A Zen Attitude Can Help

I met with a client today and she knew exactly what she wanted. She’s been planning her new kitchen for years. She’s also pretty fussy so deciding on the right benchtop was a big deal. She selected a particular stone about 9 months ago. It had just the right about of pattern and colour for her. She loved how it looked with her floor tile. So when I met with her she was very confident in her choice. All she wanted from me was a bit of guidance about her cupboard door colours. Everything else in her scheme was to complement her stone. In fact, she was going to base her entire home around the selection of this stone.

...You can just picture her face when I told her that unfortunately her stone colour had been discontinued about 8 months ago.  Her bottom lip actually came out!  She did not say a word and she looked at me, panicking and shaking her head.  It took her completely by surprise. She was absolutely stumped and didn't know what to do.  For months she'd been picturing this beautiful kitchen in her mind, and I had just shattered her dreams.  Her whole world came tumbling down around her.

When she calmed down, and took a few breaths, I showed her what the replacement colour was.  It was quite similar but she said she absolutely hated it.  It was not the Goldilocks of benchtops.  I showed her another brand, which she warmed to more, but I only had a small sample to show her.  It's hard to make a decision on this, I know.

I said, look, let’s just put the kitchen aside for now.   While you're here let’s look at what we can select for your laundry...  She started shaking her head vigorously again, wide eyed.  She still couldn't get over the fact that she couldn't have her kitchen top.  I took the hint and said, why don't you go to the other showroom and have a look at a larger piece of the alternative stone. While you're at it, go and get a sample of that splashback tile you've told me about.  It will help you decide what to do. Then we’ll meet again later, with all your samples.  Take photos of them if you can’t borrow them from the showroom.

So off they went.
It must have been about 3 hours later, they were back to see me.  The mood had changed dramatically for the better.  She whipped out this new stone sample from her bag and she said, I've found something even better!  She was so relieved that she was able to concentrate on the rest of her home now.  We were able to race around and select all the finishes for her joinery in no time at all.

See, that's the moral of my story.  You never know what’s going to come out of a bad situation and sometimes you have to roll with the punches.

It was a stunning piece of stone, I couldn't stop looking at it.  It kind of shimmered like it was magic.  Casting a mesmerizing spell on all who looked upon it.  She never would have found it if she hadn't run into the problem of the old one not being available.

final benchtop choice: Silestone White Platinum

Some things are just meant to be.  You will save yourself many a grey hair if you have a kind of zen attitude to renovating.

Have you made selections more than six months ago?  You should check that it's still available.  Or better yet, ask the supplier to put it aside for you.  Sometimes things happen in a project that are beyond your control and timelines get thrown out.  Unfortunately this can have a flow on effect to other areas.  You have to cover all your bases.  And if it just doesn't work out, be flexible.  Be open to new ideas and you will make it happen :)