WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

HOW YOUR SERVICES ADD WELLNESS AND HAPPINESS TO YOUR CLIENT’S LIVES

HOW TO START INCORPORATING THIS SERVICE

WHY YOU NEED TO EDUCATE YOUR CLIENTS AS WELL AS INDUSTRY PARTNERS ON HOW YOU CAN ELEVATE THEIR PROJECTS

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We really do affect the quality of our clients’ lives in their homes, and that’s pretty awesome! But we would be shortchanging ourselves if we sold our services just on beauty. It is a large part, but only a part of the totality our services bring to our clients. 

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed our perspective on the spaces that we live in. Clients are now more focused on creating a sanctuary. This is especially vital in today’s world, where their homes have become more than just living spaces. Now, there are offices in many cases. Sometimes school, sometimes a gym, and so much more. 

However, it has dramatically emphasized the need for designs that prioritize wellness and happiness. 

I saw a Houzz survey in 2022 that said 25% of homeowners cited improving their home wellness as a key motivator for their renovation projects. That’s incredible! 

That is something you really need to focus on. We are skilled at blending not only the esthetics but also the wellness and happiness that will enhance the quality of life when we are finished with a project. 

You may feel like you don’t know how to increase someone’s happiness, but the reality is you do. Customization, making it specific to your client, will elevate their happiness. This can be done through layouts and specific needs.

For example, if I’m doing a primary bedroom/bathroom, here are some questions I ask my clients:

What side of the bed do you sleep on?

Who gets up first?

Who gets up last?

How many hours apart are you getting up?

I know some of you may cringe when you talk to a client and ask for some pretty personal information. I know it’s not easy, but that is how you are going to get the data you need to customize whatever space you’re working on. 

But if I can determine that for a husband and wife, the wife gets up early to exercise and sleeps on the right side of the bed, I might suggest putting the door to the bathroom on the right side of the wall. We might integrate some lighting so that when she walks into the bathroom, it illuminates soft lighting to not wake anyone else up. Maybe there’s a closet nearby so that she doesn’t have to go back into the bedroom and possibly wake up her husband. 

These things may all seem trivial, but in day-to-day worlds, this can be life changing! 

In our decorating world, we know the power of color.

We know that blues and greens promote calmness, while yellows can energize along with oranges. But there are countless studies that found that color impressions can significantly effect mood and stress levels. Bring that up with your client. Explain the importance of really diving into what it is they are looking for and what it is they want to achieve. 

But it’s not just about paint color. 

It’s about natural light and natural views. So again, in our construction projects, think about where windows are being placed. Can they be moved to a better location? If you are doing a new build and are reviewing the drawings and see a better idea for windows based upon your client’s needs, based upon bringing in natural light, bring that up. Talk to the architect. Talk to the client and explain what your thoughts are and how you can help push the design along to bring in more aspects that will ultimately enhance the interiors. 

I can assure you there are many things you could share with your clients that would enhance their lives that they don’t even know about. You are elevating the conversation and bringing your expertise to the project, and in return, your client will receive many benefits. 

You can also achieve this through traditional lighting and strategic ways so that things are well lit for tasks or ambient lighting in areas that don’t require tasks and evoke more of an intimacy feel. It’s truly that simple if you step back and look at what your clients are going to want to do in that space. 

The same goes for acoustics to minimize noise stress, but also with speakers to bring in music if that’s something your client loves

So this is really all about conveniences. We’re talking about personalization. We’re talking about using technology to our advantage to improve the quality of our client’s lives. As you can see, there are just so many different ways of bringing that to each project. 

The key is to understand that you cannot only do that but also convey that and communicate that level of service to your clients and industry partners. It makes our industry indispensable to our clients, who need not only to understand this need but also to obtain it through our designs and expertise.

This means you start educating from the beginning, during the discovery call. Understand what the client is looking for. They might not necessarily know until you start probing. 

Wellness and happiness are what our clients are looking for, and I don’t see that going away anytime soon. Being on the forefront and aware of the level of services you can provide now will make you the expert and the one they seek out. 

Educate industry partners as well. I don’t see a lot of architects and contractors focusing on this and so it elevates their projects, because you’re bringing that level of service to your mutual clients. 

So, I can’t encourage you enough to embrace this if you haven’t already. Or maybe you have all along and just haven’t put a name to it. I would absolutely put a name to the fact that you design for happiness and wellbeing!