465. Design for the PPL with Erin Haskell Gourde

Last year, my husband and I almost built a new house until we realized we loved the house we were in. We just wanted someone to help us make it feel like a new experience, a new phase of life, a more refined and put together aesthetic that would work for our busy family lifestyle and feel like a glow up for our space.

Enter Erin Haskell Gourde. After doing a bit of research online and talking to friends, I discovered that Erin’s company Design for the PPL was responsible for so many of the spaces I loved. I already knew that she had helped both of my brothers with major remodels and designs. But I didn’t realize she was responsible for the interiors of several of the very chic salons in town and she was booked solid with projects all over the country. But I wasn’t looking for a remodel.

I had a budget I wanted to stick to and I was completely intimidated with how hiring a designer even worked. Erin had the perfect solution for me, which we will discuss here today. I took away so many gems from that experience that I asked Erin to come on to the podcast and share some of that brilliance with us. Welcome to episode 465, Design for the PPL with Erin Haskell, Gourde.

This is Better Than Happy. I’m your coach, Jody Moore. And on this podcast, my objective, just so we’re clear, is to change what you’ve been taught and have likely believed about yourself up until now. Here’s what I believe about you. I believe that what you think is real is mostly imagined And what you imagine is actually creating what’s real. I believe that in the ways you desire to achieve, you 100% have the capacity to succeed.

And finally, I believe that joy, love, and miracles are your God given natural state of being. And any time you feel far from them, the way back is much simpler than you think, but that’s about to change. Are you ready? Let’s do this.

Hey there friends. I have a really fun episode for you today. I asked Erin to come on and talk about this topic of interiors. And we’re going to talk about both really practical, functional things you can implement as well as some overall things to think about when it comes to design. And I wanted to throw this episode out because we’re about to dive into Summer of Style in The Lab. And most of that program is going to focus on your own personal style, in terms of your personal aesthetic.

But I wanted to put out this episode on interiors to get you thinking about your space because that’s another really fun and powerful place to apply these concepts. I want you to think about how to make it more functional and of course how to make it more aesthetic as my kids would say.

So, to begin with, here is a bit about Erin. Design for the PPL’s founder and principal designer, Erin Haskell Gourde has always been destined for a career in the arts. A foundation in fashion with exciting work at Stella McCartney’s London studio and Arizona based Luxury Lifestyle Magazine publishing house and creative pursuits of her own, gave Haskell Gourde a base of knowledge and understanding that design and style could be a fulfilling career path and one fit for her unique skill set.

Haskell Gourde’s career trajectory was solidified when she earned her master’s degree in interior design in 2013. She took her interest in interiors and architecture more seriously and began to hone her craft with small projects. Time spent at renowned architecture firms like the iconic Herman Miller were just the start of her postgrad design journey, strengthening her expertise and building her design portfolio.

Full service, interior and architecture design studio, Design for the PPL was built in 2016 upon Haskell Gourde’s foundation of design knowledge, love of people, and of spaces. Her team, contractors, clients and their personalities, coupled with her near psychic ability to look at a space and know instantly what it should become, are her inspiration and magic informing her daily work.

Haskell Gourde works out of Spokane, Washington, offering commercial and residential design up the West Coast, including full design services or her expertise for a single day. Her new Spokane showroom offers lux goods from all over the world, modern and unique furniture, carefully curated decor, art and other nonsense to delight design clients and the public alike. So, who is excited to hear from my designer? I like to claim her as my own. She helped us do our house. Erin Haskell Gourde, let’s take it away.

                                                                                                                   

Jody: So, my thought is really just kind of practical, where do I even begin if I want to uplevel my home? I always kind of like to take the approach of everything I do is through kind of mental, emotional health. So maybe you could speak a little bit to just why is it even important to focus on your surroundings, your environment around you. And also, as your life changes, a lot of my listeners are in the thick of having kids and raising kids. How do I create a home that I think is beautiful, but I have toddlers that destroy everything?

Any kind of those kinds of strategies are really helpful for people, organization, decluttering is a huge problem. Again, I don’t know the answers to these questions. But the things that come to my mind, I remember years ago I even went to something through my church, and then this woman taught a class that was going to be on interiors. And I remember half the class she talked about, listen, it doesn’t matter how nice your art and your decor is if your kids’ crap is all over the place.

She was like, “Every kid gets a basket, put everything in the basket. When it fills up, they need to go put it away.” Just she started with really practical, I was like, “Oh, yeah, that part matters.” And so any of that that you can add and then I would love, we can talk about my experience. I’m certainly happy to talk up how amazing it’s been. And now we’re moving and we’re taking it with us and then we can kind of promote that.

Erin: Also too, I’m happy to help you as a friend, help you place stuff too.

Jody: Yeah. My office down there is a little back office, it’s a little unit behind the house that’s not much bigger than this. And yeah, the house in general, I would definitely FaceTime you and be like, “What do you think?”

Erin: Or we can just do the design in San Diego. I might just come over.

Jody: Ooh, that would be fun. Yeah, we should do that. We’ll fly you down and you just help me and we get everything installed. Yeah, my husband would love that.

Erin: I’m happy to do that. And we can talk about too just I think where to start is a really good one. Because I think that’s a lot of people’s, it’s almost a psychological thing where they’re like, “You know what? That’s something for later. That’s something I’m going to focus on when they are x years old or whatever.” Or sometimes never really because life is busy and they don’t get around to it too. I mean, I think a lot of times, hiring the professional is the way to go.

And in a day as much as glamorous as interior design sounds, it’s really good old fashioned hard work. I mean, that’s really what it is. So, it’s really about hiring those professionals that get a job done for you, take that off your plate. I think we kind of live in a revolution in a world of DIY everything. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with the HGTV shows and a lot of the decor shows that show you how to do it yourself and that’s all great. And sometimes people have those gifts and sometimes they don’t.

And so, it’s really just about time. And so that’s kind of life in general, where do you want to spend your time and how do you want to spend your time? And so, it’s really what you value. And so that’s what I always say is, hire someone that can take this off your plate so you can focus on what you want to focus on. I mean, I do that all the time with hiring professionals.

Yes, you can do it yourself, but it would take you three/four times as long, all the headache and everything else associated with it. So, I think it’s about doing your research and hiring the right person for you and interview them too. I mean just like a therapist, just like a doctor, just like a realtor, just because they are one doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for you. And so, it’s about finding that person that understands your problems because it also in reality, we’re problem solvers. That’s what interior designers’ really main goal is, I want to solve your problems.

And so, functionality first. It’s getting the clutter out. It’s understanding how you live. It’s understanding, hey, when you come home, what do you do? What do you do first? What do you do second? What do you do third? And what could make that process better? Or you get ready in the morning, what do you do? What are the things that you like? What are the things you don’t like? And how can we improve on making your life better?

So that’s the functionality is number one. And then making it beautiful is the second. So, it’s really function first and form second. And so, making it pretty is sort of, in my eyes is the easy part but it’s not easy for everybody else.

Jody: So good designers should be asking you those questions. When you say, “How do you get ready in the morning”, I’m picturing my bathroom right now, that’s got this really cheap spinny thing I got off Amazon that’s full of products and everything because for whatever reason I don’t have a medicine cabinet. And I don’t have space in the drawers. I’m constantly like, “I think I need to buy something to go on the wall.” So, it’s, to your point, function first.

But what I find and I’m just going to put this out there because I know people listening probably are like me, where it feels like I can’t afford to hire the professional. I need to use that money to buy the furniture or the decor or whatever I’m going to buy for my house. But what I’ve found is that when I try to pick it out myself I end up buying it four or five times because I don’t trust myself. I often don’t like what I picked out. I’m not considering things that somebody who is a professional is considering. And in the end I waste money on the stuff instead of just spending it in the first place on a professional.

Erin: And I’ll say two things to that. Number one, yes, you’re absolutely right, but think about, are you really good at returns? I mean, sometimes I have things that I don’t return for months. And then you kind of forget about it because you’re busy, so there’s that. But also, the big thing is even if you are really good at picking things out for your home, you only know what you know. The thing about us professionals is, I mean, luckily we do have a store and so we carry products from all around the world, but you don’t have access to that.

The average person doesn’t, and they don’t know the brands, and so all you know is the retailers that you know. When people say, “I got this at HomeGoods or I got this at Pottery Barn.” And they’re kind of embarrassed and I say, “Why would you be embarrassed? It’s what you know. It’s what you’re exposed to.” So, let us help you, because there is a whole world, worlds even out there that you have no idea. And that’s where we can come in and say, “Okay, this would look amazing here or this would solve your problem here.” And you don’t even know that solution.

Jody: That’s so good. If somebody’s like, “I just want to update my home. I just want to begin somewhere.” Where do you recommend Erin, that people begin?

Erin: Yeah. Well, it’s funny you say that because I have my master’s in interior design, and so we’re really architects. I do exteriors and interiors. But what I found was when I worked at a lot of these big architecture firms before I started my own design studio was that they would create this beautiful house. And then I’m talking, when I say that, I’m talking materials, flooring, lighting and the flow is nice, but they wouldn’t help them with that final step of the furniture and the decor. And I just felt like it was such a misstep.

It’s amazing how someone or people can sort of ruin, if you will, I don’t mean to sound harsh, but this beautiful interior with the wrong furniture and the wrong decor. That’s really why (a) I decided to start my own studio but (b) also started Design for the PPL store. And so, what I would say to that is décor and furniture really does matter. But if you’re wanting to start somewhere, I think that art is really important.

I think that anything large scale art that can really fill a wall, I mean that’s super important. And I think storage is a big thing too. It’s about finding solutions that work for you. So, a lot of people with kids, they have a lot of stuff. They have a lot of toys. And okay, well, where do you put that? And so, it’s finding the right solutions because anyone can go purchase a bin. But then it’s, well, do you want that bin to be a part of your furniture and decor? I mean, I don’t know, it depends what bin we’re talking about.

But I think it’s about finding the storage solutions that make it easy for you to want to put that stuff away. I want to use that cabinet. Especially with families, we kind of pick out cabinets for all of the kids and then sometimes even for the adults, this is your domain, this is your place. Time to clean up and they know what to do so it’s about starting. Design can even have a big impact on your everyday ways of life. It’s amazing in that respect of just even a cabinet but the right cabinet can make you feel better because people are wanting to put away their stuff.

Jody: Yeah, that’s good. Do you find with your clients in general, I mean, my thought is we all have way too much stuff. I mean, I realize you’re not in there judging that. But in general, what I find is that the more I get rid of stuff, the more I like my house. Of course, because you go into a model home or something or a parade of homes or whatever and I’m always like, “Yeah, this is awesome because there’s nothing in here that people actually need to live with.”

Erin: So, I mean, it’s about finding that balance. I love that Marie Kondo method. I just love it.

Jody: Yeah, I’ve read her book, yeah, it’s great.

Erin: Yeah, and sometimes that works for people, and sometimes it doesn’t. Being practical with the family, I mean, that’s why honestly I called my studio Design for the PPL, because it matters on the people involved. So, I go in, I’m not designing for Erin, it’s really understanding how they live and what is important to them and then coming up with that solution. Does that make sense?

Jody: Yeah. And that’s one of the things I love about your work. Not only functionally are you considering people, but I feel like even I know when Jake and I first met with you, you were kind of asking us what is our style and we’re like, “We don’t know.” But we pulled up a few pictures. You’re like, “Okay, this is your style.” And I do notice that some designers seem to have their style.

And then there’s designers like you, who are designing for your clients’ style, which I think it’s fun because then your work is also unique. I can see similarities, you did my brother’s kitchen and the salon where I get my hair done. And sometimes I’m like, “Oh yeah, I recognize that. I recognize that.” But you still are considering your client.

Erin: You’re tailoring it to the client.

Jody: Yeah. And I think that for most of us, we don’t even know what our style is and we don’t know what we like until we see it. So that’s where having a designer come in, I just think is so amazing.

Erin: I agree.

Jody: I know we’re going about this in totally a different order than normally we would do a podcast interview, but that’s how I like to roll. I wanted to just get a little bit more of your background because you mentioned that you worked at an architectural firm. How did you get into this? Have you always been passionate about this topic?

Erin: Yes. I think it’s one of those things where I mean, I don’t know if you talk about gifts that people have. But I think when you grow up and you just instantly know things and you think everyone else knows them too and they don’t.

Jody: Yeah. And you’re like, “Why do you not know this?”

Erin: I would always walk into a room even when I was young, elementary school, high school or I’d see a construction project. And I saw the before and I’d see the after. And I’m like, “Gosh. I wouldn’t have done that. I would have done this or that or they should really do this, and if they changed this wall.” And I just kind of thought everyone thought that. And I would always be the one who saved up my money and went and bought new bedding and new decor for my room, I mean that’s kind of it.

Jody: I love it.

Erin: But I would say, I went to college, University of Arizona. I would say I wasn’t really, truly focused on my studies at that time of my life to be honest. I think I was more focused on designer handbags and chasing boys and whatever. But I was in the publishing industry. I worked for a publishing company and so I got to know a lot of these architects and designers. And I think you just kind of have that time in your life where you’re like, “I think I need to change some things. I think I need to do it.”

So, I went back to school because it’s one of those things where you have to go to school. I mean, you have to have, in my opinion, you have to learn to draw. You have to understand the elements and principles of design and you need to understand the history, at least I did. And so that’s when I went back and I got my master’s in interior design. And then I started working in internships from day one. And so, I mean, back in the day, interns were essentially free. I’m not sure how interns work now, but yeah, if you were willing to work, and I was, they would hire you.

So, you just got to know a lot also about the business side of it, too. There’s some interior designers that struggle with that. It’s left brain and right brain. You have to have both when you’re a designer. You have to have both when you’re an architect. So, I would say I’m better at the right brain. I mean, I think we all have our strengths. But the left brain is important, and luckily I’ve gotten better at that as the years have gone on. So that was 14 years ago. So I’ve been at this for 14 years and then I decided to start my own studio seven years ago, that was just more like, let’s do it and then I started.

Jody: Are you glad you did it?

Erin: Oh, yeah, I mean totally. But there were some times where, at one point I had 57 projects I was working on. I would work day and night and all weekends and I’m just like, “Someday this is going to pay off. I don’t know when, but someday it will.” And then as times go by, I always tell designers, you have to make the mistakes. Learn what you can handle and what you can’t handle. I mean, you’re in the business with people. So, it’s a service, and you have to understand who you work well with as a client and who you wouldn’t work well with as a client and that’s okay.

Everyone shouldn’t be for everyone. There’s only so much school can teach you. Practical real life experience is so necessary. And so, you’ve got to start somewhere and you’ve just got to go for it. But yeah, you just learn along the way. And then I was lucky enough to start my own store. And that was really nice because it was just a way to house all the products and save them for clients.

And then have a big install team to be able to install all of the furniture and the decor which is an aspect that many people want and a lot of designers don’t know how to deliver that. Because you need a team to do it and you need space to do it. And so that was really exciting for me just because I love products and I love product design. And so, I’ve been really lucky to have that other side to the business as well.

Jody: You’re honestly the first designer I’ve ever formally hired and worked with. And in my mind, interior design is for really rich people.

Erin: Sure. Especially on the West Coast.

Jody: Really? It’s more common on the East Coast.

Erin: The East Coast, it doesn’t really matter where you are.

Jody: That’s interesting.

Erin: It’s just people hire interior designers. It’s just what you do, no matter how much money you make. I’ve just found that. But it definitely has, you’re right, this mentality of extra luxury.

Jody: Yeah, I always thought it was luxury. I can’t afford that. Or even as I started making a little more money and I was like, “I would like to put some money into the interior of my house.” I still felt really intimidated because I was just like, “I don’t even know how it works, I don’t know.” And I get everybody has their own process and everything. But the way that you set it up was a real win for us, especially the first time we ever worked with a designer. It was doable budget wise.

And it was the kind of process that we needed that we could be involved as little or as much as we wanted. I think we should talk about this Day with A Designer that you offer. Tell me why you created it. Who is it for? How does it work? And I want to speak to my experience as we go.

Erin: That’s a brilliant question because I certainly didn’t come up, or I should say, when I opened the store, that wasn’t something that I thought of right away. It evolved with me. And it’s made a lot of sense and people love it. But I will say, when I first opened the store, I thought people would come in and love a product and purchase it and then put it in their home, or they’d buy an art piece and some decor. And I love that, I’m going to put it in my home and that was not the case.

And what I realized is that people, it wasn’t about the money price wise because we do like to have a variety of higher price point, lower price point. I think that’s important because you don’t need to have ultra, ultra luxury for everything. I mean some things are great, this is worth it. But hey, let’s rein it in over here. But what I realized was that people did not trust themselves [crosstalk] they just didn’t. They’re like, “I just love everything in here. I don’t know where to start.” And they get overwhelmed.

Because a lot of people don’t want to get rid of everything they have, some people do. People are purchasing that second or third home, they have nothing and we come in and do it up for them and that’s great. But the majority of people, they want to keep some of their items that they have, whether it be dining table, sofa, whatever. And then incorporate some new things and how do you make that work? So that was the big question.

So that’s why I started Day with A Designer, because what I wanted to say is, “Get out of your house, move out and just let me do it.” And so, because I found that when we did our large projects, at install day, if I just brought in one thing or a new sofa, it just doesn’t work. They’re fixating on it. They’re like, “I don’t know.” They like it. You’ve got to hold on. It’s a holistic approach. It’s all about everything, all together.

So that was how I started it. That’s how I started the Day with A Designer. And I felt like it’s something that everybody really wants. They want someone to come in and have it done for them. They really want that magazine cover and they’re like, “How do I get there? That’s what I want.”

Jody: That’s what we liked about it was, it was, okay, we’re going to pay you this design fee and then we’re going to give you a budget and talk about what we’re going to do overall. But then we took all of our kids and we left. We went to stay the night at my sister’s house, and I was like, “Two days, kids, we’re not going home so pack a bag.” We just got out of there so that you guys could come in and set everything up and do your thing.

And then when we came back, it’s like that HGTV experience, where you walk in. We weren’t taking out walls and we didn’t do anything, it was just décor. And a lot of the decor we had talked about before, we approved furniture because we’re going to be paying for that obviously. But the way you put it all together was just beautiful. And then I don’t know if you still do it this way, but the way it worked for us was, and my husband and I agreed ahead of time because you told us, “We’re going to set everything up and then anything you don’t want, you’ll just pull down and we’ll come and pick it up and then we’ll send you the bill for whatever’s left.”

So, Jake and I decided, okay, this is the budget that we’ve set aside to spend on this. And we’re not going to look at price tags on things because you guys left the price tags on everything because we had to decide. And we both agreed, we’re not going to pick every single thing up and go, “This is that much, what?” This is inexpensive.” If it’s within our budget and we love it, we keep it. If we don’t love it, we swap it out.

So that was a really good strategy for us because even now we’re getting ready to move and I’m packing stuff and there are things that I never took the price tags off of. And I’m going through and I’m kind of surprised that that was that expensive. And surprised that this was that inexpensive, but I’m so glad I didn’t look at that because like you said, it’s the overall what you created. And it was just so exciting to be able to come home and feel like you have this whole new, and it’s fun for us and for the kids.

And anyway, we did it with our main floor living area and my office and a little bit upstairs too. But I would assume you have people with different scopes of how much work you’re doing.

Erin: That’s really the best part. I mean, so it’s a flat fee and you can do one room, you can do your entire house. It does not matter.

Jody: Wow.

Erin: Yeah, it doesn’t matter. And so that’s really exciting for people. We do it locally here in Spokane, Washington and North Idaho but we do them all over the country. I mean, we just got done with doing one in LA. We did one in Boston. We do a lot in Arizona. We’ve done a lot in Utah. So, we’ll go anywhere. So, it’s one flat design fee. And then what we do is we do come out to your house because I think that’s super important just to understand. I mean pictures and measurements of course they help.

But it’s really important for me and my team to get to know you guys and understand the way you live and the way you want to live better. Yeah, what is your style? And also, what do you have? I mean those are, what are the things that you really want to keep, whatever that may be. It’s different for everybody. So that’s really important to know as a base. And what we do is we present to you, really exactly what we would do.

A lot of that can be done over Zoom once we have seen those items especially for what we call the remote day with a designer. And then we talk about what we would do and we show you visuals and we show you actual products. And we do have you commit to the larger items that we need to order. But I don’t talk necessarily about the art or the decor. I mean, if you want to, we can, but it’s just sort of a waste of time.

Jody: I kind of liked it just being a surprise.

Erin: We also, we work with the decor that you have too. And really it’s funny because obviously it’s way more than a day at work. It’s called Day with A Designer, but it’s much more work on the day. The actual day is the install. That’s when we bring out our whole install team. We’ve become really good at it. We’ve been doing it for four years and honestly, we love doing them too. I mean, sometimes we know what it’s going to look like in our minds, but it looks even better once we’re there, done. And we have our processes down.

And before that, we kind of send you some, not necessarily rules but what to expect. That’s where we ask our clients to use the pile method of say, “This is decor you should use. I definitely want to use this. This is decor if you want to use it, great, maybe not.” And so, then we know what you really want. And so, we kind of recycle it in a way that maybe the thought of using that one piece in a different area, so it’s fun too. It’s like, oh, my gosh, I would have never thought about putting that there, and they don’t.

So that’s what’s fun is incorporating even some family heirlooms with some different items. But it’s really amazing for the people who want a refresh and it’s not about construction, that’s the whole, we definitely do that, but that’s not what this is. And it’s funny because sometimes they think they need construction, and it’s, no, you just need some new fresh air. You need some furniture pieces that really work and speak to your style. And then what’s so awesome is when you’re moving you can take it with you.

I mean, hopefully you get, if you were to sell your house and I mean the goal would be to get out of it what you put into it but sometimes that doesn’t happen.

Jody: Yeah, and we’re really happy with the investment that we put in with you. We’re taking it all with us to our new house, so we don’t feel like we put in a lot of time or money that we don’t get to enjoy. Even if we did recoup the money, I want to be able to enjoy this in my next house. So, it was a really fun experience for us. I highly recommend it.

Erin: We love doing it and clients love it too. They get to have the final finished product. I think where it really differs is people will look online and shop online and a package will come to them and they have to undo the package. And it’s this big thing and they have to lift the thing and they get the friends to lift the thing and put it in the room. They’re not really sure. That’s not fun for anyone.

Jody: A lot of my clients are feeling crammed in their house. You start having more kids and you just kind of try to accommodate it. And one of the things I really appreciated and maybe you can give some people some tips of how they can think about this. Because one of the things I appreciated is when you came and did the walk through of our house before we started anything, just to kind of check out the space and what are we doing here, is you immediately were able to identify things. Well, you have this formal dining room and then you have a table in the kitchen. Do you really need two spaces to eat?

Because this space you could use in this other way, which it hadn’t even crossed our minds that we could use that room for something different than what the builder intended it for. And because we had a piano crammed in the corner. You’re like, “You could put the piano in here.” Anyway, just stepping back and rethinking your space. And also, there were certain areas where you said things like, “You could fit a big table there.” And in my mind I was like, no, we can’t, that’s too small and of course, you were right.

The amount of furniture that you wanted to put in my office, I thought there’s no way that’s going to fit, but it totally fits really nicely and it looks beautiful and it doesn’t feel crowded. So just space utilization for those of us that aren’t trained in this stuff, which is everybody. And all we know to do is shove a cabinet up against the wall and the sofa against the other wall. How can people sort of reassess the space that they’re in to better leverage it? And are there any practical tips you can give those of us that aren’t trained in this?

Erin: You mean without our help?

Jody: Yeah, I mean, to hire a designer obviously, but in the short term?

Erin: Yeah. So, I’ll answer that in a couple pf ways. One is yes, when we do the Day with A Designer, you get our design team to come in and we speak very freely.

Jody: That’s what I love about you, you’re so honest.

Erin: Well, yes, I try to do that, because you’re hiring me. And so, wouldn’t you want to know that? I mean I would, yeah.

Jody: I do, yeah. It’s natural for you.

Erin: My only gift, yeah. So just looking at spaces, I think it’s always about, for what you were saying, again, it’s how do you normally live? Are you even utilizing all of your rooms in your house? I think that’s a question and a lot of times the answer’s no.

Jody: For me, if you were to ask me that, I would have been like, “Yes.” But what I realized is that the way we were utilizing the dining room table was just to dump boxes and junk that we didn’t know where else to put. So, were we really using it in a useful way? No. But in my mind, of course, we’re using every space anyway, it’s just, yeah, it’s interesting.

Erin: And thinking about too, I think it’s just challenging yourself. I think that’s the biggest takeaway. Challenging yourself of, you’re utilizing these rooms, but are they the best they could be? You’re using that table to house a bunch of stuff on it. Is that really a good use of space? Probably not. I think it’s challenging and then I mean, knowing spatial stuff, like I said, I’ve been doing this for so long, I can just kind of know. I can look at something and I’m like, “That’s 48 inches, that’s 52.” I mean I might surprise myself along the way.

Jody: I know, you’re good at that.

Erin: Practical things to think about, this is a really good example. We just did a Day with A Designer where they wanted to have a table in their kitchen. And they also had a formal dining room space and they wanted to keep both. Both was important to them, so I think that’s great. They didn’t have a lot of spatial room though in their kitchen. And while they had the ‘room’ dimension wise, it was going to feel really heavy. And it was going to feel maybe a little cluttered.

So, what we decided to do was a glass table. This is a glass table, it’s see through. So even though the functionality is there, it doesn’t look so heavy. That was a really good solution to their problem. So, it’s thinking about things like that too, even, I’m looking at the back of you with your glass cabinet. It might look very different if they weren’t glass. If they were heavy and they were a dark color and so it’s thinking about scale and the material and the color, it’s that all in line too.

Jody: I just love you. I appreciate your work. I think that you’re so amazing. I remember when I first found you, too, I was like, “She is very cool. And I didn’t know there were cool people like that in Spokane.” But it turns out there are actually a lot of cool people here.

Erin: Well, I always say the airport’s only 15 minutes away, so we love to travel. There’s people who don’t love to travel for their jobs, and I get it. It’s tough on the body and there’s a lot of logistics you need to figure out. But for me, I really enjoy it. And so, you get to see the world and you get to meet different people and so we love it. But it’s nice to have a home base here that isn’t so chaotic and doesn’t [crosstalk].

Jody: Yeah, that’s true.

Erin: For us it works well. People ask me all the time, “Are you going to move to a bigger city?” And you can’t predict the future, but for now we like having this as a home base and being able to go. We’re wanted and hired by our clients. So that’s what I would say.

Jody: I love it. So, if people want to hire you or learn more about working with you, let’s tell them where to find you. Obviously Day with A Designer might be really of interest to people. But even also where to shop in your online store because you have some really amazing unique stuff there.

Erin: Thank you.

Jody: Where do people find you?

Erin: Designefortheppl.com. So that’s designfortheppl.com. And we’re also on Instagram @designforthePPL. So yeah, find us there, online is the best way. And you can contact us right on our website, say that you’re interested in Day with A Designer. And what we do is we set up a 15 minute consultation and we want to make sure it’s the right fit for you too.

Jody: Yeah. I love it. Thank you, Erin. Thank you for coming on today.

Erin: You’re welcome and good luck with your move.

Jody: Thank you.

Erin: I’ll look forward to FaceTiming you.

Jody: I can’t wait.

Erin: Maybe coming in person.

Jody: I know. I like that idea.

Erin: And get some more sunshine.

Jody: Yeah, you should consider moving to San Diego, it’s pretty nice, just saying.

If you find the podcast to be helpful you’re going to love The Lab. In Better Than Happy: The Lab we experiment with applying all of it in your real life. Whether you’re in the middle of a challenge and ready for some relief or you’re ready to commit to pursuing your dream goals and making them a reality, come join me in the lab at jodymoore.com/thelab. That’s jodymoore.com/thelab.