96: Confessions from a Trade Show: Designing for the Way People Actually Live

After attending Milan Design Week and then heading straight to High Point Market, I found myself sitting with a lot of thoughts about our industry, our clients, and what actually matters when it comes to design.

This episode is a very honest reflection on the contrast between those two experiences and the bigger lesson I walked away with.

I talk about:

•  Why designing for real life matters more than designing for attention 
•  The difference between exclusive design and approachable design 
•  What Milan taught me about industry pressure and expectations 
•  Why practical, livable interiors are not less sophisticated 
•  The danger of designing for peers instead of clients 
•  How to stay grounded in your own design perspective 
•  Why relationships still matter in this industry 
•  The importance of creating spaces that support the way people actually live 

I also share some behind-the-scenes thoughts from both Milan Design Week and High Point Market, including what surprised me most during both experiences.

If you have ever questioned whether you are “doing enough” as a designer because of what you see online or in the industry, this episode is your reminder that clarity, functionality, and understanding your clients will always matter more than hype.

Mentioned in This Episode

•  Milan Design Week 
•  Salone del Mobile 
•  High Point Market 
•  ASID presentations 
•  Discovery calls and messaging for designers 

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Transcript

Beautiful Isn’t Enough: Designing for the Way People Actually Live

Hey y’all, you’re listening to The McClain Method Podcast, episode number 96.

Welcome to The McClain Method, the podcast for interior designers who are ready to stop hiding and start shining. I’m your host, John McClain, designer, business mentor, author, and your branding bestie.

This is not about paint colors or pendant lighting. It’s about building a business that’s both visible and profitable, inside and out.

From marketing and messaging to mindset, systems, and visibility, we cover the front stage and the backstage of your design business because your brilliance deserves the spotlight and your business deserves to run like a dream behind the scenes.

So if you’re ready to be seen, get recognized, and get booked, it’s time to let it shine.

Welcome to The McClain Method.

Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of The McClain Method Podcast.

How are you today? How’s your week going? How’s your world going?

It’s so good to be in your ears today. I love getting to pop in and share things with you. And honestly, this episode felt really cathartic for me to record.

I’ve just come back from two very intense weeks of travel. First, I went from Los Angeles to Milan for Salone del Mobile during Milan Design Week. Then immediately after that, I flew straight to High Point Market.

And let me tell you, that travel schedule was absolutely wild.

I landed in Charlotte around midnight after flying from Milan. Then I still had an hour-and-a-half drive to my hotel before waking up the next morning for a presentation at High Point.

At one point, I think I’d been awake for almost twenty-three hours.

Probably not my smartest moment.

But somewhere between Milan and High Point, I started sitting with my feelings a little more deeply than usual.

And lately, I’ve been trying to do that more often. Even when the feelings are uncomfortable. Even when they’re complicated.

Because I’ve realized that when you stop rushing to conclusions and just sit with your thoughts for a while, clarity eventually reveals itself.

And that’s exactly what happened here.

I’ve gone back and forth about sharing this episode because I want to be thoughtful and fair. I’m not here to bash anything or anyone. But if you know me, you know I value honesty. So today, I want to share a very honest reflection about what these experiences brought up for me as a designer.

Because what I realized had very little to do with trends and everything to do with what actually matters in our industry.

Let’s start with Milan.

First of all, Salone is massive. Truly unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

The city is overflowing with people during Design Week. The streets are packed. The exhibits are packed. The showrooms are packed.

There are installations everywhere. Pop-ups all over the city. Product launches. Brand activations. Endless inspiration.

And visually? It was incredible.

There’s no denying the creativity and scale of what happens there.

I went in genuinely excited. Curious. Open-minded. Ready to be inspired and to build relationships with vendors and other designers.

But if I’m honest, the experience itself felt very different from what I expected.

I’m a talker. You know that.

I expected conversations. Warmth. Curiosity. Some level of “Hey, you’re here, let’s connect.”

And that just wasn’t my experience in many spaces.

A lot of the showrooms felt very closed off. Some even felt intimidating or unwelcoming. And that surprised me because if the goal is to build relationships with designers, then you actually have to make designers feel welcome.

Now, I want to be clear. There were absolutely wonderful people there too. Some vendors and designers were incredibly kind, generous, and engaging.

But overall, I left feeling like exclusivity was being prioritized over connection.

And that made me think deeply about how that same energy can show up in design.

Because design that feels exclusive may look impressive from the outside, but that energy doesn’t always translate well to client work.

Our clients don’t want to feel intimidated in their own homes.

They want to feel comfortable.
 Understood.
 Seen.

They want spaces that support their lives, not spaces that feel like museums.

And I think that’s an important distinction.

As designers, we have to constantly ask ourselves:

Are we recommending something because it genuinely serves our client?

Or are we recommending it because it feels impressive to the industry?

That’s a very different motivation.

Another thing that struck me was how much effort some experiences required.

The traffic was exhausting. A two-mile drive could easily take forty-five minutes.

Many installations had lines wrapped around buildings. Some exhibits required separate tickets. Others felt inaccessible unless you knew the right people.

And eventually I found myself asking:

Is the experience matching the effort?

Because here’s the truth:

Just because something is prestigious does not mean it’s useful.

I’m going to say that again.

Just because something is prestigious does not mean it’s useful.

And I think we see this mindset in design all the time.

There’s this assumption that if something is difficult to access, exclusive, expensive, or highly conceptual, then it must automatically be better.

But when you work with real clients in real homes with real budgets and real daily lives, that’s not always true.

Now let’s talk about the actual design itself because there truly were beautiful things everywhere.

Some pieces absolutely inspired me.

But a lot of what I saw felt disconnected from the way most people actually live.

It was artistic.
 Conceptual.
 Boundary-pushing.

And there’s absolutely a place for that.

But I kept asking myself:

Would my clients actually live with this?

Would this work in a home with children and pets?
 Would this function for daily life?
 Would this feel comfortable and practical long term?

And many times, the answer was no.

That realization brought me back to something I’ve believed for a very long time:

There is a difference between designing for show and designing for living.

Both matter.
 Both have value.

But if your business is built around serving clients, you have to stay grounded in what actually works for them.

Not just what photographs well.
 Not just what gets attention.
 What actually works.

And honestly, I learned this years ago when I first started working in television on HGTV.

Designing for television is very different from designing for real life.

Television wants drama.
 Boldness.
 Shock value.
 Something visually striking.

But clients need functionality too.

Because eventually someone has to actually sit on that sofa.
 Live in that room.
 Clean that surface.
 Use that space every single day.

And I think social media has amplified this tension even more.

The designs that perform best online are often the most extreme or visually outrageous. They’re the spaces that stop people mid-scroll.

But stopping the scroll and supporting a client’s life are not always the same thing.

And I think we have to be honest about that.

Then I landed at High Point Market, and the contrast felt immediate.

It honestly felt like coming home.

People were open. Conversational. Vendors actually wanted to connect.

And yes, part of that may be because I’m Southern and naturally feel more comfortable in that environment.

But there was also a groundedness there that reminded me why relationships still matter so much in this industry.

The products felt connected to real homes and real projects.

I could immediately envision where pieces would work and how clients would actually use them.

And that doesn’t make the work less sophisticated.

If anything, designing beautiful spaces that are also functional, durable, and livable is harder.

Because now you’re balancing aesthetics with practicality.

And I’ve always believed that when we lose practicality in design, we lose part of the purpose behind what we do.

Our job is not just to create beautiful spaces.

Our job is to create homes that support people’s lives.

That means considering durability.
 Comfort.
 Cleanability.
 Function.

At our firm, whenever possible, we use high-performance commercial-grade fabrics because we know our clients actually live in these spaces.

Kids spill things.
 Dogs jump on furniture.
 Life happens.

And clients deserve homes that are beautiful without feeling precious.

That’s why I describe my style as “comfortable chic.”

I want spaces to feel elevated and stylish, but also deeply livable.

Because those two things absolutely can coexist.

Ironically, the best part of Milan for me had nothing to do with the exhibits.

It was the people.

Running into fellow designers.
 Having spontaneous conversations.
 Helping each other source products.
 Talking about current projects and real client needs.

Those moments felt genuine and grounding.

There was something really beautiful about designers helping designers.

Someone would mention needing a specific outdoor piece for a project, and later another designer would send them a photo saying, “Hey, I found it.”

Those interactions reminded me why community matters.

Not prestige.
 Not exclusivity.
 Connection.

And ultimately, this entire experience brought me back to something I think many designers quietly struggle with.

We’re constantly being shown what we’re supposedly meant to care about.

What we should aspire to.
 What “good design” is supposed to look like.
 What we should be chasing next.

And when you’re immersed in an environment like Milan Design Week, that pressure gets loud.

Very loud.

Everything around you is telling you:
 This matters.
 This is important.
 This is the standard.

And if you’re not careful, you start questioning yourself.

Am I behind?
 Am I missing something?
 Should I be designing differently?

But the truth is this:

If you truly know your clients, if you understand how they live and what they need, then you do not need to second-guess yourself every time the industry shifts.

You can appreciate something without needing to become it.

You can admire creativity while still staying rooted in your own perspective and your own work.

Because the goal is not to reinvent yourself every time trends change.

The goal is to become more precise in the kind of designer you already are.

I really want that to sink in.

The goal is clarity.
 Refinement.
 Depth.

Not constant reinvention.

So if you’ve ever felt pressure to care about something just because the industry tells you that you should, I want you to pause and ask yourself:

Does this actually serve my clients?

Does this align with how I work?
 Does this fit the kind of spaces I want to create?
 Does this genuinely improve someone’s life?

Because at the end of the day, that is the work we are called to do.

Not to impress the industry.

But to create spaces that truly support the people living inside them.

And when you stay grounded in that, your clients feel it.

They know you understand them.
 They trust you more deeply.
 And your work becomes stronger because it’s rooted in something real.

If this episode resonated with you, I’d truly love to hear your thoughts.

And if you know another designer who may be feeling this same tension, send this episode to them.

Because I think more of us are feeling this than we sometimes admit out loud.

Also, side note, it was so wonderful seeing so many of you at High Point Market. The conversations, the hugs, the questions, the presentations, all of it meant so much to me.

I spoke about messaging, discovery calls, and business trends for designers, and those conversations were incredibly meaningful.

Thank you for being there.

And if you haven’t already, I’d love for you to hit the automatic download button on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps me understand which episodes are resonating most so I can continue creating content that supports you well.

My friend, you are doing a great job.

You are a talented designer.

And I want you to remember that you do not need to chase every trend or force yourself into someone else’s version of success.

You just need to keep refining the work you already know how to do well.

Thank you so much for being here.

I’ll see you on the next episode very soon.

Make it a great day.

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The McClain Method Podcast.

I’m so grateful you made it all the way to the end because that tells me you’re ready to do the work that truly transforms your brand, your business, and your life.

If you want more tools, trainings, and behind-the-scenes looks at what I’m building next, head over to:

The McClain Method

And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram:

@themcclainmethod

And remember, my friend:

Your brilliance is your brand.
 Don’t dim it. Design it.

I’ll see you next time.