FIRST WEEK BACK - NOTHING RUNS SMOOTHLY.... EVER

You know when you are having a horrible week or just completely struggling with something and you end up in the conversation where you think... far out I must be the only one that ever has it tough or challenging. Can I just tell you, from experience, that anyone, no matter what the issue may be who says they never feel like they are having a bad day or ever have anything go wrong... are absolutely not telling the truth. At the end of the day we are ALL human and contrary to popular belief non of us are perfect... bottom line, we are all pretty much the same. Business and life is not always easy, it has to be one of the most challenging yet rewarding things I have ever decided to do. Also, it is a huge risk and a complete leap of faith... and journey, one that is, despite opinions that aren't the same as mine has been great. Now you must be wondering why I am ranting on and on about all of this? Well, it has a point I promise. It is my first week back at work and even though I was meant to be on holidays last week, I was working right through because there were some challenges that needed to be sorted and deserved my attention. Any project that you work on that is creative or a renovation is going to have hick ups, it is really part and parcel to this industry. You are running and working to a very tight deadline, you are relying on other outside sources, you are delegating work, managing everything and I can guarantee no matter what there will be something that goes wrong... there are going to things that you did not expect to run into.. and can I tell you, where there is a will there is ALWAYS a way! It is not the hick ups that are the challenging thing, it is working out how to approach them that sometimes is not easy, but I assure you when you are relying on external suppliers that do not meet your deadline ( I will NOT name and shame ) your job becomes really tough, especially when you are answering to a client. Its even worse when they client isn't very understanding, but majority of the time, I assure you if you approach it in the right way you will have an understanding client. A client and designer relationship are very much like a friendship, there has to be respect, personality matching, communication, trust and understanding. If you are missing any one of those things and it makes for a really tough experience. This is what is super stressful about this kind of job because being a designer means that you do like things to be perfect... well I know I do... so when things don't run smoothly it really feels like the end of the world. I am talking about this today because even though the farmhouse this week is now all back on track.... yipee... and is starting to look amazing, it has not come with its challenges and moments where you think to yourself... I wish I knew that 6 months ago, but it is all about learning and saying, it is what it is and trust me in the end... it all works out. Things that you do not expect to pop up always do, on every job I have worked on because designing is a process and it is putting a puzzle together... sometimes you do make an error in judgement but it does not mean you are not good at your job, it just means you have to re think the situation. There are no disasters though and nothing can't ever be fixed so the moral of the story is, whenever you think your renovation or design is going to run smoothly, try and always be open to curve balls, the come but having a bit of experience and a game plan when they hit always helps!!

Enjoy some behind the scenes... it is not all together at all, with some more more happening but... my feet make an appearance.

JDZ x