Your Client Wont Get Rid of Their Stuff. Now What? – Architectural Digest

Dear AD Pro,

My client is sentimental about her furniture and possessions. She wont get rid of anything! How do I exercise some KonMari decluttering (and maintain my vision!) while being respectful of her cherished items?

Reluctant Minimalist

The client is always right except, of course, when the client is wrong. Nearly every designer has come up against a truly terrible heirloom piece (or three) a homeowner is intent on saving.

Even so, as decorator Patrick Mele pointed out to AD earlier this year, Its rude to get rid of peoples things. Clients have led a life before they work with you, so to dictate what should be thrown away is not the best approach.

Manhattan interior designer Josh Greene of Josh Greene Design agrees: I have always said that sometimes you have to let the client win, even if you dont like the piece. Clients appreciate it when you accommodate them and it is an aspect of customer service. If the look is dead wrong, of course, then stick to your guns, says Greene. But if it can be reworked or used in a different room, you come out looking like a magician.

Chicago interior designer Summer Thornton typically takes a harder line: I help them understand that in order to achieve the things they have seen our firm design, it is simply not possible to reuse all existing pieces, she says. If those pieces were so great and worked well, after all, why are they calling me?

Others have had success getting creativeoften very creative. Manhattan interior designer Tina Ramchandani has grown to love, or at least appreciate, repurposing pieces of sentimental value. Many things can be revamped through reupholstering, restaining, or repositioning, she says. When that becomes a struggle, she tries to get the client to pick and choose. I explain that one stand-alone piece can anchor the room, and ultimately be much more impactful than forcing several pieces together that ultimately distract from the new look, she says.

Andrew Torrey, principal of Manhattan interior design firm B.A. Torrey, goes all in with difficult pieces, particularly art. I have the entire piece mounted on a linen board and encased in Plexiglas, he says. Twice Ive taken some gruesome artwork and given it a story, making it more important than it initially appears, and it has yielded incredible results.

Whatever you do, dont wait too long to have the conversation about how you really feel about those old corner breakfronts or the Swarovski crystal animal collection. By addressing the issue early on, Im usually able to include their most beloved possessions in an integrated way, says Boston interior designer Kathie Chrisicos, while also giving a client time to consider an alternative. Maybe theres another home, a basement or storage area, or a relative who might appreciate their cherished possessions?

AD PRO

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Your Client Wont Get Rid of Their Stuff. Now What? - Architectural Digest