Hi there, designer đź‘‹
It’s been a very full season behind the scenes lately. (May is basically a second December lol)
Besides running the studio, I recently picked up another renovation project - a smaller home renovation focused on a kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. Honestly, it’s been the perfect balance alongside our much larger home project that will likely take over a year to complete.
We’re officially deep in construction mode over there now. The roof is currently going on, and next we’ll be moving into the extension phase. It’s such a big process, but also incredibly exciting to watch everything slowly come together. I’ll share more behind-the-scenes photos with you soon because I know many of you love seeing the real renovation journey unfold.
And in the middle of all of that… we also celebrated my son turning 6 🤍
So lately life has been a mix of construction meetings, client projects, sourcing, business, motherhood, birthday celebrations, and trying to create meaningful memories while balancing all the moving pieces of work and home life.
It’s busy in the best kind of way.
And interestingly, being in this season has made me reflect a lot on the earlier years of my design career and how much I’ve learned along the way.
Over the past few months in this newsletter, I’ve shared a lot about how my studio operates today - from design process and sourcing to working with clients and contractors.
But like many designers, I definitely didn’t start my career with everything perfectly figured out.
In fact, there are quite a few things I would do differently if I were starting again today.
So I thought I’d share a few of the biggest lessons I learned along the way.
Here are five mistakes I made early in my design career — and what they taught me.
Mistake #1 — Giving away my trade discounts
At one point early in my career, I was told that designers should pass their trade discounts directly to clients.
The idea was that this would make clients feel like they were getting a better deal.
So for a while, that’s exactly what I did.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was quietly giving away thousands of dollars in revenue.
Trade relationships exist because designers build vendor partnerships, manage orders, coordinate logistics, and assume responsibility for the purchasing process.
Those discounts are part of the business model of design, not something designers are obligated to give away.
Mistake #2 — Not setting clear boundaries with clients
Early in my career, I sometimes felt like I needed to be available all the time.
If a client had a question, I would respond immediately. If they wanted to discuss ideas late in the evening or on weekends, I would try to accommodate.
At the time, I thought that being constantly available was part of providing good service.
But over time I realized that without clear boundaries, projects can easily start to feel overwhelming.
Design work requires focus, thoughtful decision-making, and time to develop ideas properly.
Learning to set clear expectations around communication, meetings, and project phases made a huge difference - both for my workflow and for the client experience.
Clients actually feel more confident when the process is structured and professional.
Mistake #3 — Not having a clear design process
Early in my career, projects sometimes felt like they were evolving organically rather than following a defined structure.
Clients would ask for things at unexpected stages, decisions would stretch out longer than necessary, and it was harder to maintain momentum.
Developing a clear design process with defined phases changed everything.
It brought structure to projects and helped clients understand how decisions move from concept to completion.
Mistake #4 — Undercharging for design work
Many designers undervalue their work in the beginning. I certainly did.
Part of it comes from wanting to secure projects.
Part of it comes from not fully understanding the scope of work involved.
But over time you realize that good design requires an enormous amount of time, expertise, and responsibility.
Pricing needs to reflect that reality.
Mistake #5 — Not structuring project phases properly
Another lesson I learned was the importance of separating the design phase from procurement and implementation.
When everything is bundled together without clear boundaries, it becomes difficult to manage expectations and maintain profitability.
Structuring projects into clear phases - design, documentation, procurement, and installation - helps both the client and the studio understand how the project unfolds.
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Looking back, I don’t regret these mistakes.
They were part of the learning process.
Every project, every challenge, and every lesson slowly shaped the way I run my studio today.
And if you’re earlier in your design career, just know that learning these lessons is part of the journey.
Over time, your skills grow. Your systems improve.
And your confidence as a professional designer continues to develop.
Anyway… those are a few reflections from the studio this week while I balance client projects, construction dust, sourcing, birthday cake, and everything in between 🤍
I’ll share more renovation updates soon.
See you next week, designer 🤍
Ana 🌸
Interior Design Den
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