I confess... I broke into my client's house

Summary

Confessions of an Interior Designer: Episode Summary

Episode Title: I Confess... I Broke Into My Client's House
Release Date: November 20, 2024
Host: Caroline Turner

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I. Introduction

In the premiere solo episode of Confessions of an Interior Designer, host Caroline Turner dives deep into the unfiltered, behind-the-scenes realities of the luxury interior design industry. Unlike typical design podcasts that focus on trends and technical advice, this episode sets the tone for the series by sharing personal stories, industry confessions, and setting up a community for designers to share their own experiences.

II. Host's Background

Caroline opens the episode by sharing her personal journey into interior design. Growing up in a small town with parents in the legal profession, she initially pursued occupational therapy at Auburn University. However, a nudge from a sorority sister led her to switch to an interior design program, a decision she describes as a leap of faith that ultimately solidified her passion:

Caroline (00:50): "I took a leap. I decided to do that. I loved it. It really is."

She highlights the gap in formal education regarding business management and client relations, emphasizing the need for a platform where designers can discuss these challenges openly.

III. Introduction of Morgan

Caroline introduces Morgan, the podcast producer and marketing director, who plays a crucial role behind the scenes. Morgan brings a blend of humor and business acumen, complementing Caroline's creative expertise:

Morgan (03:35): "I'm a triple threat."

Morgan shares her excitement about building a community where designers can share their funny and challenging stories without fear of competition or judgment.

IV. Host's Personal Confession

In a heartfelt confession, Caroline recounts her early career experience as an intern for a renowned interior designer. Despite the unpaid position, she cherished the opportunity to work alongside her idol. This section underscores the often-overlooked struggles and humorous mishaps that aspiring designers face:

Caroline (10:00): "I never screamed louder in my life."

She describes the unconventional work environment, including witnessing her boss giving a pedicure under her desk—a moment that exemplifies the unpredictable nature of the design world.

V. Listener's Confession: "Chair Swap Scandal"

The centerpiece of the episode is an anonymous listener confession titled "Chair Swap Scandal." Morgan reads the detailed account of a designer who faced a crisis when $25,000 custom chairs for a high-profile client arrived incorrectly right before an exclusive dinner party.

Summary of the Confession:

• Problem: The manufacturer delivered the wrong chairs, delaying the arrival of the correct ones by four months.
• Solution: In a panic, the designer sourced near-identical knockoff chairs from Amazon, distressed the fabric, and added scuffs to mimic the high-end originals just in time for the client's dinner party.
• Aftermath: The swap was successful, and the clients remained unaware of the deception even after the real chairs arrived months later.

Morgan (17:13): "We swapped them out with the fakes without even a soul knowing."

This confession highlights the lengths designers may go to meet client expectations and the ethical dilemmas that can arise in high-stakes projects.

VI. Discussion on Client Relations and Design Challenges

Following the confession, Caroline and Morgan delve into the pressures of working with wealthy, high-profile clients. They discuss the importance of trust, maintaining professionalism, and navigating the delicate balance between client desires and design integrity.

Caroline (26:53): "They're wealthy people who will not even blink to destroy your career if there's a perceived slight."

The conversation underscores the emotional and psychological toll that such client relationships can impose on designers.

VII. Q&A Session

The episode transitions into a Q&A segment where Morgan presents listener questions, and Caroline offers her insights:

1. Favorite and Least Favorite Parts of the Design Process:

   • Favorite: The ability to impact families' lives through design.
   • Least Favorite: The personal nature of residential projects, which can sometimes lead to challenges in client trust.

2. Most Time-Consuming Aspects:

   • Finding the perfect pieces that fit the design vision, which can deceptively appear simple but often requires extensive time and effort.

3. Starting Design Discussions with Uninformed Clients:

   • Caroline emphasizes understanding the client's lifestyle, preferences, and even their wardrobe to create a cohesive design that reflects their personality.

Caroline (35:50): "Your clothes can translate into home."

VIII. Closing Thoughts

Caroline concludes the episode by sharing personal reflections and moments that made her feel inspired during the week. She mentions celebrating her 30th birthday and attending a life-changing Taylor Swift concert, both of which left her feeling grateful and motivated for the future of her design business.

Caroline (38:04): "I feel extraordinarily grateful that my friends and colleagues are lifting us up."

IX. Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Caroline on Taking Risks:

  (00:50) "I took a leap. I decided to do that. I loved it."

• Morgan on the Nature of Design:

  (04:43) "We're just on a floating rock."

• Confession Highlight on Quick Thinking:

  (19:42) "They even told me how much they loved the chairs and how they were even better than they imagined."

• Caroline on Client Trust:

  (32:23) "If you want their final true result and what you're hiring them for, you have to give us enough trust to actually do the job."

• Morgan on the Stress of High-Profile Clients:

  (25:55) "It makes it feel like it is actually life or death."

X. Call to Action

Caroline encourages listeners to join the Confessions of an Interior Designer Facebook group, submit their anonymous confessions, and engage with the community:

Caroline (30:00): "Please, please tell us your juicy stories, and I promise we will be responsible with sharing them."

Listeners are invited to connect on Instagram and TikTok, ensuring a vibrant and supportive network for interior design professionals to share their candid experiences.

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Connect with Confessions of an Interior Designer:

• Facebook Group: Confessions of an Interior Designer
• Instagram: @confessionsofid
• TikTok: @carolineturnerinteriors
• Submit Confessions: carolineturner.co/pages/confessions

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This detailed summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting key discussions, personal stories, and the interactive elements that make Confessions of an Interior Designer a must-listen for industry insiders and enthusiasts alike.

Transcript

[Caroline Turner]

Welcome to Confessions of an Interior Designer. I'm your host, Caroline Turner. Here we talk through the crazy stories that they certainly don't tell you in design school, because, let's face it, every space has its sins. Are you ready to hear confession? Hi. Welcome to our first solo episode of Confessions of an Interior Designer. I'm your host, Caroline Turner, and I'm very grateful you're here. I thought today we could talk a little bit more about me, why I'm here, and why you're listening to me right now. We'll talk about you and how you guys can get a little bit more involved in this. We'll then talk to Morgan, our podcast producer and marketing director, and then we'll get into why you're all really here. The juicy confessions. So let's get into it. I grew up in a very small town. Very is sometimes debatable, depending on who you talk to, but it felt very small to me. Interior designers were certainly not a thing. Both my parents were in law, and my hometown is certainly one of normal jobs. Doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher. And so when I went to college to Auburn University, I decided to go for occupational therapy. If you know me now, you know that it's so funny and that I'm literally would be horrible at that job. But it did segue me into human sciences. And one of my sorority sisters mentioned, you should try the interior design program. I'm doing it. It's really hard, but it's really great. It's worth it. So I. I took a leap. I decided to do that. I loved it. I say now asked me that I'm genuinely not good at anything else. And it's true. It really is. It feels like this is what I'm supposed to be doing. And I know all of. I'm sure all of you guys feel the same way. So once I graduated design school, and partially while I was in it, I got to work for some really, really incredible powerhouse designers in the industry. And that taught me so much. But what it absolutely did not teach me is anything about business or how to run this yourself or how to manage clients or any of the interpersonal that owning your own firm really requires. So that is why we're here. When I first started my firm, my friend Jeremy had started at the same time. And so other than him, I had no one else to talk to. And there were a lot of scary and uncertain things that happened. And I feel if I had had something like this to listen to that told me it was going to be okay, even when it's felt like the sky was falling. My anxiety would be a lot better. Lexapro would not be in the cocktail currently, so. I'm joking, but I'm serious. I say that to say we, we, me, Morgan, my team, and also the collective. We deserve a place where we can all come together and talk about all the crazy things that happen in this industry, but also more nitty gritty. You're receiving warehouses, your contractors, and just how the fuck do you fire that horrible client? Quick call to action. We have started a Facebook group. It is called Confessions of an Interior Designer. I highly recommend you go and you join that. You'll have to fill out a couple questions just because we want to make sure we're keeping it to true interior designers who work in this industry. But once you're in, we'll be able to talk about all of the nitty gritty and any questions that you might have. Next, we're going to talk to Morgan. She is our podcast producer extraordinaire and so funny and lovely and I know you guys are gonna love her. Morgan. Hi.

[Morgan]

Hey, Caroline.

[Caroline Turner]

Wow.

[Morgan]

Podcast producer, marketing director, and voice of God.

[Caroline Turner]

I know, right?

[Morgan]

I mean, I'm a triple threat.

[Caroline Turner]

You absolutely are a triple threat.

[Morgan]

Wow. Well, thank you. And hi, everyone. Like Caroline said, I am Morgan. I'm the backseat kind of behind this whole thing, but I will occasionally pop.

[Caroline Turner]

In, make some comments, some corrections as needed.

[Morgan]

You might need to correct me at times. And yeah, I'm really excited. I think it's been really interesting for my perspective working on the business side and the marketing side is really seeing everything that goes into actually being an interior designer. It's not just sitting behind a desk and picking out paint colors. And I know everyone listening is shaking their head like, yeah, no shit. But when you see it firsthand, it's so much more than that. And I think this would be just such a disservice to not bring this to people and to share these funny stories and to have community and do it together and share and that this doesn't need to be scary and it doesn't need to be competitive and gross.

[Caroline Turner]

And there's room for all of us. Absolutely.

[Morgan]

And even if you have a huge mess up or a huge fuck up, you're gonna be fine.

[Caroline Turner]

It will be okay. And we're here to prove that to you.

[Morgan]

Yeah. And Caroline and I always laugh with each other. We're like, we're literally putting like lipstick on a rock. It's like, you know that lipstick on a pig. It's like Paint on a rock, Lipstick on a pig. Like that's what interior design is. We're just on a floating rock.

[Caroline Turner]

So true. I mean, I tell my team all the time, we are not brain surgeons. No one's dying. But it can very easily feel that way. When you've split so much time and energy and money, both yours and clients, into this job, it can be really difficult.

[Morgan]

And your name's writing on it.

[Caroline Turner]

My name is on the door. If we fuck up, that is on me.

[Morgan]

And if you mess up, your reputation is going to be ruined. You're never going to have another client. And clients say that. And I've heard clients say that.

[Caroline Turner]

Absolutely. And I'm here to tell you it's just simply not true.

[Morgan]

Yep. So we're here to laugh, share the stories, really build the community, and we're just excited to be doing it with all of you.

[Caroline Turner]

And we can't wait to hear your confessions, because that's the key here, really. This podcast is to hear all of your stories, the crazy things that have happened to you, crazy things you may have done. I promise we will keep you anonymous and this only works if you write in. So please, please tell us your juicy stories and I promise we will be responsible with sharing them. And we'll even hop on the phone if that makes you feel better. And you can have prior approval. The other piece of this is you can also leave questions if you are early in your career or you've been in this for a while, but you have social media questions or just generally, what should I do in this situation questions, Write them in on our website. You can just go to carolineturner.co and there is a page called Confessions. You click that, you have the ability to leave a confession and ask questions. And I can't wait to hear from you. You hear from you. Speaking of confessions, we are going to talk about one of mine which does feel very vulnerable. But I know it's a big ask to ask all of you to write in, and I want to make sure I am giving it in return. So without further ado, I was a intern for someone who is one of the most famous interior designers in the world, arguably, and I could not have been happier to be in that job icon unpaid. This is. Who even knows what year a long fucking time ago. But I didn't care at all, at all. She was genuinely my idol and frankly, kind of still is. Some important backstory to know is before I went to this internship, my parents had told me because most internships are unpaid internships, you can go to Atlanta, which was the closest to to my hometown. And we had friends there, so there was somewhere I could stay for free. So of course I applied to one Atlanta firm, and I applied to Paris, New York, Louisiana, all over the world, and heard back from a couple of people, but the one Atlanta firm denied me. So I had been talking to a couple of firms in the city, and then I had, you know, an interview. It went well, et cetera, et cetera. And I was going to sort of accept this offer. And when I told my parents, actually, I'm going to this very far away city, they ended up agreeing, which was very kind and such an incredible start to my career. But when I found out that they in fact would let me go, I decided, well, it can't hurt to just apply to my dream job, who was also in this city that they already said I could go to. And I should mention, this is my first job, real job in the industry. And I am so young. So when I'm talking about my parents, it's because it was very necessary from an age perspective. So I decide over a couple of margaritas with my girlfriends, because we had been out celebrating that I was going to accept this other internship offer, I decided it can't hurt. I'm just gonna send my resume. So at like 2:00am, I type of a little email with my cover letter. I send it off, and the next morning I woke up to an email from one of her employees saying, we'd love to interview you. I've never screamed louder in my life. Genuinely. Cause in my head, it was such a long shot. And not only that, even I had professors tell, like, there is literally no point in applying. No one from our school has ever been an intern. Like, that is not going to happen. Long story short, I got the job. I was so thrilled. I was moving to a city that I'd always wanted to live in. It felt like I was starting my life for the very first time. My mom was kind enough to fly out with me and get me all situated in a very dank basement apartment, which was didn't even have a kitchen. And I started work. Not a couple. Not very long after that, I went in the first day and I had worn like a little miniskirt and heels, which is so funny. I would literally never wear that now. But the boss of this company is a fashion icon, and just an icon in general, but a fashion icon. So I knew that I had to bring it. So I showed up to my first day. There was like six other interns and maybe like 30 people that worked at this firm. And so every Monday they had a Monday meeting that's fairly common. And we're told to gather around and she is sitting at a table, desk thing. And then everyone's gathered around her, a lot of other people are sitting. And then because I'm an intern, I'm standing in the back taking notes. And I'm standing next to my friend Macy, who I made that very day. So as we're standing there, she's talking about all these different products. Obviously we have no context for what she's talking about. So we're kind of just like smiling and nodding. And all of a sudden I see this like flurry of motion under her table, under her desk. And she was very into rescue animals. And so I thought, oh, it's probably her dog or like a dog. And I go back to taking notes. I don't really think anything else of it. And then as the meeting is sort of wrapping up, I see a much bigger flurry of motion. And I look at Macy like, what do you sort of. And as I do that, I then look back over to her and. And a small woman is climbing out from under her desk where she had been getting a pedicure, which is the craziest thing my small town mind had ever seen. I didn't even know at the time you could have people come to you to give you a pedicure, much less under your table at work and with everyone.

[Morgan]

And no shame.

[Caroline Turner]

Not at all. And honestly, at the time I genuinely thought, this is insane. Now I'm like, she's a genius. Like she is a multitasking genius.

[Morgan]

Well, I love too that she didn't even preface it, like, hey, just didn't.

[Caroline Turner]

Mention it to anyone.

[Morgan]

It's like that's how it shows that this is just a non thing for her.

[Caroline Turner]

Well. And none of the other employees blinked an eye. This is just typical Monday morning. No one even looked. And I'm looking at Macy like, are you seeing what I'm seeing? Holy fucking shit.

[Morgan]

No, it's amazing.

[Caroline Turner]

It is crazy. And the city that I was in, it's just like very indicative of the city, I would say. Yes, I would say. I would say. And another coworker who was so beautiful, stunning and had long blonde hair and had it like in these really pretty curls every day. And I was thinking either she's like wearing a wig or she's getting up at 5am every night. And this was a madness. Demanding, like very just. We were working on Insanely high end and crazy projects. So there was a lot expected of us. So one day, finally, after we'd kind of become friends, I asked her, why does your hair always look perfect? Like what are you doing?

[Morgan]

What did. Yeah, yeah.

[Caroline Turner]

What's.

[Morgan]

What's Gunter had.

[Caroline Turner]

Tell me now. Literally I need to know because I am like showing up. This is pre slickbacks. There wasn't even that option. But she goes, oh my God. Oh, I got Botox in my head.

[Morgan]

Genius.

[Caroline Turner]

I was like, genius, huh? Sorry, slow down and explain that a little more. And she's like, yeah. So I do SoulCycle every single day and I got Botox in my head so I don't sweat. So I go to dry bar on Sunday, I get a blowout and then for until the next Sunday, I keep my same hair but I got Botox in my head so I don't sweat.

[Morgan]

It's incredible.

[Caroline Turner]

It's fucking genius.

[Morgan]

And what I love the most is how she was such a girls girl.

[Caroline Turner]

And she shared a girl's girl. Absolutely. And I've thought about her all the time since then.

[Morgan]

I wonder what she's doing because, you know, especially in the city that you are in, right. It's so easy to just be like, oh, I wake up like this and you know how everyone has plastic surgery and no one wants to admit it and you think it is also perfect.

[Caroline Turner]

Before people are talking on social media about any of this. So it's like very. Yeah. Not something a little bit more taboo we're talking about at the time.

[Morgan]

And to share that and say, no, this is how I do it. And also how many units do you think she has and should I book.

[Caroline Turner]

An appointment right now? I should have asked her. I wasn't getting Botox at the time because it was 20.

[Morgan]

Yeah.

[Caroline Turner]

So if I didn't, it crossed my mind.

[Morgan]

Now we have so many more follow ups.

[Caroline Turner]

I have so many units.

[Morgan]

Yeah, it's like, where do you put it in your head? Do you put it on your hairline? Do you put it all over? How are you doing now we have logistic questions that we need answered.

[Caroline Turner]

So many logistics questions.

[Morgan]

So do I have any listeners that have done this? I mean people do it underneath the arm place.

[Caroline Turner]

Please write in, you can write in our questions. Oh, I know, I know somebody who did that same. And it does. I feel like it works for sure.

[Morgan]

It really works, but. And now we're going on a tangent. Isn't it like don't you need to sweat to get the toxins out?

[Caroline Turner]

This is my Question, too. And I have to assume that if you're blocking your sweat in your head, it's coming out, like, somewhere else. And I feel like then I would, like, have a sweating problem or, like.

[Morgan]

Your hands or something.

[Caroline Turner]

No. Yeah. No, I think that would be worse.

[Morgan]

Or your armpits, like, then it goes.

[Caroline Turner]

Exactly. Is that how that works? Can someone who knows anything about that.

[Morgan]

Tell anything about anything?

[Caroline Turner]

Cause we certainly don't. Also, I just saw Taylor Swift this past weekend, and I leaned over to one of the girls I saw her with, and I was like, she definitely has Botox in her head. Like, 1000% Taylor Swift does. Yes. I mean, obviously, I don't know, but she's dancing and, like, doing things in Louboutins and is, like, not sweating until almost two hours in.

[Morgan]

Yeah.

[Caroline Turner]

Which feels impossible.

[Morgan]

Impossible.

[Caroline Turner]

If I were her and I had her money, I'd have my sweat glass removed. Not really. But, like, I did something drastic. I totally. What you said I'd be AI.

[Morgan]

I would be an AI version of me. There would not be.

[Caroline Turner]

My body's in a jar. Yeah.

[Morgan]

And I would just be. I'd be like, gosh, I'm really tired. Just send out AI Morgan. I could never. And the fact that, I mean, I've never been.

[Caroline Turner]

I'm thinking small. You got to think big.

[Morgan]

And I could sit and watch Gilmore Girls. And then she myself.

[Caroline Turner]

Your AI is just doing it for you.

[Morgan]

Yeah.

[Caroline Turner]

The dream. She probably used. This is what AI should be used.

[Morgan]

For evil or good, not evil.

[Caroline Turner]

Morgan said, and I'm evil.

[Morgan]

And I'm evil. That was a Freudian slip for good, not evil.

[Caroline Turner]

Definitely a Freudian slip. Okay. So I know those confessions were a little bit less juicy than you would probably want. And we're not done. Don't worry. But I wanted to give you a little peek about a couple of things I went through early on in this career. And now we're going to get into an anonymous confession from a listener, and Morgan's gonna read that for us. And I've never heard this.

[Morgan]

Yeah.

[Caroline Turner]

So this will be my real, true reaction to whatever she's about to tell me.

[Morgan]

This is a good one. I'm excited.

[Caroline Turner]

Okay. Yay.

[Morgan]

The person who wrote this in. They did such a great descriptive job of talking about the situation. I'm really excited.

[Caroline Turner]

Okay. Paint the picture for me.

[Morgan]

Okay.

[Caroline Turner]

Okay.

[Morgan]

We're calling this the Chair Swap Scandal.

[Caroline Turner]

Ooh, scandal.

[Morgan]

When I first read it, I thought it said swamp. And then I'm like, wait. Now I'm more intrigued. But it's Good. All right, ready?

[Caroline Turner]

Ready.

[Morgan]

All right, so here it goes. I was hired by a very high profile client. Think celebrity couple who shall remain nameless. I'm dying to know who dying. And I know this is supposed to be anonymous, but, like, message us after I teleported.

[Caroline Turner]

Send in your guesses, please.

[Morgan]

Yeah. And everything about the project was super hush hush. NDAs, private entrances, you name it. And of course, they wanted everything custom and no expense was spared. Silk drapes, marble from Italy, and a pair of $25,000 armchairs from Paris.

[Caroline Turner]

This sounds like the dream project.

[Morgan]

Yeah. Also $25,000. Like, what? That's a lot of money.

[Caroline Turner]

Child's play.

[Morgan]

Just kidding. Okay, so these chair for their pride and joy. They even joked that if the house caught on fire, those chairs would be the first thing they'd save.

[Caroline Turner]

Oh, my God. Foreshadowing.

[Morgan]

Yeah. I also hope that, like, they don't have children. And.

[Caroline Turner]

Can you imagine if they do? Little Sarah and Johnny. And they're like, we're taking the chairs.

[Morgan]

I'm taking the dog. Taking the chairs. All right, so fast forward to installation week, and everything's going fine, right? Until disaster strikes. So the chairs arrive, and they're totally wrong. Think wrong color, wrong size, everything. So apparently the manufacturer mixed up the orders and the right chair wouldn't arrive for another four months.

[Caroline Turner]

Holy shit. So every designer is like, yep, been there, been there, been there.

[Morgan]

All right, so now here's where things get insane. So the client was scheduled to host an exclusive dinner party that weekend. And of course, those chairs just had to be there.

[Caroline Turner]

Also, why is it that clients are always scheduling dinner parties, like, three days after install? You're like, please, I'm begging you, please give me some breathing room.

[Morgan]

Maybe wait a month. It's true. I'm begging. They're so excited that everything.

[Caroline Turner]

It is very sweet.

[Morgan]

They want to show it off. But also.

[Caroline Turner]

But also, please get a grip, please.

[Morgan]

God forbid one thing is delayed and it's.

[Caroline Turner]

And then you're cooked. You're done.

[Morgan]

Yeah. All right. So of course, it had this exclusive dinner party that was that weekend. And I'm like, what the hell? What do I do? So in a panic, I called my assistant, and I'm like, we need to make a plan, and we need a plan now. So we did some quick thinking, and we did something that I'm both horrified and also slightly impressed by. They found a near identical knockoff chairs. $500 each, and they had them delivered same day. Was an Amazon. Same day.

[Caroline Turner]

Oh, my God.

[Morgan]

Yep. So they carefully distressed the fabric. They added a few. We added a few scuffs. They made them look like they had just spent months traveling first class from Paris. The dinner party went off without a hitch. The clients had no idea.

[Caroline Turner]

Oh my God.

[Morgan]

They even told me how much they loved the chairs and how they were even better than they imagined. Okay. It's like when you have a fake designer bag and like, you're wearing it around and no one knows. Four months later, when the real chairs arrived and in the dead of night, the clients were out of town. We swapped them out with the fakes without even a sole knowing. Also, did you break into your client's house?

[Caroline Turner]

Also, they're like the CIA. The Central Interior Design Agency. Seriously, you guys need a career change. You could be like spies. I am. Genuinely, my mouth is hanging open from. I'm so impressed and like, terrified in hindsight, but so fucking impressed.

[Morgan]

Impressed. And they said, to this day, they're still sitting in this celebrity's house and the celebrity is thinking that their beloved Parisian treasure has been there the whole time.

[Caroline Turner]

Oh, my God.

[Morgan]

It ends with do I regret it? No. The client was happy, the party was a success, and now I can say I pulled off the biggest chair heist in design history. But if those clients ever find out, well, let's just say that they'll be writing me from a different address. So we do need to put this person in under witness protection. Witness protection. I'm dying to know who the clients are. I'm. Now I have to know the chairs. Like whoever wrote this in, please, please, please send us.

[Caroline Turner]

We won't tell anyone.

[Morgan]

Please show us the Amazon chairs photos.

[Caroline Turner]

I need photos.

[Morgan]

I need the Amazon chairs. Cause you know, if they're same day delivery, it has to be Amazon Target stores.

[Caroline Turner]

So true. Yeah, like Walmart even.

[Morgan]

Or going into like a CB2.

[Caroline Turner]

Yeah, I guess. But even then you can't really get furniture now. Unless this was pre Covid, you, like, can't really take furniture off the floor anymore.

[Morgan]

Right. So if it was same day and you had to move quickly.

[Caroline Turner]

Also, you are so right.

[Morgan]

If it's that quickly, I'm trying to think. They couldn't have been that good of a dupe.

[Caroline Turner]

No.

[Morgan]

Or unless they're very basic chairs.

[Caroline Turner]

But then why were they $25,000 to begin with?

[Morgan]

Right.

[Caroline Turner]

It's kind of scary that you can find that good of a dupe that they wouldn't know, like for such a fraction. I guess I have to. My assumption is that they're somehow like structural or Not a chair that you really sit in. They're more of like a decorative.

[Morgan]

Maybe like a fake marble sculpture.

[Caroline Turner]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And so I feel like that is. So maybe because no one sat on them, it didn't. Like, they didn't feel like.

[Morgan]

I don't know, though.

[Caroline Turner]

I feel like our clients, they would know. Like, literally having a magnifying glass out, like, they would know. But I guess if, like, if you're super famous and you have a lot going on, their assistant's probably handling most of it anyway.

[Morgan]

Exactly. And I feel like your clients are. They have so much, like, love for what you're doing, and they're really involved in the process. And they love most of them. Right. They love the interior design process and they love the creation. If you're a celebrity and you just have this house, it's one of your sevens. Yeah, yeah. You have six other houses. You're like, perfect interior designer, everything.

[Caroline Turner]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

You just want it to show off. You don't actually care about, like, the craftsmanship and maybe. And obviously there are some celebrities that do, but I think that's where. Where other celebrities, they just want to say this is $25,000 versus other clients would love a $500 chair that. That they source vintage.

[Caroline Turner]

Absolutely. Or that they think looks like a $25,000 chair. It's almost like the celebrities don't care if it looks like it's $25,000 as long as it is. And that's like kind of a sickness in itself.

[Morgan]

Right.

[Caroline Turner]

Like, why are you such a snob about where things come from? Because at the end of the day, it's so fucking funny that you throw a dinner party with Amazon chairs and.

[Morgan]

Some of the best finds. You talk about this all the time. Facebook, Marketplace.

[Caroline Turner]

Absolutely. Because there's things like, we can't even get anymore that someone's grandmother had in their garage for years. Yeah, absolutely.

[Morgan]

Or going on Etsy. That's where the best shit is.

[Caroline Turner]

1000%. Yeah, that is. Okay. I will say I've had so many of these moments where it's just like, what are we going to do? And we all have to put our heads together and that, A, thank God for assistance. Thank God for assistance. B, I would not have thought of that. Like, I would never have thought we're gonna try to trick them. I would have thought, well, we gotta tell em. We're gonna have to run it in. Or, like, I don't even know. I honestly don't know what I would do. I think I would have to tell Them the truth. Yeah, but.

[Morgan]

Well, also, you have to hope that this assistant and you never have a falling out.

[Caroline Turner]

Never.

[Morgan]

And you all have to be each.

[Caroline Turner]

Other'S pride or die, so. Right.

[Morgan]

Because if she or he ever throws you under the bus, you're fucked. You're fucked.

[Caroline Turner]

I told my team that they can write a memoir when I'm dead. Yeah, they can say anything they want. But as long as I'm not here anymore, please.

[Morgan]

I will haunt in the afterlife.

[Caroline Turner]

Don't try me, bitch. You're not trying me.

[Morgan]

Don't try me, bitch. But feel free. The NDAs will expire.

[Caroline Turner]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

[Morgan]

See, this is the thing about this. I'm like, I need follow ups. I need to know.

[Caroline Turner]

I need to know everything. I need to know what the chairs look like, what their house looked like, where was this? I have so many questions.

[Morgan]

Who they were, where the assistant is now. Do you still work for that firm? It's absolutely. It is impressive. I mean, the quick thinking in that. The clients don't know.

[Caroline Turner]

I do think that it is. It really does illustrate how stressful and high intensity this job can be. Even though it's like literally over a.

[Morgan]

Pair of chairs in a dinner party. Like, is it one chair or is it the entire dinner party? Chairs. But it is right though.

[Caroline Turner]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Morgan]

It makes it feel like it is actually life or death. When you have high profile clients who have a lot of money, status, power.

[Caroline Turner]

Absolutely. And this comes into them being like, I'm gonna ruin you. Like there wealthy people who will not even blink to like destroy your career if there's a perceived slight.

[Morgan]

Right.

[Caroline Turner]

Which is such a horrible and caged in feeling. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm here to tell you they can't do anything. I mean, I certainly don't have that many in my career that have gone sideways, but there have been a couple of clients that have said, you need to keep me happy because I'm your referral source or I'm this or I'm that. No, and actually it's better to not have a referral through kind of a horrible client. Because newsflash, their whole referral line is not worth it. Not worth it at all. Referring is one thing, but if they don't turn into clients, it means nothing.

[Morgan]

And also anyone that you have this perceived power over, like, you have to keep me happy or else you have to do. Exactly. There's not. That's not how any relationship should work. Any business relationship. That's not how any of it should work. And that's not what people you want.

[Caroline Turner]

It's icky, it's gross.

[Morgan]

And they think that they're better than you or they think they're better who they're. Whomever that they hire. And it's gross.

[Caroline Turner]

It really is.

[Morgan]

And that's karma at the end of the day too.

[Caroline Turner]

Yeah, it is. And honestly, I think if that were me as I'm falling asleep at night, I would get a little chuckle.

[Morgan]

Yeah.

[Caroline Turner]

That I got one over on that client. Even if they were like a nice client, I feel like it would just be kind of like, heh, hee, hee hee, you never found out.

[Morgan]

I think it would also eat me up inside and be like, if they ever find out. If they ever find out, I'm gonna kill my.

[Caroline Turner]

Yeah, if they ever find out, I'm done. I do feel like there's been times where I've like made a face or done something and been like, oh, fuck, do they have cameras?

[Morgan]

Yeah.

[Caroline Turner]

And I feel like that's what I would be worried about, that they have like hidden cameras somewhere and they watched me wheel these chairs in and out. That would be my little nightmare.

[Morgan]

They didn't go into the specifics of how they broke into the house, which probably for the best. We do not wanna get.

[Caroline Turner]

Oh, no, no, don't tell us that. Nope, we don't need to. We do not want to have to testify against you.

[Morgan]

And all of our listeners are going to be joining us too. Yeah. But like, I'm interested, right. If this is such a high profile client. Like you said they had, you know, private entrances maybe.

[Caroline Turner]

Okay. I think what had to have happened is that they like made friends with the house manager or something because there's no way you can get in that house. I mean, unless we have had clients give us their alarm code.

[Morgan]

Yeah.

[Caroline Turner]

And I guess if it's like one of seven houses and their house manager normally stays there, it could be one of those things where they like don't.

[Morgan]

Really notice or they make an excuse like, oh, we actually had to fix something else or we had to come in and do something. And then it's not like they literally broke in.

[Caroline Turner]

They didn't like break a window or like crawl. Yeah, no, I don't. It doesn't. How could you get the chair through? I mean, I feel like it would have to be a big enough opening that they got the chairs in there.

[Morgan]

You know, I'm imagining like a thousand pound massive chair. Massive structural.

[Caroline Turner]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

Chair.

[Caroline Turner]

And they're like all black, but like.

[Morgan]

Kind of chic looking still. Cuz they're like interior designers. And usually interior designers have boys.

[Caroline Turner]

That's so funny. I mean, if you're going to have a caper, it needs to be like well dressed. Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. Okay, so that wraps up our confession portion of today, and we're going to close out with some questions and then I will tell you a couple of things that made me feel this week. Let's get into it, Morgan.

[Morgan]

Okay, so I have a few listener questions.

[Caroline Turner]

I'm excited to get into this.

[Morgan]

Okay, so the first one, what is your favorite part of the residential design process specifically? And then what is your least favorite part?

[Caroline Turner]

It's such a good question. I feel like it's kind of the same answer. My favorite and my least favorite, the idea that we get to impact these families lives in such a massive way because obviously your environment can be really indicative of how you live your life. And I think that it really does affect people's day to day lives. And that is something that I love. I tell my clients to send me photos of their kids, like cooking or doing something in the house, because when I'm designing a home, those are the things I'm envisioning. I'm envisioning what it looks like, but also how they're functioning within that. And so I think favorite is that we do have that massive impact on a family. Least favorite is that because it's residential, it is so personal.

[Morgan]

Right. There's no place more sacred than your.

[Caroline Turner]

Home, than your home. And I respect that and appreciate that our clients trust us to do this job. But there certainly can be times where we aren't being given the level of trust that we need to really do this job. Well, I'm sure other designers have had this situation where clients tell me photos from my house are their favorite. And that's what has gotten us a lot of work. And that is easily the least expensive project I've ever done. But it's because I didn't have a client telling me no.

[Morgan]

Right.

[Caroline Turner]

I got to really spread my wings and do what I wanted. And that has since brought clients to us. But it's kind of like I have people hiring me all the time saying, we want you, we want your look. And then will get halfway through and they'll water it down to where it is safer and more digestible. But what they're not seeing is that you need layers and you need details and you have to push it a little bit further than you think you need to in order for it to have that finished wow effect at the End. And that can be very difficult to get a client to understand, especially if they've ever worked with an interior designer.

[Morgan]

Well. Right. And it's like if you want something that's never been done before, you have to do something that's.

[Caroline Turner]

You have to be courageous enough to let us do it.

[Morgan]

Exactly. You can go in, like we said, and go to CB2. Go to Wayfair.

[Caroline Turner]

Absolutely.

[Morgan]

Go to H and M Home. There's all these places that you can get very cheap things and you can decorate your home and you can.

[Caroline Turner]

And it will be really cute, of course.

[Morgan]

But if you want something and if you want to trust an interior designer, you need to be able to put your actual trust in the process. Absolutely.

[Caroline Turner]

If you want their final true result and what you're hiring them for. Yeah. You have to give us enough trust to actually do the job.

[Morgan]

And this kind of leads to the second question is what is the most time consuming part of your job that everyone thinks takes five minutes?

[Caroline Turner]

I feel like nearly everything that I do would qualify for that.

[Morgan]

Which is an ADD thing I've learned, by the way. Oh, I've been. Yeah, I've learned that ADD makes you think that something like, takes a lot less time than it does.

[Caroline Turner]

Oh, just like my whole life.

[Morgan]

Same. This was a big light bulb moment for me.

[Caroline Turner]

Whoa.

[Morgan]

Just neurodivergent moment.

[Caroline Turner]

Yeah. That is wild. That's really good to know. One thing I would say that certainly I talk with clients a lot about is finding a specific chair for a living room that has already basically been completely designed, can take five hours for one chair. And you know, normally when I'm pulling for full rooms or full homes, which is always. It's a lot easier, weirdly, because I give them options and there are so many ways we can go with it. And then based on what they choose, it really creates this sort of personalized effect that still gives them the ultimate effect I'm going for. Often I have to explain that because we have designed their whole living room, everything is selected. Maybe the chair is no longer in stock or the client changed their mind. That because we're working with such strict parameters can take forever and can be really not fun. Like, it's not the fun part of my job. We're actually working on something to hopefully mitigate some of this. Because I feel like a big, big time suck is finding those specific pieces that I've already sourced once or twice that we just can't get an approval on. And that feels like it can take a full day sometimes. And It's.

[Morgan]

And you think it's easy, right? Just find a purple chair to go into this room and match with my green carpet. And you're like, no, there's one billion purple chairs.

[Caroline Turner]

Absolutely. Not only that, but like, if you wanted me to find a chair, I could do it.

[Morgan]

Right?

[Caroline Turner]

Anyone can find a chair. But finding the chair that texturally makes sense, or makes sense from a form and scale perspective, that is trickier. And I know I'm preaching to the choir. Obviously everyone knows this, but I do think it's something that especially, again, if clients haven't worked with a designer before, it's hard for them to grasp. It really is.

[Morgan]

Yeah, it can be. They think it's easy, but, well.

[Caroline Turner]

Cause they're like, what about this chair? And what about this chair? And it's like, if you found that on Google, I already saw it.

[Morgan]

Yeah. I didn't choose it for a reason.

[Caroline Turner]

I didn't choose it cause it's wrong. So now you're just wasting your own time. Right. And obviously, like, clients will send me things, and I'm. You know, this is a collaborative effort. I don't mean to seem like it's not, but it certainly can be more complicated than people think it is.

[Morgan]

Totally. All right, last question. How do you start the design discussion with clients who have no idea what they want and are not even familiar with design in terms of the overall process? So they don't even know if they want, you know, contemporary, modern, traditional. They have no idea what their style is. They have no idea what they want, but they have this absolute blank slate for you to use.

[Caroline Turner]

Number one dream project. That's so fun. I would say that whether they have their own style or not, I do it the same way. So I take the age of the home, the location of the home. Is it coastal? Is it mountainous? Is it city? And then we. Of course, I often look at how our clients dress. Cause I am sort of. Of trying to get some sensibility of who they are.

[Morgan]

That's so smart.

[Caroline Turner]

Because really, your clothes can translate into home. And not everyone is dressing as well as they want to be dressing. But at least it gives you a starting off point. Like, if they're mainly wearing black and white, do they prefer neutrals? Maybe not. Maybe they're saying like, no, only in my clothes. But in my home, I want everything colorful. But it's a great place to start the conversation. I think that if the clients are amenable to designing to the home, which is really what they should be doing, we're taking our cues from that. I would say that often, even if clients have worked with another designer, it's not the same education. We all have different opinions. We all feel differently about certain things. And so one designer may hate unlacquered brass, and I am obsessed with unlacquered brass. So starting the education over, because you just can't be sure what they know and what they don't really gives us a very solid bedrock foundation to build on. Because, as everyone knows, this is such a relationship built on trust. And so I think that making sure that you are proving why they should trust you in the beginning and proving why what you're saying is best for the project, generally speaking, clients come around and they realize that what you're saying is best case scenario. And what I like to say to clients is anything that is stuck to the house, we try to stay in the age of the home. Anything that is free can be anything we want. So if the house is Georgian, but the clients are very into mid century, we would do all of the architectural details Georgian, and then we would bring in mid century modern furniture and lighting to give it that effect without cheapening the existing architecture.

[Morgan]

And I think that's a good way to keep it. And you talk a lot about this of. Of how you want to look at some of your designs and that they can kind of last the test of time.

[Caroline Turner]

Absolutely.

[Morgan]

And it doesn't feel like this home was done in 2024 or this home was done in 2016, and. Right. That's how you can kind of play with it. Cause you're mixing different styles, ages, styles, everything. And that's how it looks. Layered and customized too.

[Caroline Turner]

Absolutely. And I think that it's really easy to just buy pieces that are all new or all this or all that. And it just. It doesn't give that fullness and personality that I think a home that has a true mix does.

[Morgan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Caroline Turner]

We're going to round out this episode with a couple of things that made me feel this week. Interiors that make you feel is Caroline Turner Interiors Tagline. And I do like to focus on things that made me feel to really know where to put my energy. So one is this show. The fact that we are recording this episode right now, I'm feeling extraordinarily grateful, extraordinarily grateful that my friends and colleagues are agreeing to come on and that our community is really lifting us up, which is all I could ever ask for. Another thing that made me feel, I should say is at this point, when you're hearing this, I will have just turned 30, which is very exciting. And my mom says I came out of the womb 30. So it's a little bit like feels like it's been a long time coming. The movie 13 going on 30 did really feel like really connected with that at 13. But it's such a funny thing to be leaving my 20s and it feels like there was so much growth in that decade and I can't even imagine what life will look like when I'm 40, but I'm really excited to find out. I'm apprehensive, but mainly excited, which I think is a good way to be. And then I also my final that made me feel is I just saw Taylor Swift, which was as a Swiftie, sorry, since I was literally 12 or 13. Started with debut. I love her and yeah, I got to see her in concert this past weekend in New Orleans and it was life changing. Anytime I see anyone I care about in concert, it just is such a microcosm of their passion. And I feel like whenever I leave a concert or a great movie or a great show, I want to go and create, which sounds really weird, but like I'm inspired by their creativity, even if it's not in my same realm. And I think coming back from New Orleans, I just am feeling very inspired and very excited and ready to push through the end of the year because 2025 is going to be wild. Okay, thank you all for listening so much. Make sure that you go and join our Facebook group, Confessions of Interior Designers. Also, don't forget to leave your confessions and questions on our website and I'll see you next week. Until then, peace be with.