HOW TO HANDLE YOUR CLIENT'S BAD TASTE

Not everyone can have good taste ! But it can be difficult for an interior designer to convince the clients to opt for a different option without them feeling contradicted and upset.

Argument : respect for the overall style

Your client is asking you to redesign the interior of an hotel which happens to be an old castle. The client wants to maintain the privacy of the guests staying on the ground level by covering the windows with a sticky plastic tape that shows what you consider to be a very tacky pattern. You justify the style, the presence of traditional materials such as stone, wood and wrought iron. Plastic simply does not belong to this period style.

Ask your client to consider the style of the building. Going against will only upset the harmony of the design.

Argument : remain pragmatic

Keep the plastic but apply a full size sheet over the window so it looks like the glass itself is opaque; in this case abandon the tacky pattern and opt for an plain finish. 

This is a very inexpensive way of making windows opaque; you create privacy but you maintain the flow of the natural light coming in.

Argument : technical reason why we do things a certain way

You can suggest covering the entire glass pane with a sheer fabric in the same way we cover glass panes on the inside of cupboards.

Other options are limited. 

There is little else you can do if you wish to respect the style. The window occupies the full recess so any dressing hanging inside the recess would block the window opening. This is why you see the Roman blind hanging so far away from the window.

How to handle tricky situations?

Behave like a diplomat and always give a good reason why other options should be considered. After all, you are hired to create something more successful and more professional than anything your clients could come up with by themselves.