5 lessons from 2020.

2020 was certainly no cupcake walk.

Many call it the worst year ever: a pandemic, political peril, and protests. But with every challenging moment in America, we soldier through and discover silver linings that brought positive events.

Here are just a few
• We all wash our hands more and understand the consequences of personal hygiene.
• More pets were adopted and now have two-legged, loving parents.
• Our residences, home offices, and the act of dining in became a renewed important aspect of our quality of life.

Home Frosting is forever grateful for our clients, friends, trade partners, and in-house team of pros. This year, we continued to provide interior design services, ranging from luxury home staging, to creating “instant homes” for several members of our Stanley Cup-winning hockey team, to decorating dream homes with full-service interior design home services.

New construction mid-rise guest room – transitional with a boho twist

We restored this 18th century Queen Anne lowboy into a gorgeous vanity for the powder room.

We are thankful we dodged the defeat that many other small businesses experienced this year and instead had a great year of growth, learning, and joy. As we close out this year, we’d like to share 5 lessons we took away in all of this and how we will move forward with this enlightenment.

1. What you see is not always what you get.

While we love the Internet and the ease of sourcing and buying products, photos used for the product’s marketing are often not accurate. We have found colors can be dramatically different. If you have time, order a swatch sample. Product size may also give a false impression unless there is a benchmark element included. Be sure always to read the fine print that specifies the measurements. Because of this, it’s best to do business with companies that have friendly return policies.

2. Global resources bring a need for added detail awareness.

Having resources from around the world and quick shipping is awesome. More choices, artisan talent – we love that! However, with all that variety comes product standard challenges. We recently ordered some beautiful light fixtures; however, when they arrived, we learned the electrical boxes were not the American standard—this required extra troubleshooting and expense. Moving forward, we never assume products have the same installation aspects. We read the fine print and make sure to have a plan b.

3. Murphy always has a chair at the table.

Murphy’s law is an epigram that typically states, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” in life, and business, and “S__T happens”. We experienced this in many forms, like when an old dog got sick on the new staged area rug, or when the perfectly installed artwork broke out of its frame and smashed to the floor, and when a small nail used to hang a piece of art punctured a waterline. As long as life is living, things will happen. We embrace, take a deep breath, stay calm, and focus on finding the solution.

4. Never pay 100% of a tradespersons fee until the project is complete.

This was an expensive lesson. Home Frosting engaged a subcontractor to repaint a client’s kitchen cabinets. Since we had worked with this individual before with no issues, we paid the balance before our team & the client thoroughly inspected the work. Unfortunately, some areas needed additional work. With no leverage to get the contractor to return to complete the requests, they vanished, and Home Frosting had to hire a new contractor for nearly $3000 and made it right. YIKES.

5. Recycled water from irrigation can damage outdoor furniture.

Recycled water used in irrigation systems often contains chemicals that can disintegrate outdoor furnishings after being sprayed on directly and repeatedly. To avoid this, keep outdoor furniture out of your sprinkler system’s path. Bonus tip for your outdoor furniture: Sun & UV treated pillows and upholstery can handle the sun; Non-treated fabrics will fade and turn strange colors in direct sunlight.

We hope this wisdom helps you and look forward to connecting soon.

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 new year and hoping it’s the best year ever!