A Designer's Dilemma

Today I met with a delightful new client and her husband. They had requested a consultation for the first floor of their 40-year-old home. They allowed me to walk through the rooms, they answered questions and offered some basic information. They are parents of two elementary school-age kids, and have a really, nice dog.

As we made our way from the entrance, I quickly noticed a strange layout for every room we entered. The kitchen was enormous, but sparse on cabinetry and dated. The powder room would not accommodate an adult and had the smallest sink I’ve ever seen, and the living room was long, narrow and had three doorways. The multiple doorways did not allow for any basic furniture arrangement. Thus, the awkward placement of the television in front of a window.

This couple has struggled with the issue of how to arrange furniture, how to rearrange the kitchen if a remodel was done, and the cost associated with all of these problems.  Add to that the additional projects within the project, and the budget is now in the six figures. Is this realistic? I think not.

This was going to be a good job for me with a decent profit margin:  completely new kitchen, new hardwood flooring, six new windows, a whole house paint job, a completely new powder room, and the list goes on. The calculations were rumbling through my head as we spoke for over two hours. I figured I could get these fine folks where they wanted to be and they would have a happy home for the next 10 years.  This is where it went south. I could not justify doing this job, even though they wanted me to do it.

So, when is a remodeling job a bad recommendation?  It’s when the job, albeit profitable, is not the best decision for the client. These clients were honest, hard- working people with a goal, but in all good conscience, I could not recommend pouring more dollars into the quirky house. It had been remodeled once, but not well. To undo the poor design would take a large budget and a giant leap of faith. I just felt that the best advice is to possibly sell this home and get the one that they truly want. 

So, I turned down a perfectly wonderful opportunity to do a job, but I felt good about that.