I answered the phone only to hear this,
" I read every word of your website and your blog. Can you do design for regular people not just rich ones?" The tone was strident, rushed, clearly stressed.
" Yes", was my abbreviated response.
" Well then come help me before I go crazy!"
I did extract a bit more information from her. She had been trying to hire a designer for more than a year. Her situation was harsh. She was a newly widowed mother of three, two in college one in high school. All three children wanted her to stay in the family home even though she was overwhelmed with the reality of living there. In an effort to satisfy the needs of them all she had determined she needed some help and direction if they were to stay in the house.
The first design "team" came, did a walk through, took a few photos and promised to get back to her with some "ideas". After a week she called and left a message. After the third week of leaving messages she stopped in at their office to ask if they had any "ideas" ready to present. One of the team rolled his eyes and said, " Did you not notice we have not returned your calls or made any to you. I guess subtlety isn't in your playbook". Mortified, Kay went home to cry.
Months later, Kay shared this horror story with a friend who mentioned there was a wonderful lady at her church who "did decorating" so why not call her. Sadly, this appointment did not happen. The decorator arrived on the appointed day and time, stayed in her car to survey all she saw then reversed and drove away while Kay watched from the window. Subsequent phone calls were never answered nor were any of the inquiries to the friend who had recommended the church friend who does decorating.
As time went by Kay became hopping mad at the design profession. I don't blame her since two out of two experiences were punishing rejections. I made an appointment with Kay the week of that first call. She sent two text messages on the day of the appointment asking if I was coming. I answered them both, confirming I would be there.
I arrived on time, parked at the point where the asphalt ended at a ditch and just stared at what was in front of me. Her home had started life as a fishing shack, complete with a hole in the floor for storing the day's catch. From the front it looked more like a metal roofed single wide from decades past with a hodge podge of additions tacked on randomly. There was a radio tower in the front yard, a newish deck leading to the only visible door and the air smelled of bacon.
" Be it ever so humble" came to mind but to tell you the truth the thing which most caught my eye was the beauty of the location. Kay's home was centered on a peninsula out into the lake with mature trees along the banks but with extended views up the lake. One of those rare "perfect" spots in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. Before I could collect my briefcase from the car a woman rushed out the door and yelled, "Are you going to just stand there or run off or come in here?" Clearly her experiences with the design profession to date had given her a sort of aggressively antagonistic PTSD.
Like many, Kay was not able to identify or define her wishes for her home. All she could say was she thought it could be better, not so hard to live there, maybe nice "one day". Her issues started at the door where a skillet of bacon drippings sat cooling on the deck railing. As it turns out this was a standard practice since her Kitchen had no exhaust. It had no light either other than a lamp on a console table next to the stove. She had leaks in the roof even though she had hired two different roofers to correct the issues, the patched hole in the floor was a standout, rotting door frames from incorrect installation were on both levels, There were windows with broken seals and a disaster of a prefab fireplace in the great room addition, Her furniture was decades past "homey" and her ability to cope with all these issues spent.
Her only clear statement zinged into my heart, " I need to want to come home".
I have rarely in my career met a client who needed help more. I wanted to help her immediately. Step one would need to be a reduction in her anxiety and distrust. I took a direct approach explaining
we would not be able to review all existing conditions and identify priorities in a one hour consult. As chance would have it my afternoon schedule was "in office" not with client appointments. I suggested we start with not worrying about a clock. We could relax a bit and take the time needed to make a room by room list of what needed to be done to protect the integrity of the structure and what the long term goal was for each space.
I may have never met a braver woman. While her house was deteriorating around her she nurtured her husband through his decline from pancreatic cancer, kept her oldest in college out of state, sent her middle child to start his freshman college year as scheduled and managed to attend most of the baseball games of her high school freshman son. During this time, she had a variety of contractors come to give estimates or to actually fix things. Some were crooks, some were no-shows, some just never submitted estimates. The structure was literally disintegrating around her! She needed cranks and seals replaced on most windows, needed to have rotted thresholds at three sets of patio doors rebuilt or replaced from incorrect installations, needed roofers to come again to identify and correct her leaking metal roof which was still under warranty by a roofing company that was no more. An immense, unhealthy oak tree threatened her home requiring immediate removal as did the rotting deck off the great room. She definitely needed to get some ventilation and some lighting in her kitchen, needed to urgently address plumbing issues and, saddest of all, clean out the room where her husband had succumbed.
Ultimately what we decided that day was Kay needed to hire a contractor who did his own work rather than hiring a succession of sub-contractors. Also, one who would work with her over time as budget and schedules allowed. I recommended a good hands-on general contractor with a particularly easy-going personality and infinite patience. My team and I would create a phased master plan for Kay's home which could be implemented over time as doing everything all at once simply was not possible.
Over time we found a manufacturer sponsored promotion on replacement doors or windows with 48 months to pay with no interest. This allowed Kay to move forward quickly on taking care of her most urgent problems. A year later I received a promotional e-mail from a furniture manufacturer offering a 5 year no interest program which enabled Kay to buy all new seating for her great room and den.
We are now on our fifth year of implementing Kay's master plan.
We have moved outside, working on upgrading or repairing her outdoor living spaces and her landscaping. The driveway and parking areas are now paved, there is a defined walkway to the homes entry and the once grass covered brick patio has been reclaimed and foundation shrubs have been planted.
The changes in Kay's home are exciting. The changes in Kay who now
laughs easily and loves her home is rewarding beyond measure. Recently she said to me, " I had no idea renovating my home would renovate me too, but I couldn't be happier." Nor could I as the purpose of interior design is to create an environment in which the occupants will be nurtured.
