interiordeziner: Trust Your Instincts

HI there everyone!

It's so good to be back, I've missed this space of mine that seems to transform every day to a larger group of people sending emails and comments. Thank you!

Tonight I've found this post, with the reason why you should go for it and follow your instincts when it comes to interior design. Here is the post, I hope you like it! Lee Brown is an exceptional woman, with THE thing for  interior design!

Trust Your Instincts (click for original post!)

The reason I write this blog is to give you insights on being a designer. In the ecourses I offer, I give you direction to understand and learn the principles of design. Anyone can learn these, but to be truly able to take these lessons and move up a level you need to be able to think and feel like a designer.
All I want to talk about today is to trust your instincts. If you have finished all the education, you will have the fundamentals to be able to make good decisions, even if you don't feel you have the confidence to do so yet. I just want to help you along and guide you to achieving confidence.
Some Tips
PractiseEven if you don't have any paying projects - invent some. If you visit a friends home, take a mental picture and then do a mock proposal to redesign a room. Use your own home, try writing a client brief and creating a scheme for it. See how many different client briefs you can do and you will be amazed on how you treat the same space according to your different client's needs. The only thing this will cost you is your time, but it will give you the confinence to start trusting your understanding of using a brief and putting together a scheme for it. When you write the brief, here are some ideas on what type of design the client may want - a comfortable and cosy home, a pristine design icon, a user friendly family environment, an entertainer's paradise. I guarantee you will enjoy this process and you will feel proud that you can create interesting and different looks for the same space.

Trust Your InstinctsI can't stress this enough. Once you start to become fluent with putting schemes together you will be amazed how quickly you can do it. I can always tell a potentially good designer as they are...fast decision makers. They have narrowed down the possible choices they can make for a scheme early on by using the brief, they can then focus on items and materials that will work for the scheme, they are not getting distracted by beautiful fabrics or lovely styled chairs that catch their eye. They walk into a store and know exactly what they are looking for. When they see it they make their decision instantly. This is because they have preplanned and subconsciously they know what they want. So trust your instincts. Don't doubt your choices and decision making process. If you do you will never be able to look confident with a client and justify why you have chosen what you have.
Be ConfidentAs I have just explained above - be confident at presenting your choices, because if you come across as sounding doubtful about something you have selected, how do you think the client will feel? They are paying you for your expertise and ability to make choices for them based on your experience and education. So show your passion for the products and materials you have selected, inspire them, explain their durability, color, finish, reasons for your choices and their situation. They will feel comfortable with you and believe you and be able to speak up if they aren't happy. You have to make them feel they can trust their home with you.
I hope these few tips help you take your design education to the next level.
Here are some articles you may want to read to help you
Client Brief FormCreating Color Schemes
If you haven't registered for our ecourses you can do so hereInterior Decorating ecourseColor ecourseCurtain Design ecourse