Living the dream

I did it. I'm totally fucking sleep deprived, but I did it. I have just completed the first portion AND WAS PAID FOR an interior design job. I started out on this little journey of mine when I was 16. It was the first time I had seen Sally Fields prattle off a list of furniture specs for a hotel project on Mrs. Doubtfire when I realized I wanted to be an interior designer. I'm not sure if it was the combination of history and art or the ability to create space so fluidly from her mind but I was like, that's what I want to do. And today, 13 years later, I can say, I did it!

I went to college and got my bachelor's in Interior Design, ya ya ya, but that is school. They teach you how to create design presentations and source material. What they don't teach you is - how to ask for what you're worth, and how to create a contract or why it's important, or how to know what someone is really asking for or how to deal with it when someone says, that's not what I was thinking. Fortunately for me, today, my client LOVED everything I selected. We shared moments where she was like, I LOVE that rug! And I was like, I KNEW you would love that rug. Ah. Those are the good moments when I feel like I was made to do this.

Right out of college I had my first "freelance job". I think I asked for about $10 over minimum wage. It was BEYOND apparent I had no real "residential" or freelance experience. We selected paint color - she ended up buying (and painting the room) an off variation of what I suggested. She got the sofa, and drapery I suggested, but slightly different. In fact, everything was slightly different than what I suggested. But, looking back, she did everything I suggested, I just had no idea what I was doing. I thought after that experience (when I was 22) I could never do that again. I was suppose to design restaurants and hotels! right?

Well, I don't know how many lily pads I hopped from, but at the ripe ole age of 29 I finally had - not just a freelance customer - but a client for my OWN business. It was the family room head to toe and not only did I select the wall color and every piece of furniture in that room, but I laid out the furniture, made the invoices and created all the drawings for the space - and she LOVED IT.

And, I got paid for it.

Next step is ordering the furniture and getting everything in there. That is a whole different animal in itself. When that is complete I will have a new revelation on finishing a project but for today, I can say, I designed a room, head to toe, presented it, had the client LOVE it and then got paid for it. It felt pretty fucking good.

thank you to everyone of my friends and family for asking/allowing me to help them with their house projects and keeping me motivated and practicing interior design. It's just something that I love to do and now, it's something I get paid to do. It's called, living the dream. Amen.