New Year, New Focus on Kindness

Being Kind in the New Year:  Working with Designers and Craftsmen

Part of our fabulous team. All incredible humans. Be kind to them.

As we step into this brand-new year many of us are planning to refresh our homes or undertake renovations. Whether you’re redesigning a single room, choosing custom furniture, or embarking on a full-scale kitchen or bath remodel, working with designers and craftsmen will likely part of your journey. To ensure a smooth and enjoyable process for everyone, let’s resolve to bring kindness, understanding, and collaboration to the table. We have gotten away from kindness, plain and simple. While most of our experiences have been really wonderful, the ones that aren’t really take a toll.  If we don’t get back to basic kindness and respect, there will be no one left to do anything for you. No designers, no waiters, no teachers, no retail, no one in any service industry anywhere. So, let’s see how we can make it better, at least on the design side.

Respect Our Expertise

As designers and craftsmen, we have honed our skills over years of training and experience. We bring a wealth of knowledge about materials, techniques, and trends. Trust our expertise and be open to suggestions. While we want to collaborate effectively, and know your input is vital, remember that you’ve hired us for our professional insights—we thrive in space planning and creativity, so let our creativity shine for you.

Communicate Clearly and Promptly

A successful project hinges on effective communication. This goes both ways, but make sure that from the beginning you are clear about your vision, goals, and budget.  Along with that comes the need to respond to emails, calls, or questions promptly to keep the project moving forward. Delays in communication can disrupt timelines and cause unnecessary stress.

Be Patient and Realistic

Be aware that what we do takes an incredible amount of time, and that costs money. Not every project has a budget that we can work with. HGTV has made it appear that you can do anything on a very limited budget. And you can do some things with a limited budget, if you do it all yourself. But we are not a DIY group. We have highly skilled workers that are providing a service, and they deserve to be compensated properly. High-quality design and craftsmanship take time, not to mention all of those hands behind the scenes making it all come together.  While it’s natural to be excited about seeing the final result, rushing the process can compromise quality. Be patient and realistic about timelines, especially in an era where supply chain issues and labor shortages might arise. It will NEVER go exactly as planned. It will ALWAYS take longer than you think, and hiccups will occur. Be kind when they do, we don’t have control over problems typically, but we’ll work diligently to keep things moving and tackle any issue that arises as quickly as possible. Trust us, we don’t want hiccups either.

Appreciate the Human Element

Behind every beautifully crafted piece or impeccably designed space is a person (in our case a team) who have poured their energy, talent, and passion into the work.  While we don’t do this job for accolades, being acknowledged for our efforts and being shown gratitude every once in a while, is HUGE. A simple “thank you” can go a long way in creating goodwill and a positive working relationship.

Honor Agreements

Respect the terms of your contracts, including payment schedules and project goals. We cannot order items without money. We cannot pay our bills, if you don’t pay yours. If changes need to be made, approach the conversation collaboratively rather than combatively. Remember, designers and craftsmen—like all professionals—deserve to be spoken to and treated with kindness, as well as compensated fairly for their time and skill as we said above. You cannot go to the grocery store and buy groceries and take them home without paying for them first. Sometimes this part is hard, we know, you work hard for your money, but we promise you, we do too.

Give Constructive Feedback

Our number one goal is to make you happy. Can we say that again, our number one goal is to make you happy. That said, if something isn’t aligning with your expectations, communicate it constructively. Instead of saying, “I hate this, you are the worst” try, “This isn’t quite what I envisioned—can we explore other options?” The names that we have been called, most likely you wouldn’t believe, but sadly it happens.  Approach feedback as an opportunity to refine the project together. Remember the golden rule, “treat others as you would like to be treated.”

Celebrate the Wins

When milestones are reached, take time to celebrate. Focus on all of the good things that are happening instead of the negative. It makes everything better on the job site, and you catch more bees with honey than vinegar. Sharing your excitement reinforces the value of us and our team. It motivates everyone to finish strong. It makes us want to work for you and be better at our jobs.

Be Kind, Always

The final point, and yes, a bit redundant, just be kind. It is not hard. Think before you speak, take a deep breath.  Stress and unexpected hurdles are inevitable in any design or renovation project. In challenging moments, kindness goes a long way. A calm and respectful attitude can deescalate tensions and lead to better problem-solving for everyone involved.

The fact that this is what we needed to share as the first blog of the New Year is pretty sad, don’t you think? Kindness isn’t a resolution—it’s a simple virtue that can elevate personal and professional relationships. By showing respect, appreciation, and empathy to your designers and craftsmen, you create an environment where creativity thrives. Here’s to a new year of inspired spaces, meaningful relationships, and a much kinder and respectful world so that we continue to have others that want to work for us.