HIRE A DESIGNER WHO LISTENS TO YOU!

Unless you want your designer to take on the full responsibility of how and in what style you should live, I  don't recommend working with designers whose egos are equal to brain surgeons. We are not talking about saving lives here!

I've worked for many busy people who do not have the time or inclination to go over every selection.  They have hired me because they know that after we have gone thru their likes and dislikes that I will do what is right for them.  Others want to be involved down to the last detail and that is their choice and their right.  It is our jobs as designers to glean as much information from our clients as possible in order to create an environment that not only functions for their needs, but also brings their dreams into a living reality. 

I have been called upon, too many times to count, to salvage another designers work.  You need to make sure that you are not bullied into agreeing to something that feels wrong.  It is our job to push our clients past their comfort zones because they usually don't have the vision that we have and that is why they have hired a professional.  However, it is our job to listen to what our clients are telling us and hear what they may not be able to express.  One project that comes to mind is a client who had been preoccupied with her dying mother and was not available physically or emotionally during a remodel of a new home she and her husband had just purchased.  They wanted a more contemporary look and she had expressed to her designer that she wanted clean lines and light woods to go along with that style.  What she got were old world style cabinets with loads of trim stained a dark walnut color.  When I was brought in to see what could be done to fix things, all I could think about was what was this designer thinking?  Did it even matter to her what her client wanted or did she just design in a style that she was more comfortable with?