A Day in the Life of a Designer

Remember how I told y’all last year that I was going to work full-time for a local home builder? After almost a year, I’m finally back to give an update on how that job is going and what I do there. It’s taken a full year for me to find a spare minute to even write this blog post. 

My days are spent commuting, shuttling children, and working hard to keep customer’s happy. From 6:30 am till 6:30 pm I am on the move. Then I come home, scrounge up some dinner for the family and fall into bed around 9:00 each night. The next day I get up and do it all over again.

But that’s not what you want to hear. You want all the little details, right? So what exactly do I do at my job?

Mostly I draw houses. Like a little mini-Architect drafting away all day. 

Every week I meet new clients who are looking to build a new custom home. If you were my client, I get the exciting job of designing your dream house and guiding you through the home building process from start to finish.

I use a program called Chief Architect to create the blueprints for all of our custom homes. The amount of details that go into building a new home from the ground up absolutely blows my mind. I have to be able to think in 2D, 3D, inside out, upside down and backwards to be able to draw these house pans from the ground up.

We are a Design/Build firm so my boss, the Builder, comes up with a concept sketch for all new customers after our initial meeting. From there, I take his sketch and fill in all the fun stuff.

Walls/windows/ doors/ fireplaces/ kitchens and baths, etc. I detail the house plan and make it pretty so that you can take a virtual tour of a home that’s decorated to match your style. 

Being able to virtually walk through a home before it’s built helps everyone to get exactly what they want. It’s WAY easier to rip out virtual walls rather than actual ones, so we try our very best to get it right on paper before the house starts framing. 

Once you sign on the dotted line, I will finalize the electrical and lighting plan, cabinetry and exterior elevations, and roof plan. Then you would get to meet with our interior designer to pick out paint colors, flooring, cabinets, countertops, faucets, fixtures, lighting, etc, etc, etc.

There are sooo many moving pieces to build just one house. Currently, we have seven houses under construction and will likely be signing two more in the next few weeks. So yeah, it’s a lot.

Along the way, I’ve noticed that there seem to be some common interior design stumbling blocks that most people need help navigating. 

Like, choosing paint colors can be seriously paralyzing for some folks.

Finding the best lighting for each room can be scary. Deciding on a freestanding tub or a deck mount? Is the Farmhouse look still in-style or is it too trendy? Will I hate these barn doors in a year? Should my apron-front sink have one bowl or two? Oh, and can we shiplap, shiplap, shiplap, all the things?

These are just a few examples of the conversations I’ve had with clients this past year.

I REALLY want to write some blog posts that answer the most common questions that we get asked repeatedly.

OH! And since I am also staging and photographing all of our houses after completion, I also have TONS (and I do mean tons) of beautiful pictures of all of the houses to share with you!

I have pics of AMAZING kitchens, master bathrooms that are drool-worthy and seriously dreamy fireplaces that will make you want to renovate your home immediately. 

So, with all that being said— my goal this summer is to get at least one blog post a week of decorating advice or ideas. To share all of these beautiful house ideas with you guys and help solve your most challenging home decorating dilemmas. 

But first I have to go buy groceries because we are out of milk and my kids will be demanding cereal at 6 am. 

And then I have to finish the laundry and lay out clothes for work and gather up all of bathing suit accoutrement necessary for Caroline’s first Splash Day at school on Tuesday. 

All that to say that my brain is really, really tired. This full-time working mom thing is NO FREAKING JOKE, Y’ALL.  

But that is what I wanted, right? I was tired of sitting at home all day wallowing around in my postpartum depression blues.  Tired of feeling like I was a big useless blob who was contributing nothing to society. This job saved me from my depression and gave me a purpose again. But wow, did it ever wreak some havoc on my time schedule and blogging abilities.

Can somebody please hold me accountable and make sure I get these blog posts written? 

I’ll give you my cell number and you can call me every morning to blatantly harass me if I don’t post all of these amazing ideas I have to share?

It’s so important to me that my blog stay alive, even during this season of stressful life overload.  

You guys mean so much to me and I truly miss talking to all of you and reading your comments. I hope that you’re all doing well! 

Stay healthy, happy and blessed out there my friends! I’ll be back soon, ok?