The Silver Lining

The current pandemic we are experiencing has affected the operations of The Designers Group.

I am so impressed with my team and how we have used our strengths to come together during these turbulent times. More so than ever, some resilient skills have shone through in the new interior design environment.

There are a few traits I believe are the most coveted in the current climate.

1 - Flexibility

As soon as daily life changed so dramatically, we had to take every day as it came. I believe that this ability to improvise was one of the most valuable skills I have seen in my employees.

Now that our clients are more aware of health concerns after the outbreak of the pandemic, we had to adjust designs for what they prioritize as being desirable in this new and uncertain time.

This required my team to rethink what they had been taught. Ignore the standards of the interior design they know. And have the responsible attitude to do what it takes to meet the demands and place our projects at the cutting-edge of design.

2 - Adaptability

I have renewed my appreciation for employees who can think critically and solve problems. On my own, I could not have tackled the never-seen-before obstacles that keep popping up. I love to hear from my team. I consult with them rather than just giving orders and facing challenges alone.

We've been doing a ton of research on how this pandemic will affect our future interior environment. Most of our clients are not going to be moving into new spaces, so it's taking their existing spaces and adapting them to the post-COVID-19 climate.

3 - Courageousness

In the past I have seen junior designers scared to make decisions. Especially with everything changing right now, my designers will ask me questions for every single detail. I say to them, “Listen, I trust you. You will make a mistake. That's okay. We learn from our mistakes.”

Throughout the recent events, I have seen my employees demonstrate incredible bravery.

It reminds me of an incident that happened with the first residential project that I ever did. We ordered a sofa. We loved it. We were so excited about it. It fit the space perfectly. Then when they were delivering it, we didn't realize the sofa did not fit through the door frames. We had to take care of that and pay the restocking fee, but it was a lesson learned.

My messages for designers figuring things out:

There are new things coming at us each day and that’s part of what makes this industry great. It’s incredible what’s out there and what our capacity is as designers to make an impact.

We are all learning, and the silver lining is that we now have the chance to focus on the smaller, important things that in the past might have been overlooked.

Remember, with every challenge comes the chance for growth.

-Blima