WHERE DO YOU EVEN START WITH HIRING SOMEONE TO DESIGN YOUR HOUSE?

She asked where I dropped my keys, how I sorted mail, even where the dog leash ended up.

That’s honestly the gold standard. I’ve seen so many beautiful kitchens with nowhere to toss a backpack or grocery bag, and then - surprise - everyone just dumps stuff on the nearest surface anyway. I always ask clients, “Where does your clutter naturally gravitate?” Sometimes the answer is hilarious (like, “the oven, but only when it’s off”). If a designer isn’t curious about your weird habits, they’re missing half the picture.

WHERE DO YOU EVEN START WITH HIRING SOMEONE TO DESIGN YOUR HOUSE?

That kind of attention to detail is honestly what separates a functional home from one that looks good in photos but is a nightmare to live in. It’s easy to get caught up in aesthetics and forget about the daily habits that actually drive you nuts if they’re not accounted for. I can’t count how many times we’ve had to rework spaces because the initial design didn’t consider where shoes pile up or how the mail gets sorted. Funny enough, our “drop zone” ended up being a random corner by the garage door - not at all where I thought it would be.

You’re right, if a designer isn’t digging into those little routines - like where you toss your keys after a late grocery run - they’re missing the mark. I do think sometimes people underestimate how much their own quirks matter in a design. You can have all the built-ins in the world, but if they’re not where you actually use them…well, good luck keeping things tidy.

Totally relate to the “drop zone” surprise. We thought we’d be all organized with a fancy mudroom bench, but nope - everyone just dumps their stuff on the kitchen counter anyway. I wish our designer had grilled us more about our routines instead of just showing us Pinterest boards. It’s wild how those little habits end up dictating where the mess actually happens.

WHERE DO YOU EVEN START WITH HIRING SOMEONE TO DESIGN YOUR HOUSE?

That “drop zone” thing is so real. We had this grand plan for a built-in cubby system by the garage door - looked great on paper, but in reality, everyone just walks straight to the kitchen and dumps everything there. I swear, if I could go back, I’d have spent less time picking out tile samples and more time mapping out our actual daily chaos.

Honestly, I thought hiring a designer would mean they’d dig into how we actually live, but it felt more like a Pinterest mood board session than anything practical. Maybe that’s on us for not pushing harder, but I wish someone had told me to be brutally honest about our habits. Like, yes, my kids will ignore any “system” that isn’t directly in their path from the door to the fridge. No amount of shiplap or fancy hooks is going to change that.

If I could give one piece of advice to anyone starting this process, it’s to walk through your current routine and literally narrate it to your designer. “Here’s where we drop backpacks. Here’s where shoes pile up. Here’s where mail gets lost for weeks.” It’s not glamorous, but it’s real life. Otherwise, you end up with a beautiful mudroom that nobody uses and a kitchen counter that looks like a tornado hit it.

I guess designers are used to people wanting the “magazine look,” but honestly, I’d trade some aesthetics for a space that actually works for us. Maybe next time I’ll just tape off zones on the floor and see where the mess naturally accumulates before making any decisions...

WHERE DO YOU EVEN START WITH HIRING SOMEONE TO DESIGN YOUR HOUSE?

I get where you’re coming from, but I actually think designers can do more than just make things look pretty - if you find the right one. We’re building our first place now and I was super skeptical about hiring anyone, but our designer basically forced us to walk her through a “day in the life” at our old house. She even asked us to take photos of our messiest spots. It was awkward, but honestly, it helped.

I do think you have to be upfront about what’s not working and push back if they start going full Pinterest board on you. But at the same time, some of the systems we thought would never work (like a shoe drawer by the garage) actually stuck because she made them impossible to ignore. Maybe it’s less about the system and more about how relentless you are about using it... or how much you nag your family.

Not saying every designer gets it right, but I wouldn’t write them off as just “aesthetics people.” Sometimes they see stuff we’re too used to living with to notice.