'I’ve seen a lot of errors in the past 20 years and there are some I've made myself' – an interior designer on the mistakes she's made and lessons she's learned

There are lessons you learn in life that make you who you are – certainly for the better if you pay attention and absorb them. One of my earliest memories is of my mom telling me, ‘Do not touch the hot stove.’ Whenever I cook, I can still hear her voice saying those exact words. One of the most embarrassing lessons for me was learning to tie my shoes in the presence of schoolmates. It was so traumatic, that even at this point in my life, all my trainers are already knotted before I put them on.

I’ve seen a lot of interior design errors in the past 20-plus years. And yes, there are some I made myself. Mistakes will happen, because we are human.

Many, many years ago a firm I worked with designed a large custom extractor hood. It was fabricated by BMW, custom painted, with chrome details, quite stunning.

Upon delivery, the clearance at the main entry door was 6.54cm smaller than the hood, as the frame detail was thicker than noted on the shop drawings. Well, we couldn’t ship it back to Germany for the adjustment. So we hoisted it to the roof and lowered it to the balcony level, enabling transport into the kitchen.

The costly lesson here for the entire team was to always design items considerably smaller than jamb clearances, as contractors may modify construction for a number of reasons without consulting the design team.

There are a couple of rules I live by. Some say ‘measure twice, cut once’. I always say ‘measure four times, cut once.' I always have clients sign off on all orders. The worst thing is a client who says they ‘don’t want to purchase a costly item’ after the order has been processed and paid for.

Another rule is to acknowledge if the error had been made on my side and take responsibility for it. That is professional behavior. During the pandemic, a suite of furniture headed for Portofino, Italy, was shipped to Puerto Rico as the wrong label had been placed on the crate. No fault of mine personally, but whew!

I’ve had my share of wood stain samples that didn’t match the control samples. Fabric mislabelled and delivered to the incorrect workshop. An entire set of design mishaps I’ve learned from. Some of my biggest lessons have been from observing others’ misfortunes, too.

It is all a part of the education, the practice, and being able to deliver better service. The point is to learn so the mistakes are never repeated. When I feel challenged, annoyed or stressed, I go back to those moments of tying my shoes.

I keep a level head, take a deep breath, get a fresh start, and keep going. Today, with the same thought as having my trainers prepped for wearing, I operate my business: take the time to do the work beforehand so the rest is easy and be grateful for the lessons learned along the way