Surprise!
When a listing came up for a California couple who knew what they wanted but had trouble finding it, we visited the apartment, sent them a video, told them we loved it and they bought it! The apartment checked all the boxes except for the layout, which needed to be reconfigured to meet their needs.
As we progressed with designing the apartment, our clients weighed in on the mood boards and major decisions, but pretty much left everything up to us. When it came time to choose the accessory colors and the art, we somewhat daringly decided to go for forgiveness, instead of permission. (It wasn't too much of a risk, thanks to our Showroom in Paris!)
We had only met the clients once and I got a sense, from her coloring, that she would gravitate towards green with touches of persimmon and gold. We stopped sending pictures about a month before their arrival to maintain an element of surprise. We thought we’d nailed the design and that they would love it but there was still that moment of panic when they first stepped in with their suitcases. As it turned out, it would have been inappropriate, but I wish we’d had a video to capture their expression when they first stepped inside. (Hint: when they cry, we're happy!) We were thrilled that they loved it , and even more so when they told us that the entire process had been joyful! It was for us, too, and we are so grateful.