more.
One of the many doubts I had was, ‘what makes me think I could be an interior designer, just because I like decorating my own house?!’. Well in truth, I’ve done minimal decorating in my own house (bar the kids rooms) and it’s nowhere near what I’d like it to be in terms of the interior design. Having the ideas and plans is one thing, having the money and time is quite another thing. And yet here I am, still determined to go down this path.
Working on my first project has helped answer this question for me. My client’s style and tastes are nothing like my own. As I’m working through inspiration and ideas and sourcing products, I’m constantly having to remind myself that this isn’t about me, it’s not my house, what matters is whether it answers her brief and whether she, the client, will like it. And it really matters to me that she’s happy and that I work with her to create something she loves.
And I think that is the crux of it – you have to love design and interiors and all the pretty stuff on the surface of it, but you also have to love making it work for other people, enabling them the freedom to express themselves and create a home where they are at their most comfortable, regardless of whether you would make the same choices for yourself.
I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg and a few months down the line I could write a book about the lessons my first job has taught me. But best of all, I’m learning that I do love it and that I can (*will*) make a living from doing something I love.
