A Day In The Life Of a Diva

You thought you were going to be following Beyonce, didn’t you? Its okay, I know I’m not exactly reaching the Twitter fan base (or daily salary) of Lady Gaga but I do get asked about my day a lot. And the reality is far from what one may think. As a beginner design student my head swirled around visions of me with an assistant at my side, surrounded by luxurious fabrics and sketches of walk-in closets the size of most peoples’ kitchens. I needed little hands-on experience to realize that was probably not going to be a daily occurance. And I’m still waiting on that assistant.

My favorite question is “What’s it like to be a paid shopper?” While I realize that this isn’t meant to come across as an offense, it is off-putting that anyone would assume all I do for eight hours a day is pick out lamps and wallpaper. So I decided to give you (Guy in Hardware Store) a tour of a typical day when the schedule is particularly filled.

8 a.m. Morning yoga. Loosen up, its going to be a busy day.

9:15 a.m. Return emails and call clients to confirm appointments for next day. Check over schedule for today. Plan to be out of the office and in the stores before it gets A) too hot and B) too crowded.

9:45 a.m. Update social media pages (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) before heading out. Did I get everything? When I leave the office for a full day of appointments I pack up like I’m headed on vacation. Level? Check. Client files? Check. Camera, tape measure, notebook? Check check and check. Balance my morning caffeine on the dash while I load up and enter the day’s appointments in my GPS. All set! Oops, don’t forget the frappe! Almost had to pull out the bleach pen before my first destination!

10:00 a.m. Check post office box; no payment from client (booooo) but invitation to a cocktail hour seminar on the year’s hottest new fabrics (yayyyyy)!

10:30 a.m. Arrive at Home Depot. Picking up paint supplies to paint new booth at Showplace Market. Grrrrr, hate painting. While I’m here I should look at granite colors for potential new client who hopes to remodel kitchen this summer. I want to have ideas in mind when we meet for first time. Quick scan tells me I should head elsewhere, the colors I am looking for aren’t here.

11 a.m. Head to Affordable Art & Frame to pick up order for myself and another client. Had my latest purchas from the Festival of the Arts framed and it looks amazing!Now, how will I get these in the car without the other supplies breaking the glass…? Must empty out everything I carried out of office earlier and rearrange. I need a bigger car.

11:10 a.m. Pink Swirl. What? A girl deserves a fro-yo break.

11:25 a.m. Oh no! Initial consultation with new client at Noon to discuss their style, budget and needs but they live across town and traffic is heavier than I realized. Forget a bigger car. I need a jet pack. Return new messages while I sit and wait. Plan location for a board meeting, schedule my FastPass for Dallas Market and get two estimates from electricians for can light installation while sitting in a construction zone! Score!

11:50 a.m. Arrive at client’s home with time to spare (whew!) and just enough time to switch out of flats- you didn’t think I did all that in heels, did you?! Check my pearly whites and go in.

12:20 p.m. Getting tour of home after talking with clients about their past designer experience gone wrong. Note to self: do not shop at Hobby Lobby, mark up a vase 90% or forget to return their phone calls. Got it.

12:50 p.m.Taking notes on every room as we talk. The client has very specfic requests. Write it all down, Jennifer, or its like you never heard it…

1:15 pm Appointmentt finished; headed to lunch meeting. Leave feeling excited about project and all the ideas start flowing!

1:30 p.m. Jot down an estimate timeline for new project while I wait on my lunch date. Can I get this done in two months? Probably but must factor in other big jobs that may pop up. Poor planning is unprofessional, after all. Laying it out on paper helps put it in perspective. Do I want burger bites or a summer salad? No! Focus Jennifer! Think schedule, not salad! Arrival of colleague saves me and its time to eat!

2:15 p.m. Full stomach, full car, and still a full day ahead! Back in my ballet flats. Point car north and head to Hunzicker Lighting Gallery to hunt for the perfect ceiling fan. Love that I can custom-create one on the spot. Also looking for a whimsical chandelier for a nursery. Can’t find one that hits the spot so I’ll have to design one and ask Lillian Strickler Lighting to build it for me.

3:30 p.m. Trouble. Cell phone battery is almost zapped and I still have hours left in the day. Waiting on a contractor to email his bid for painting and I need that phone! Used my last few seconds of battery to find my husband’s location and arrange to meet him on the road- thank goodness he has a car charger today! Pick a nearby parking lot to pull into and go into “Mobile Office Mode”, spreading my Dayplanner and files out in front seat so contractor, client and I can arrange phase 2 before he leaves for vacation and the contractor gets booked up again. Feels like a secretary!

4:30 Brecheen Brothers Area Rugs and Furniture. Picking out pieces to go in new booth and scoping out the latest color trends in area rugs. Not as much animal print this year, finally. Thought nothing would save us from the zebra stripes! Sign contracts on new booth with one of the Brecheen brothers before leaving.

5:15 p.m. Ick, home-bound traffic is going to be killer. Last appointment of the day is a home staging not far from my own modest abode. Use stoplights to fix hair and makeup as the heat and humidity have destroyed my morning efforts.

5:30 p.m. Distraught client hates the yellow paint she picked up. Someone didn’t look at it the daylight like I instructed. Quick, call painter and schedule her to come back tomorrow to repaint. Note to self; get new yellow paint samples by tomorrow at 9 a.m. Feels like a firefighter. Got painter to come back tomorrow and paint with new color. Fire out. Crisis averted.

6 p.m. Meet owners of home I am staging for local Realtor. Nice couple, adorable cottage style home AND they have great taste? Too good to be true!

6:15 p.m. A quick tour reveals fabulous decor, just too much of it. Get the husband to help me move out some dressers, accent tables and a love seat to make the home feel larger. Show the wife which items she can pack away (sorry, not everyone loves looking at photos of your baby like you do!) and we’re on our way to wrapping it up!

8:00 p.m. Wish the couple well with a quick closing and load my tool box into the car. Kick off shoes, put hair up and call husband to tell him I’m finally on my way home. He’s already grilling dinner? Love. Him.

8:30 p.m. Eat light dinner(mmm, the highlight of my day), squeeze in about 30 minutes of kickboxing to help me sleep better and hit the showers.

9:30 p.m. Update my Back Talk blog (www.decorateokc.net) and return Facebook messages. Someone needs advice on picking flooring! Schedule them for lunch on Friday.

10:00 p.m. Send follow-up email to contractor, “thank you” card to new client and prepare invoices for the bookkeeper. Feels like an office manager!

10:45 p.m. Looks over schedule for tomorrow. Forget the flats; its a Nike kind of day.

After studying interior design for four years in my native Oklahoma and becoming registered as a Certified Interior Decorator, my passion for breathtaking rooms led me to introduce Designing Diva Interiors LLC. I believe in livable, affordable homes that reflect the unique style of each of my clients and their families. A beautiful room can transform your life, and I truly love being a part of that process. With each new project arrives a new opportunity to create a space that will welcome you home at the end of a long day, or provide a cozy corner for rainy day reading, and everything in between!”

Jennifer lives in Yukon, Oklahoma with her husband and their four-legged child, a boxer named Duke. Jennifer serves on the board of directors for Heart and Hand Ministries (http://heartnhandokc.com/page04.html) as well as House of Healing (http://www.house-of-healing.org/). She shares her decorating insights each month with multiple local publications such as Edmond Active Magazine, Realtor Ryan Hukill’s blog “Its All Realitive”, her own daily blog “Back Talk” and is a new contributor to Tulsa’s online magazine “Chic Galleria”. Her work has been featured in these outlets as well as in the 2010 Symphony Orchestra Designer Show House.