A friend recently remodeled her kitchen. She knew what she wanted, and was not seeking my help, but we did talk a few times about her ultimate goals for the space. She used the words “timeless” and “classic” when describing her style, and was adamant that she wanted her new kitchen to stand the test of time. Every choice was well thought out and based on the aesthetic she was trying to achieve. The result is a beautiful, timeless kitchen, just like she planned.
Once the remodel was complete, she was excited to show off the transformation. Most people were very complimentary, and thought the new kitchen looked wonderful. But one friend of a friend, let’s call him Bob, had some advice to give. (FYI - Bob sells kitchen faucets for a living). Bob took one look at the kitchen and declared my friend SHOULD have a black faucet and black cabinet hardware. (She considered a number of options for her kitchen faucet, and ultimately went with chrome).
Now, my friend is a very capable woman, with an abundance of talent and resources. If she had wanted to incorporate a black faucet and cabinet hardware into her new kitchen, she most certainly would have done so. But she didn’t - because it wasn’t the look she was going for.
Back to Bob. Nice enough guy. Knows he’s been selling lots of black faucets and feels he understands the latest kitchen trends well enough to offer a little unsolicited advice. Black faucets are very popular right now. But Bob made the mistake of assuming my friend really wanted a black faucet because everyone else wants a black faucet right now. He was wrong. My friend wanted a chrome faucet because she loves the way it looks in her kitchen. Her beautiful, timeless, classic kitchen.
Very often, sales people, contractors, tradespeople and friends will try to tell us what we “should” have in our new builds or remodels. They’re usually basing this advice on their own personal preferences, what’s trending right now, what’s popular on Pinterest or something they saw on HGTV. And sometimes other people have really great, useful, helpful and creative ideas. But sometimes they don’t. If you know what you want, stick with your vision. Don’t allow yourself to be talked into a black faucet when what you really want is chrome!
Danna
PS – And let’s face it, once a project is complete, telling someone how they should have done something is a little bit insulting. That’s not usually the intent, of course, but pointing out that someone should have done something differently after they have already done it is never a good idea.
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