Avoid the Sourcing Trap: The Key Steps Before You Start Buying Ep #44

Are you jumping straight into sourcing furniture and finishes for your home without a clear plan in place? It might be time to pause. In this episode, we tackle one of the most common pitfalls in interior design: sourcing before you’ve done the necessary groundwork. Before you start picking out that perfect sofa or those stylish light fixtures, you need a solid foundation to ensure your choices actually work for you.

This episode walks you through the crucial steps to take before you start sourcing — from identifying your goals and lifestyle needs to understanding how each element of your space can support your well-being. We’ll dive into how to plan with intention, focusing on the areas of your life you want to improve, and creating a vision that aligns with your personal needs. By getting clear on these things up front, your sourcing process will be smoother, your design decisions will feel more aligned, and your space will truly reflect what you need from it.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the design process or uncertain about where to start, this episode is for you. Tune in to learn how to build the groundwork for a home that supports you — physically, emotionally, and practically — before you begin the fun part of picking out finishes.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the Design Journey
• 6:16 Understanding the Sourcing Process
• 12:02 The Importance of Planning Before Sourcing
• 19:29 Key Steps in Project Planning
• 31:01 Pre-Sourcing Checklist for Success

Transcript

N Smu (00:01)
Hello, welcome back to the show. Today we're getting into something that I think a lot of people experience when they're not working with a designer, but they don't always talk about it or perhaps know how to explain what's going on. So picture this, you've got a project in mind and you've started saving some inspiration and you now decide to head into a showroom to get started.

But instead of clarity, you leave that showroom with more questions and a few business cards and maybe even some regret. Perhaps you've left feeling deflated and confused. Sound familiar? In this episode, we're talking about what needs to happen before you start sourcing, before the tile samples, before the furniture browsing, before you get influenced by a well-meaning sales associate who doesn't actually know your goals.

I'm going to walk you through what designers always do at the beginning of a project and how you can do it too. So you make decisions that support your vision, your lifestyle, and the kind of life you want your home to help you create.

So have you ever walked into a showroom and you've been super excited to start a project you're working on and you've collected all your inspiration images, you feel great, you're super inspired and you walk into this showroom and the second you walk in, you start looking around and it's like, wow, okay, there's a lot of stuff in here, there's a lot to see.

And you just walk in and a salesperson comes up to you and starts to ask you, know, can I help you with anything? What do you need? And then you kind of freeze. You're like, okay, what is it that I need? What is it that I'm looking for? And your head starts to spin a bit. I remember when I first started out as an interior designer, and so I was a junior designer at the time. And I was working for a small company.

It was great because of that, I got to do a lot of things earlier than you would if you were working in a larger company. But so this, you know, there were times where we would start a project and maybe there was a tight timeline or something. And it would mean that I didn't necessarily have like a really good grasp on the design brief. So the conceptuals maybe hadn't really been hashed out in a way that I felt at the time, probably because of

being a junior designer and still trying to learn and figure things out, I didn't have a good grasp on the concept. So then I would be having to do the sourcing. And so maybe I'd be going and pulling tile schemes or fabric schemes or sourcing plumbing or something. And I remember specifically walking into a tile showroom and this tile showroom was amazing. Like it was this beautiful tile showroom. It had amazing choices.

But because I didn't have that clear concept and that clear understanding of our jumping off point and the vision, I walked into that showroom and I was just, I was amazed at, look at that material and look at that and look at that color. And then, you you start talking to the salesperson and they say, okay, what can I help you find? And you kind of give them a little bit of information as much sort of as a grasp as you have at that moment.

And then they start showing you things and, you could do this or what if you did this and what if you did that? And then you're like, but what about that? And then all of a sudden, it's just this flood of information that's going on in your brain and you literally are just paralyzed. It's like, what just happened? I don't even know what schemes I've built here. I don't know what colors are they working together, are they not?

And so I remember just being like, yeah, okay, I'll take a sample of that. I'll take a sample of that. And going back to the office and then trying to hash out the scheme and trying to think through all the different applications, where things were going and what colors were working and what materials, did I choose the right materials? I choose the right size, the format? And then just feeling like, geez, that was a lot. I'm exhausted. And to be honest, I don't even feel confident.

in the direction. So there were times where I would have to go back to the showroom, you know, and this is all a learning process. the point is, is that it can happen very easily if you don't have that groundwork done ahead of time. If you haven't developed your concept, if you haven't, you know, really got a grasp of where things are at, you've just jumped the gun.

And I want to mention that even professionals, even interior designers, I knew at the time I was a junior designer, so I hadn't had a lot of experience behind me yet, but even professionals can be thrown off by really eager salespeople when the groundwork isn't done, right? They just get completely thrown off. They can lose the vision depending on who's helping them and what's going on. And just...

Just to say it's not the salesperson's fault, right? They're just working with what they see in the moment and the information that's actually given to them. So even though often they're very good in what they do, they have an amazing level of expertise in their material selection and in their product knowledge. But if they don't understand the big picture,

and you're not able to relay that in a way that kind of keeps them in line or in check, then you run the risk of them doing their job and saying, let me show you this or have you seen this and what about this and what about that? They're actually doing their job well. It's just they don't have the information that they need to help you as effectively as you need.

And this is a really common mistake, is jumping into sourcing way too soon. Because sourcing is one of those things that it cannot happen and it cannot be done effectively if the steps haven't taken place before that, that really need to be established in order for that sourcing to be a success.

So I just want to start by defining sourcing for you in terms of how interior designers see interior design sourcing. So sourcing is basically the process of finding and selecting finishes, lighting, materials, decor items, furniture. And what the process is, it's not just

going into a store and finding that piece. But often it's a bit of a research time, right? It's really establishing, okay, which vendor is gonna be the right vendor for this? Who have we worked with in the past that is similar or can achieve what we're going for for this specific thing? Where do we go that has the right budget for this project? Where do we go that's gonna fit the timeline?

and you know what, one of the coolest things about sourcing is it's a bit of an exploration. So sometimes you're looking for new vendors, you're looking for new and exciting things to bring into a project. And so it's a little bit of research, it's a bit of trying to find something that you haven't seen before. So that's a really exciting thing. But sourcing in general is just gathering, it's gathering information from vendors, it's gathering

all of the things that are going to create the project. So the finishes, the lighting, and everything else that I just mentioned.

But the actual process of sourcing, it's really where creativity meets logistics. Balancing aesthetic, balancing the vision, balancing budget, ETAs, so your availability, the quality. Sourcing ensures that every design decision can be executed in the real world. But sourcing is like,

step five in a project. Things like determining your goals, analyzing your needs and how you need the space to function, how you want to live, what the budget is, the look, the concepts, all of that. Things need to happen ahead of time before the sourcing can begin. And interior sourcing is essentially where the rubber meets the road and

It can be tempting to start here, right? It's the moment when design ideas get real, when vision has to meet practicality and budget and availability, right? The vision really starts to take shape in the sourcing process. And it's an exciting time. It's exciting because you start to get the picture in real time of what the physical space is going to be made up of. All of the components.

you're starting to see those final, final selections come together. And if you haven't laid the groundwork and done the planning, then this process, the sourcing process can become overwhelming.

I've seen so many people that have gotten so excited just about the change that they want to see and the sourcing that they're going to start. And they just go out and they start picking things without the thought of, you know, the steps that have needed to come before. And what ends up happening is they either pick the wrong thing, they spend too much money, they pick things that don't actually work with their timeframe.

And then they get really overwhelmed because there are so many choices and so many directions with each and everything. And then the process of sourcing, which, like I said, can be such an exciting step. What ends up happening is it ends up being a drag and it ends up being something that weighs them down and they're not excited about.

And when you're doing any project in your home, you really want to keep that momentum going and you want to keep the excitement flowing because it is such a great thing. But there's a lot of decisions to be made. There's a lot of money that you're spending. There's a lot of people involved often. so there's a lot of organization and communication and all of these things. And when everything's working well, it makes for a

great project. But if certain things take a dip, if you haven't done that planning, and if you haven't been able to communicate your wants and your needs, then what ends up happening is that stage of a project starts to become a drag. And then that affects the other stages of a project.

So what I like to compare it to is it's almost like, buying the ingredients for a meal without knowing what you're going to cook. So each item might look really appealing on their own, but when you put them all together, they just don't work. And there isn't a plan of how each one is going to be used for the meal.

So imagine if you went grocery shopping and you walked in and you're like, okay, I've got guests coming for dinner. I don't know what I'm gonna cook, but I'm going to the grocery store to buy what I need. And you walk in and you just start picking items of food. You pick ingredients, pick whatever it is. You just start picking and choosing based on, that looks good. I've had that before and that tastes really yummy. And ooh, maybe we'll try.

this seafood and maybe we'll try that cheese and maybe we'll try this dessert. And you're not giving any thought to how they work together, how the flavors come together, how the plate actually is going to look when the food's on it. Do you have the right proteins or salad or desserts? And you just, haven't gone in and thought about it and given it the thought, the care and the attention ahead of time so that you walk in

knowing what you're getting.

knowing what you're going in for. And if you have that plan, if that plan is in place and you know, this is what I'm cooking tonight, this is what we're having for dessert, and you happen to see something that catches your eye that you want to try, because you have the plan, you know if that something is something you can add or something that you can substitute, right? So having that plan actually allows for inspiration to hit.

and carry forward and actually make it better versus the inspiration to hit, which causes you to derail and spiral out of control and not feel like you've got a clear direction. And really, without a clear concept or a clear plan, your space can be left almost like a patchwork of things. So...

it's a room full of stuff or whatever room it is that you're working on. It can just feel like patchwork. It can really feel that the choices made weren't made collectively. So it feels like just, yeah, patchwork of things rather than a cohesive, supportive environment. And you can see that there was a plan based on how everything comes together. Because when you really look

at a space that's been well thought through. Not only can you start to see how it relates, but you can feel it. You can feel that there was intention there. You can feel that there was a plan. You can feel that the choices made were chosen together for a reason, right? You can really feel the why behind design, whether you truly understand the project or you have no idea.

how that project came to life. When you walk into a space, you do get that sense of whether it was planned, whether it was selected with intention and purpose, or whether it was just thrown together and it was an afterthought.

And in neuroesthetics, we explore how our environment impacts our emotions and our cognition. How we approach our spaces, like planning before sourcing, actually affects how clearly and calmly we can think. And this is not just the design and the outcome, but it's how it's affecting you in the process. So while you're going through the project,

while you're sourcing and you're selecting things, how is this actually affecting you? Are you able to think clearly and remain calm through the process? Therefore, it becomes a more enjoyable process. Therefore, your choices are more in line with your goals, your intentions, because you are able to think clearly and be effective in your thinking, right? And a plan, that's really...

what that does. Having a plan allows us to be able to think clearly on things and to remain calm when those sort of selections come up, when we feel that there's a lot in front of us to choose from. And that helps us say, no, we have a plan and now we understand the plan, we understand where we're working towards, what we want.

And because I understand that, I now see the choices in front of me and I can say, would I like to add to the plan with this or would I like to substitute something from the plan for this? And that's an amazing thing because once you feel that sense of clarity, it allows you the ability to shift. And that's a really important thing in a project is to be able to have a little bit of flexibility as you're working through things.

So when you have that planning in place, it actually reduces cognitive load. know, have you ever had that where you don't feel like you have the plan and therefore like back to my tile showroom, because I didn't have the plan and then all the information starts coming in, all of a sudden I experience cognitive load and then I feel just like I can't execute on any decision, which leads.

someone to say, okay, I'll grab a sample of that. I'll grab a sample of that. I'll grab a sample of that. Really what's happening is you're experiencing cognitive overload, right? So planning actually helps make you more rational. It actually gives you goal-directed decisions, right? Which are essential when you're designing and when you're sourcing, okay? It also gives you a sense of control. So having a plan actually reduces the overwhelm.

and anxiety, especially in complex environments like home design. Neuroesthetics actually teaches us to pay attention to how spaces feel, right? But before you even bring anything into a space, there's a lot to how the mental environment that you create for yourself in the planning, right? What sort of mental environment are you creating?

Because planning isn't just practical, right? Your brain actually thrives on structure and thrives on intention. So the more you have that going into sourcing, the better the outcome is going to be and the better you're gonna feel and the environment that you create is going to be better as well. So now I just wanna talk about

what a designer does. So a little bit of like a sneak peek into what typically goes down in terms of project planning and the steps. When I talk about the things that have to come first, I want to share with you some of those things that you should implement before the sourcing starts. So I'm going to break it down, the prep work that you would do as a designer before that sourcing. Okay, so the first thing, and I think I'm going to share, there's five things that we'll...

chat about, but the first one is understand the goals. Okay, so what does this space need to do? What's your goals for this space? So you want to hash that out. You really want to think about the goals for the space and have that clear. And then the next one is the concept development. So this is where you really start to create the mood, the story, right? So where can I add a story in here? And

And stories are so crucial in design you walk into a room and things are cohesive, you get the sense of the mood of the room and that's all done through storytelling and the choices that have been made. But when you take it a step further and you say, are my stories that I wanna share and I wanna tell in my home? Because when we mirror back aspects of our life,

It's really beneficial to us. we really wanna look at ways that we can mirror back our story, mirror back our life. And so that in the concept development stage is really, really important. You also want to in this stage, pull your concept images, right? So really develop those inspiration images and start thinking through what kind of palette.

What are the colors that you want to bring in? And for that, this is always important to say, what is the jumping off point? What are the things that are going to remain in this room or the things I'm going to bring into this room? So for instance, if you're renovating your kitchen, let's say, and you have tile in the kitchen or hardwood in the kitchen that isn't going to change.

then that would be one of the things that you're jumping off point. You're working with that. Then the next thing would be your tile selection. So is that the thing that you want to speak the loudest? Then you're going to grab what tile you're going to do. You're going to start looking through those inspiration images for the tile and the movement and the colors and all of that. If it's your living room, maybe you've got a piece of art.

and you really, really love this one particular piece of art, whether it's big, whether it's small, it doesn't matter. This could be your jumping off point for all the colors in the room and even the movement. So if you're adding any architectural details, maybe you look to the art to speak to some of the movement that needs to happen. So are you doing certain details that you could try to mimic?

So using those things and really gathering. So concept development is such a huge and important part of a project. This is what really gets you on the right foot. And then the next thing would be budget and priorities. So this is also very important, of course, right? Because with anything that you spend in your home, I mean, you know, whenever you go to the store, whenever you look at things, there is such a vast

difference between what you can pay. You you can start at the bottom and then you can go up to the top very, very quickly and it jumps quite significantly. So having that budget in place is very, very important. And then alongside that is the priorities because you might have a budget and then you come across something that just, it just, this is what I need. This is the perfect thing. This is exactly what I've been envisioning or wanting.

but it's not in your budget. Now, if you have set your budget with the priorities, knowing the areas that really matter the most, then you can come back to the budget and say, look, this was one of those things that really, really matters. Where now can I look in the budget and make some concessions? Where can we cut back in order to allow this high priority thing to happen?

Okay, so budget and priorities, they work together and they're very important. The next thing is the function, right? How do you need your room to function? What's the layout? What does it have to be? How do you use your room? If you've been living in your space for a while, you probably have the ability to critique the way that you've been living, the changes that you see.

needing to happen. And this all comes down to analyzing your space, analyzing how you feel in it, analyzing how you move through it. So there has to be an awareness in this process in order to really get the right layout, the right flow and make sure that usability is key, is up there.

If you want to designate your rooms, if currently your living room is a catchall for everything and you don't want it like that because you envision yourself reading a book in the living room or you envision yourself

having quiet time and listening to music and unwinding in your living room. You're like, this is just not how I envision it. When I do sit down and try to do what I want to do in this room, I feel like I can't focus. I feel like I get tired. I feel like I'm agitated. I feel like I actually can't sit when I want to. I sit and then I walk away. I sit, I walk away.

You know, these are the things that you want to start paying attention to because our bodies are responding to our environment. And if we're not paying attention to how our bodies are responding, then that's impacting us and we're allowing it to impact us in potentially negative ways. So when we're looking at function, it's very important to pay attention to how we are responding to the environment.

The next thing is your emotional objectives. And this is important. It's like, how do you want to feel? Right? How do you want to feel? What's not working in your life that this space can support, can change, can help you evolve? Right? Like when we look at our emotional objectives, right?

let's say you want to start traveling a lot. Well, how can you set your space up? And you think, well, I don't know, like, shouldn't I just be starting to save? And that's true, but it's really important to inspire yourself, right? So you want to travel, let's start putting things in your space that reminds you of places you've been or reminds you of places you want to go.

Or perhaps you're starting to tweak how you do dinner because you've got a favorite country that does dinner a certain way and you just love it. And so that's the kind of thing you want to start instilling into your life, into your habits. Because any little choices that you can make aesthetically and how you use a space is going to inform how you live. So that's really important to ask yourself, how do I want to feel?

and what's not working in my life, are there habits that you'd like to change? Set your room up to support the habits that you want to adopt

So now I just want to give you a bit of a checklist that you can use when you're sourcing, you know, sort of a little designer checklist so that it just, when you're in that process and when you're going to those showrooms or you're starting to source things online, this will help you to remain clear and to be able to think clearly, calmly, and confidently while you're kind of...

weighing the options and while you're seeing the things, okay? This is like the thing you fall back on when you're doing your sourcing. So the first thing is what's the main function of the space? So if you've got that outlined and you you wanna keep these quite short, right? So I've already explained kind of the breakdown and the prep work that you need to do before sourcing.

And I went into detail on each one of those. But now this is like your little cheat sheet that you want to carry with you when you're sourcing. So you want it to be short and brief so that you don't have to sit there and read page after page while you're sourcing to make sure that you're on track. Okay. So what's the main function of the space?

So how do you use it? How are you going to use the space? What's the main function? So if it's your kitchen, know, what you obviously you're going to say, what's the main function? Well, what will I cook? Right. But but on top of that, what kind of cooking do you do? You know, do you are you more of a baker or are you more of, you know, do you reheat stuff? Do you do you do a lot of meal prep? You know, like, so what kind of functions do you need the kitchen to help you do? Right.

So, and then what do I want to feel when I use it? Okay, so what are your feelings that you want to experience while you're using your space? What's currently frustrating me in my day-to-day life? So what are the things that when you're looking, you're gonna want to avoid, right? So what's really frustrating you?

because you're, you know, you're not going to get certain things if they're frustrating you I keep using kitchens as a reference, but let's say you're, the timer on your oven is really confusing for you. For some reason, it is just so annoying. It's very confusing. And it just, you don't feel like it works and you don't actually use it. You use your phone. But you'd like to use.

the timer on your oven. And so that's something that frustrates you. So if you're sourcing for your kitchen, that's a very important factor to make note of, right? Because that's something that you can tell the salesperson to say, here's what's frustrating me about the timer on my oven right now. And they'll be able to, with their product knowledge and their experience, be able to point you in the direction of options that have a timer that's more the one that you're in line with, okay?

Another thing is what's my rough budget range? Okay, so if you have a range, that's important because if you just go in and you say, here's my budget, here it is, this is the exact amount, then what ends up happening, depending on who you're talking to, is they're gonna say, okay, so now I know that I can't show them that and I can't show them that. And what if...

the difference was marginal and you did have a little wiggle room. Well, you know, then all of a sudden you may have missed out on something that you loved. So having a bit of a range is really important. What are my non-negotiables? Right? So what are the things that you just have to have when you're going in? Okay, if you're looking for a sofa, what's your non-negotiables? Seat depth.

maybe the way that you like to curl up on your sofa is so important to you. You like to have both feet up. And if the seat depth isn't right, then that doesn't allow for that. Which if you have your sofa where you can't curl up the way you like, all of a sudden the experience changes. Now it becomes a frustration when you sit on your sofa versus what you need it to do, right? So.

What are your non-negotiables?

The next one is, I have a vision board or a collection of inspiration? So this is really important. You want to have a vision board. You want to have a collection of inspiration, but you don't want so much that it's overwhelming, so much that in the moment you can't recall what it was specifically about that room that you love or that space that you just gravitate to.

because you have so much. So what you want to do is okay to start out wide. It's okay to go crazy and find so much, like many pictures and so much inspiration, but then you want to start finding the repeating ideas, the repeating themes, the repeating materials, the repeating colors, the repeating vibe. And then you want to slowly start to dwindle that.

down and when you're left you should have some inspiration images or a mood board where it's very clear. It's very clear on what you like and when you look at it straight away you get a sense of the direction. You get a sense of the vibe. You get a sense of the overall mood or the theme of the space.

So that's really important. And you kind of want to have that on hand. But again, I do caution you with that because I have shown like vision boards when, you know, concept boards or concept imagery to sales reps before. And depending on who it is, they have their take on what they see. So you always want to understand that regardless of what you share,

the input you get may not be right because again, even if they have, and most of them have an amazing level of experience and expertise and they're there to help and they want to give you the best, they don't always have the big picture. More often than not, they will not have the big picture. You have the big picture. And this list, even if you share it, is really meant...

to keep you on track and to keep you understanding the direction so that you can inform them so they know how to help you. The next one is, I choosing items that support my larger goals? So how does this item impact me? So you've looked at the areas in your life, maybe the habits you want to address.

or the goals and the dreams that you have. You've looked at those things. You've thought through some ways that you transform your space to support that. And now it's how does this support my larger goals? How does this help me in these areas? Yeah, so I would say for all of these, take a bit of time and journal them. Write these down.

and then build sort of almost like a one pager to bring with you when you're sourcing. And when you're going into any showroom, read through it, know it, understand what you're going for because it is so easy to get off track. And a little bit of off track is okay. If you're having fun and you're enjoying the process.

You know, veering a little bit off track here and there is okay, but you don't want to veer off track and make a purchase, right? It's okay to veer off track and gather information and then come back and weigh that information against this list. But you don't want to veer off track and make a purchase, okay?

You know, and the intention is always, can I use my home as a tool for better living? So each one of these things is always coming back to and is rooted in that I can make choices in my home that directly impact and affect my life. Okay, so before you source, a huge factor that makes a design successful is if it improves your life in some way. Okay, how amazing is that? That you can use your home

as a tool, that you can use your home as a way to improve your life. It has the ability to transform your day to day, right? Your home and the choices you make, everything that you've chose to surround yourself with can boost your happiness, improve your focus and attention. It can help you build relationships and even achieve your goals. But before you can really create spaces to help you, you've got to ask

some questions, right? And these questions are early on in the process. So as you go through what we've already discussed, I think it's important to add that every project should ask a few other things. And that is, what do I want more of in my life? Okay, so are you doing anything right now or have you done anything that you want?

of, you know, maybe you've just recently hosted a dinner party and you're like, you know what, I need more of that in my life. Like that was fun. That was fun. So, so you want to start doing that. So are there choices that you can make that will allow you to be able to do that or maybe ask yourself what's stopping me from being able to do that right now? So what do I want more of in my life? The next one is what's currently draining me when I spend time in my home

What's draining me? Maybe it's that you come home after a long and stressful day and your home doesn't separate that. So you walk in and you still feel that stress. You still feel that you're carrying the day with you.

And the beautiful thing is that when you cross that threshold from coming home to arriving at your front door and opening that front door and walking in, that threshold can have a really big impact. And you can leave the day behind you, but you have to set your home up so that when you cross that threshold, you've set it up so that you don't have reminders of your day.

Or maybe when you come in, you're like, you know what, I need to get this off my chest. I need to talk to my significant other about this. I need to just try to let it go. perhaps you've actually said, hey, do you mind that when I get home, we spend like 15 quick minutes where I just get to vent. And then you think about, where in the home can we do this? So that, you know, it's not in a room where you have set up to relax.

Right? So you're designating your spaces. Like if I'm going to vent about work, let's do it in the home office, right? Because I can vent, we can have a quick chat about it. Then I can walk out of that room, close the door and leave it there. Right? Now I can walk into my room that I've designated for rest and relaxation. And now that's when that starts. And it's an amazing thing that can happen in our brains when we allow that distinction and we guard those distinctions. So

what's currently draining me. The next one is how can this room support better mornings? How can this room support better sleep? More connection. Whatever it is, like how can if you want certain things like better sleep, how can I create a space to do that? And I actually have an episode, I think it's about three or four episodes previous to this one, and it's all about how to set your

your bedroom up for deep sleep and rest and all of that. So, if that's important to you, you might want to have a listen to that episode. But yeah, so it's really about how can I get this room to support me in ways that I need it to.

So as we wrap up today's episode, I just wanna mention that, you know, just the importance of planning, planning before sourcing. If you can get clear on the things we've talked about, that will help you immensely as you start sourcing. Because sourcing is, like I said, it can be such an exciting and such a fun process.

but it can also really throw you off track. So make sure you've done your planning ahead of time so that you can get that sourcing right and keep that excitement going. And I also wanna encourage you to just slow down, slow down a little bit and tune into your life, okay? Really pay attention to how you're feeling in your life. Where are the areas that you want more of? What are some goals, some habits?

So really tune into your life and plan your spaces around that with intention before you source. So do that homework first. You don't need to be a designer, but you just need to think like one in the early stages to keep things moving and to keep things cohesive. So as we close, before you jump into choosing finishes or fabric or fixtures,

Take a breath and get clear. What are you trying to shift or improve in your life? How do you want this space to work for you? When you plan with intention, your sourcing becomes more focused, your choices become more aligned, and your space ends up supporting you in ways that go way beyond the aesthetic.

Thank you for listening to today's episode. If this episode gave you a new perspective or made you think differently about how to start your project, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or left a review. And as always, your home isn't just a place, it's a tool. Use it well and design it for better living.