Paris Taught Me Something About Designing a Home…

The reel about being disappointed in Paris has sparked more DMs than almost anything I've posted.

And I get it. Paris? Really? How could anyone be disappointed in Paris? It's a dream trip. 

Here's the truth...I don't actually think I was disappointed in Paris.

I think I was disappointed in how I experienced Paris. When we started planning our Europe trip, I poured everything into Switzerland. I researched every train. Every hotel. Every mountain. Every playground. Every activity. I had spreadsheets. Bookmarks. Notes. Reservations. I was excited. Paris was a convenient stop to a city I've always wanted to go to. 

Then I spent a week in Sweden for my oldest son's soccer tournament with my four boys and by the time I landed, I was mentally done. My husband wasn't arriving till the next afternoon. He is the one who studied abroad in Paris. He is the one that "knew" Paris. 

I had booked us a wonderful family hotel that comfortably slept all six of us. By wonderful, it slept all six of us in one room as opposed to having to book two rooms. The kids loved it. It was Pacman themed. Overwhelm for sure but they loved it.  I had also booked a driving service to pick us up from the airport. I knew I had someone with a Sign that said Roe waiting at baggage claim that would safely drive us to said hotel. 

And then... I stopped planning. I figured we'd just wing it. No dinner reservations. No mapped-out sightseeing days. No plan for how to get from one place to another without wasting half the day.

I assumed we'd just wander. And while wandering sounds romantic in theory, it looked more like six tired people walking in circles asking... "Where should we eat?" "How do we get there?" "Is this worth waiting in line for?" "What do we do next?"

By the end of  the day, I wasn't enjoying Paris. I was making decisions. Constantly. It was exhausting. Yes, we had some great food, we say the Eiffel Tower. We even walked to the carasol by the  Eiffel tower that no longer exisits. I then forced them on a tourist boat tour when "their legs were done". I was done too. Uber Eats for dinner. 

Needless to say. I actually can't wait to go back. With a plan. And just my husband or maybe a few girl friends. 

It all made me realize that this is how some people go through a renovation or new build. Without a plan. Just winging it. This is exactly the opposite of what I do for my clients.

People think hiring an interior designer is about picking pretty finishes. It's really not. The beautiful finishes are the easy part. The real work happens months before construction ever begins. It's creating a plan so detailed that when demo starts, you're not standing in your kitchen wondering where the outlets should go. You're not trying to choose tile because the installer is coming tomorrow. You're not making expensive decisions while under pressure.

Whether someone hires us for full-service design through R. Nickson Interiors or works through The Highly Designed Home Method, the goal is exactly the same. We do the thinking before it becomes stressful. Because here's what Paris reminded me... A beautiful destination doesn't automatically create a beautiful experience. A beautiful home doesn't either.

The experience comes from the planning. Long before the flight. Long before the contractor. Long before the first cabinet is installed. Luxury isn't simply staying in the right hotel. Luxury is arriving knowing someone has already thought through every detail. That's the feeling I want every one of my clients to have.