I was in the gym tonight and having a really spirited conversation with Michael who was putting me through a gut wrenching stomach workout. While I was thinking about how nice it would be to have the stomach muscles back that I had in my 20’s, rather than the 18 wheeler spare tire that has slowly inflated around my middle, Michael was asking me about my profession. He used the word decorator and then quickly corrected himself and said Designer….umm…Interior Designer…Design…um Design-expert kind-of-person. This definitely wasn’t the worst thing I’ve been called, I thought. It was actually really funny.

I laughed and said that I like to refer to myself as an Interior Designer but he can call me whatever he likes as long as he signs the check!

All kidding aside, this brings up a long-standing dilemma for many people who work with an Interior Design professional…The question always arises, “What do you like to be called?”

In order to answer the question, I always explain what it is that I, and my tribe, actually do and what our backgrounds and breadth of our knowledge is…and least of all, what kind of training and education that we all go through.

While there will always be the women and men who are larger than life, refer to themselves as “We” and just returned from a buying trip cum spa holiday in the South of France, most of us are work horses that have been graduated from grueling accredited University and College programs in Interior Design and Interior Architecture, as well as the dog-eat dog-worlds of au currant

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and la Casa del hip y chic.

In addition to the aforementioned badges of honor, there is also licensure known as NICDQ, which makes a quadruple root canal without anesthesia seem like having your feet massaged.

So there ya go, we’ve been to the proving ground.

Our knowledge base includes endless hours of construction drawing production, building codes, color theory, furniture design and fabrication, product performance ratings, space planning, architectural design, engineering, lighting and HVAC systems design and a myriad of computer applications that enable us to conceptualize and carry out a design in photo realistic detail, even before one hammer or crowbar has scratched the surface. We work with electricians, plumbers, painters, carpenters, engineers and crazy (in a good way) artisans in order to realize a spectacularly finished and unique space that will make a client pass out from emotion, only to wake up and kiss you with tears of joy in their eyes.

Also, we can’t forget all of the clients that have become dear, dear friends due to the fact that we keep it real and authentic and respect the people that we work with and for…and likewise, when a client realizes that you’ve taken as much care with their home or offices that you would take with your own…that you cornered the contractor to cut an expense or sped up the framing to cut labor costs or just questioned a weird charge on a bill…. even though it wasn’t your money being spent…a real bond of trust is formed and a friendship has been born.

That’s what we do.

So as I was saying, you can call me anything you want…just as long as you say it with a smile, because, I am a Designer-Interior Designer-Design-expert-kind-of-person.

Or better yet, just call me Mark.

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