July was an interesting month.Looking back over the consultations….

One thing I've noticed this month is that every consultation has involved people who've reached a bit of a crossroads with their home.

Not because they don't like it anymore. More because life has moved on. The children have grown up. They've finally settled in after moving. Or they've been living with someone else's idea of "finished" and are ready to make it feel like theirs.

It's funny really. People often think they book us to choose paint colours or furniture. More often than not, they're booking us because they're fed up with going round in circles.

Here's what July looked like...

Shetland Islands (Zoom)

One of my favourite consultations this month was actually one of the furthest away.

A couple living in a beautiful period home in the Shetland Islands. Their children have left home, the business is in a good place, and for the first time in years they can think about themselves rather than everyone else.

We spent two hours talking through colours for what can only be described as the dream whisky room, their main sitting room, and how to build everything around a Harris Tweed sofa they'd recently bought.

I left thinking how lovely it was to start a new chapter as a couple with grown up kids. Something that feels like it will never happen your your in the midst of the early years!

Highgate

This family have lived in their house for about a year. Which, in my opinion, is no bad thing. I actually like it when people wait before making the big decisions. You've had time to work out where the sun comes in, which cupboard drives you mad and where everyone naturally dumps their shoes.

Now they're ready to invest in bespoke storage and furniture that they'll hopefully never regret buying.

The only slight panic was that the builders were about to start... and, if I'm honest, everything was happening in completely the wrong order. Luckily we caught it in time. We rearranged wall lights, moved plug sockets and talked through all those boring decisions that no one gets excited about but make all the difference once the decorating starts.

We also discussed bringing back some of the original character, including the most beautiful hallway panelling that needs a little TLC but is beautiful and completely unique. I can't wait to see the progress in this house.

Victoria Park

A completely different challenge.

A couple had bought a large new-build apartment and were standing in the middle of it wondering where on earth to begin. It had all the space they needed, but none of the warmth.

Like a lot of couples, they'd both been saving inspiration from everywhere, Instagram, Pinterest, magazines... and had accidentally ended up with about six different design directions. That's incredibly common. Sometimes our job is simply editing. Working out what stays, what goes, and helping people make decisions they feel confident about rather than decisions they're just hoping will work.

I came away from all three consultations thinking the same thing. Nobody needed more ideas. If anything, they already had too many.

What they needed was someone to help join the dots, put things in the right order and reassure them they weren't about to make an expensive mistake.

And that's probably what these consultations are really about. Not creating just beautiful homes. Creating enough clarity that beautiful homes become possible.