SHOW TRANSCRIPT

 

[00:00:05] Speaker 1 Welcome to another episode of the Go with John Show. We are here today with Soraya Tamaddon and we are going to talk about interior design and staging. So welcome. Thank you for coming in, Soraya.

 

[00:00:17] Speaker 2 Well, thank you, John, for having me. This is a great day for me to be part of your great podcast.

 

[00:00:24] Speaker 1 Well, thank you very much. Well, we’re so happy you took time to come in. So. So tell us a little bit about who you are and and what you do.

 

[00:00:34] Speaker 2 Well, like you said, my name is Soraya. I’m an interior designer. My business I started about five years ago here in Virginia, but before that, I had for over 20 years, I had my business in Orlando, Florida.

 

[00:00:50] Speaker 1 Okay.

 

[00:00:51] Speaker 2 Yeah. So my business now is just helps residential design. And I work with realtors for staging.

 

[00:01:01] Speaker 1 Gotcha. So what made you decide to move to Northern Virginia from Orlando?

 

[00:01:05] Speaker 2 Well, my husband was stationed at the Dulles Airport as a pilot, and he was commuting for a while and our boys had left the house. So I said, you know, it’s time for a new adventure, so let’s move to Virginia.

 

[00:01:19] Speaker 1 Yeah. So how do you like living in Virginia compared to Florida?

 

[00:01:23] Speaker 2 Oh, it’s very different. Yes. It makes me actually get reminded of living in my, you know, place of birth, my home country. I was born in Iran and we have where I lived in Tehran. We had four seasons. And then after that, I lived in Sweden for about nine years, which was much more extreme weather.

 

[00:01:45] Speaker 1 Yes.

 

[00:01:46] Speaker 2 Than here. So I am used to cold weather or change of seasons. But Florida really spoiled us. Yes. So when I moved here, I keep saying, Virginia, please be kind to me. The first.

 

[00:02:01] Speaker 1 Well, it’s been. I don’t think it’s been too rough of you. Yeah. So you’ve been here five years, though, so.

 

[00:02:05] Speaker 2 Yes.

 

[00:02:06] Speaker 1 Yeah, well, it’s been a pretty mild five years in Virginia. We’ve had some bad weather in years past, so. But sweet. So how long did you lived in Sweden for? Nine years, yes. So? So I’m originally from Denmark. And so that’s just across.

 

[00:02:20] Speaker 2 Yes. I’ve been to Denmark several times.

 

[00:02:22] Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah. And it’s very, very long, dark, cold winters. You know, I don’t know where in Sweden you are, but I remember the sun in the middle of the winter, the shortest day of the year. The sun would come up at like 1030, 11:00, and by 330 in the afternoon, it was pitch black already.

 

[00:02:40] Speaker 2 That’s right. That’s where I lived in south of Sweden. And then I lived in Gothenburg and then in Stockholm. So but I visited my friend in north of Sweden, which is six months dark and six months like. Yeah, and it was an amazing experience.

 

[00:02:59] Speaker 1 I don’t want to experience that amazing experience. No good. So. So how did you get into interior design? What drew you in to that? So you’ve been around the world, you’ve seen a lot of things and you’ve seen a lot of architecture. And but what drew you into interior design?

 

[00:03:14] Speaker 2 Well, when we moved to the U.S. the second time in 1997, we started our own business. And it kind of grew from a little pushcart to become a store. And then to six stores. We had stores in all the malls. And at one point, you know, when we added furniture to our assortment, people would come in and ask me about scale and placement and all of these, you know, specific things. And I told my husband, I don’t want to give them my opinion. I need to go to school for interior design, right? So I went to interior design school and loved every second of it. Where did you go? I went to Seminole State College in Orlando.

 

[00:03:57] Speaker 1 Okay.

 

[00:03:58] Speaker 2 And so we had two little boys, a full time business, and then I started full time school, so but I loved it so much that it was like a release from work for me.

 

[00:04:10] Speaker 1 Right, right.

 

[00:04:10] Speaker 2 So.

 

[00:04:11] Speaker 1 Right, yeah. So. So now you’re in Virginia, so what’s what’s what’s the name of your company?

 

[00:04:17] Speaker 2 Design and staging group.

 

[00:04:19] Speaker 1 Okay. And you’re based out of Leesburg. Leesburg. Okay. So so tell me what kind of what comes to mind when you meet a new client? What do you what do you tell a new client when somebody comes to you and they want to have an interior decorating experience?

 

[00:04:36] Speaker 2 Well, I ask a lot of questions because I want to make sure I give them what they want, but also what they don’t know they need. Right. So I ask a lot of questions and then I you know, I ask them about how they live in their space, what experiences they had in their old home, or, you know, if they are just doing doing any research. Modeling. What is it that they border them? You know, from the old house. And that way I can address, you know, the design. So I always tell him that this is going to be a joyful experience. I want you to be excited and not nervous, because if you are nervous, it means I didn’t do my job of explaining things, right. So I want them to be excited. So it’s basically. Addressing needs and finding solutions.

 

[00:05:37] Speaker 1 Do you find it difficult sometimes to get alignment with what the with what your customer wants, you know? So, for example, when I meet with customers, they tell me what they want in a floor plan. Right. And a floor plan is really very black and white. Right. We want the living room here. We want the dining room there. And then we bring our expertize to the to the plan and we help them avoid making design errors. But how do you it’s very I would imagine it’s very difficult when you’re talking about interior designs to most of your folks. Do they have some sort of a concept they want to try to achieve or are they asking you, hey, just show me, what do you think I should do?

 

[00:06:15] Speaker 2 Well, a lot of people don’t have an eye for interior design enough to do it themselves. But when they see a well-placed and well-made, well-designed room, they like it. And I think my clients are very smart in knowing the difference and knowing that they need help to get there. Right. So that’s, you know, that’s a key element in helping them to get what they want. But sometimes I come in after the fact, the house is already built, right? I have to compromise and work with what is if they bring me in in the, you know, before everything is decided, all the hard finishes, permanent finishes, right. It’s much easier because then I know what goes in before the details of interior design come in. Right. Going to coordinate.

 

[00:07:14] Speaker 1 Yeah. And that’s a great point. And, you know, it’s it’s I think that many folks don’t realize how much goes in to a design that’s behind the walls. And you may have a couch that’s going to go in a certain place where you need outlets on on either side for a switched light or you have sconces. What are some other examples of things that people need to consider when they’re building a new home with regard to design?

 

[00:07:43] Speaker 2 Well, one thing that we always kind of head as far as design is that they put the placement of the TV outlets on the wrong wall. And that’s really hard because then the focal point of the room changes. So that’s one one big thing. Another thing is that we don’t have floor outlets, for example, especially in these new homes with less walls and open floor plan.

 

[00:08:12] Speaker 1 Right.

 

[00:08:13] Speaker 2 You still need the lighting and accent lights, so you need to have some floor outlets. So that way you don’t have cords, you know.

 

[00:08:21] Speaker 1 As a house, the hall, the walking area.

 

[00:08:24] Speaker 2 Exactly.

 

[00:08:25] Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah. Those are those are great points. And I will I will say there are a lot of buyers that don’t put floor outlets in. I agree. It’s it’s much nicer if you can know where your couch is going to be and then put an outlet under the couch so you can have lights and and things around the couch.

 

[00:08:40] Speaker 2 Right. And other thing that I see in a lot of homes, there are no drugs, there is no roughing for ceiling fans or ceiling light. And, you know, I have started aging and I know your eyesight changes. You need more light. I always like to give a lot of options. And, you know, in a room, usually you need several types of lighting depending on time of the day, if you’re entertaining, if you’re reading. So light is another thing that is a lot of times forgotten or not paid attention to as much.

 

[00:09:19] Speaker 1 So. So yeah, that that’s a good point. I think it’s important to have a ceiling fan pre wire probably in every room or in every bedroom at least, right?

 

[00:09:28] Speaker 2 That’s right.

 

[00:09:29] Speaker 1 Yeah. Do you do you like to work with a lot of recessed lighting or how do you feel about recessed lighting and design?

 

[00:09:35] Speaker 2 Well, I do like it because it gives you an even amount of light. And I also like the fact that these days they are smaller. You know, we are kind of staying away with the big can lights.

 

[00:09:48] Speaker 1 Right.

 

[00:09:49] Speaker 2 And now they are ready. Yeah, some of them are around, some are square. So it makes the room much cleaner and you kind of can add more of those instead of the big lights. So and if you put it on a dimmable switch, then even better.

 

[00:10:05] Speaker 1 Yes. No, I agree. Dim lights in the evening is very nice. Yes. Yeah. So when you’re when you’re building a new home, let’s just kind of focus on that for a second and then we’ll we’ll get away from that. Are there any other tips or any other advice you would have for folks to consider besides the outlets and lighting?

 

[00:10:26] Speaker 2 Yes, I would like to make I’m working with a couple of clients right now. They are in pre-construction. So I kind of put the floor plan and we talked about it. So I come in. I want to know how. Where everything is. Sometimes. You know, in two different homes that are built in McLean I noticed that when I went in, in the drywall stage on the former family room or I’m sorry, formal dining room, there was no focal point and the bathroom was the hallway to the bathroom was through the main wall in the dining room. And these are multimillion dollar homes. And so I asked them and I told them why I think you should close that wall and do the hallway from the, you know, side. So that way you have a clean, you know, wall to put your art. And also, it’s not really pleasant to to see the bathroom door.

 

[00:11:37] Speaker 1 Right.

 

[00:11:37] Speaker 2 From your dining room.

 

[00:11:38] Speaker 1 Right. There’s nothing like having a dinner party and then, you know, coming out from the powder room right back to the table. Yes. Yes, it’s we agree with you.

 

[00:11:47] Speaker 2 Yeah. So a lot of times I like to kind of imagine walking the house and, you know, explain to people, why do you want this? What if we did this? And that’s the best time to make any changes, not afterwards. And we also talk about placing our furniture, placing of TVs. You know, TVs are very important. Yeah. And people want a lot of designers don’t like TVs and they don’t want to consider them. But at the end of the day, TV has the last. It does word, you know, when it comes to family rooms.

 

[00:12:23] Speaker 1 Right.

 

[00:12:23] Speaker 2 Especially.

 

[00:12:24] Speaker 1 Right. So do you have any so what is your advice for folks when they’re thinking about where to put the TV?

 

[00:12:32] Speaker 2 Well, it depends to the room and the direction of the room. You don’t want too many focal points. One thing that has improved the look of a family room, for example, with the fireplace, is that the new fireplaces are kind of sleek and more modern, and that allows the TV to come down a little bit. Right. So that way you don’t have a focal point for fireplace and another focal point for the TV. So it’s really different. And also the type of seating people choose in front of TV can help with the adjustment of height of the TV.

 

[00:13:13] Speaker 1 Yeah, that was a real problem ten years ago. Maybe a little more. When you had the fireplace, you had the mantel, and then you had everybody wanting the TV above the mantel. And then you sit down to watch TV and you’re you’re looking up and after an hour, you’ve got a crick in your neck.

 

[00:13:28] Speaker 2 Exactly. Yeah. Or you kind of lounge down and then your back hurts.

 

[00:13:32] Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah. So good. Good. So. So how much work do you do with new construction? Do you do a lot of new construction or is the main focus of your business existing homes?

 

[00:13:43] Speaker 2 It’s probably 30, 40% new construction and the rest is existing homes. When it is a new construction. The realtor is the key person for me because they know the customer by that time. And if the customer expresses a need for interior design, that’s when they kind of introduce me to them. But in a new home, there are like the element of light and controlling the lights for privacy and protecting your furniture. And all of that comes before everything else. Especially these days, with the number of windows in every room. Yeah. People don’t realize that it won’t be easy to live without mean treatments. So that’s one thing. The first thing that we address when we go to a new construction window.

 

[00:14:40] Speaker 1 Treatments. Something. Yeah. You can spend a lot of money on window treatments.

 

[00:14:47] Speaker 2 Yes. People are excited about the number of windows. And when I add up all the, you know, screens and blinds that needs to go in. Yeah. They are shocked how expensive it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

 

[00:14:59] Speaker 1 I’ve been there. I’ve been shocked. Yeah. Yeah. So when you go in to a new home design, do you try to put a budget together for everything that you’re going to do or do you kind of piecemeal it out? Is there like a pre-construction stage? Are you working on window treatments when you’re first meeting them to work on the are you starting with the end in mind, I guess is my question.

 

[00:15:23] Speaker 2 Of course I start with the end in mind, but then I ask the clients what their budget is. A lot of times people are afraid of giving you a budget, right?

 

[00:15:34] Speaker 1 I deal with that every day. Yes.

 

[00:15:36] Speaker 2 I. I asked that question first what what your budget is. And then the second thing I say is that it’s not that I want to use all your budget. I just want to know what direction I should go. Right. Because there are, you know, I can get furniture for you for, you know, a sofa can be $800 and a sofa can be $15,000. Right. So your budget tells me the direction I have to take to finish this.

 

[00:16:06] Speaker 1 It’s a good starting point.

 

[00:16:07] Speaker 2 It’s a very good starting point. But also for me, it’s very, very important because my goal is to stretch their dollar as much as possible. Right. Interior design, a lot of people think. That it’s only about furniture, but furniture is one part. But, you know, I can say half of it is the layers, you creating the window treatments, drapery, accessories, art, drugs. Yes, all of that. And so I just want them to know that we have to work with their budget to create this the layers for finished look. Yeah.

 

[00:16:50] Speaker 1 So yeah, it’s always the budget conversation I think is always difficult in every industry. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So when you’re working with an existing home, what do you watch? What’s the first thing is is still the same process? You want to meet with the client and find out what their goals are. Do you have a different approach when when the home is already completed?

 

[00:17:12] Speaker 2 It’s the same approach. They might do it in phases, in either case a new construction or an existing home. So but I always tell them in a new home, not a new home. I’m sorry. In an existing home. Right. Be aware of the avalanche effect, because when we do save one room. An updated room with new furniture, new paint. Then suddenly, everything else looks more dated than you remembered.

 

[00:17:44] Speaker 1 Yes.

 

[00:17:46] Speaker 2 So there is this possibility that you are going to love this room but hate the rest of the house. Right. So I always kind of warned them about the avalanche effect. And they understand. Yeah. And they know that they have to kind of phase out the, the, the project. Right. In a way that they can kind of do it.

 

[00:18:09] Speaker 1 Yeah. And from the cost perspective, when you get a painter in there to paint one room is probably not that much more expensive than to paint three rooms. Right? So if you’ve got your colors and you’ve got all the furniture out of the way and you’ve got the space prepped, you may as well get the painting. Same thing with trim. You get the trim carpenter in there and the and the carpenters installing trim. It’s the most expensive part is getting them there and getting all the material there and the equipment there. And once they’re there, the add ons are not necessarily nearly as much as that first step.

 

[00:18:44] Speaker 2 Correct. And that’s why I ask a lot of questions to see what is it that they want to achieve, you know, in this house in total, not just for one room. Right. Because if they tell me, yeah, the next phase is, you know, a family room and then living room, then my approach is just like you explain. Yeah, let’s do things that kind of can bring the cost down, right. And have it ready. And, you know, next time we come in, we just don’t do the messy part anymore. Is done.

 

[00:19:16] Speaker 1 Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Good. That makes good sense. So is there, you know, regarding the interior design phase, is there anything else you want to add to the conversation that we’re having?

 

[00:19:27] Speaker 2 People have learned to be a lot more patient these days because of COVID and the supply chain. Yes. So we used to get everything in our receiving warehouse and install in one day, one shot. And I was able to give people this HGTV. Aha. You know. Yes, whatever experience that they come in and the room is transferred. Unfortunately, these days I cannot do that because things come in, maybe main furniture comes in. If they don’t have anything, we deliver and then we have to wait for the art or rugs. Right. So it takes a little longer and they don’t have that HGTV. I call it HGTV experience.

 

[00:20:16] Speaker 1 Right. Right.

 

[00:20:17] Speaker 2 Of presenting everything at once. Yeah. But but nevertheless, you know, it gets done and they can live comfortably.

 

[00:20:27] Speaker 1 And I think, you know, one thing to keep in mind, we’re in April of 2022 right now. And, you know, if you’re listening to this in 2023 or 2024, this supply chain drama may be in the rearview mirror. So it’s certainly something we’re all living with today. Yes, no question. In the building industry, it’s been really very special year or two to deal with that. But that is challenging. All right. We’re going to take a quick break and then we’re going to come back and we’re going to have more conversations with Soraya about staging a home. So we are back with Syria and we are now. So, Soraya, you just told me a great story during the break, so I want to hear it again. So tell me your story about a job that you had in or a project. So tell me your story about a project that you had in Orlando.

 

[00:21:22] Speaker 2 Well, I have been working with this lady, a client of mine now a friend on her project, on her house, family room, dining room. And then she she said that I want to do Jack’s room as well. Now, Jack has seen me come in and change things in their house.

 

[00:21:43] Speaker 1 How old is Jack?

 

[00:21:44] Speaker 2 Jack was eight years old at the time. He’s a young man now, so I could feel the energy from Jack that he didn’t like me every time I went there. Yeah. So in my career, only one person has made me real nervous in interior design. And it’s this eight year old Jack. I was nervous to do his room. Right. So one day when he went to school, we did the installation, right. He comes back. I wanted to see his reaction. He says nothing and he goes around his room, touches different surfaces and looks at things. And he was very quiet. So I went home. And then tomorrow morning, his mom called me and she said, Soraya, for the first time in his life, Jack made his bed, put everything back, how you had it. So he enjoys the the organized room. And for me, that was a fantastic achievement because I feel like I changed this boy’s life. Right. When it comes to order and how he has to keep his room. He was so impressed and he was so comfortable in his room that he wanted to keep it the same way. So that was one of the great things, and that’s a story I tell my clients how order and a good design can affect people in the house. Right. It affects your mood. It affects how you relax in the house. And ultimately, really ultimately. Affects your relationships in the house. When you’re proud of your home, you invite people more. So it changes your social life. So it should not be, you know, taken lightly.

 

[00:23:46] Speaker 1 Right. I completely agree. You know, it even goes beyond that. I think it also affects your mindset throughout the day, even if you’re not inviting people to your home. You know, when you go to work and you know you’re going to have a nice place to come home to that’s clean and organized. It affects me personally much differently than when things get chaotic in my life, and I think everybody has moments in their life where things get out of control with the kids and work, and you don’t have time to really keep the house up as as well as you’d like to. And I think it affects morale.

 

[00:24:18] Speaker 2 That it does. Exactly. It’s like a ripple effect. It affects first that home physically and then your relationships that your mood and kind of goes bigger to your community, your work. So it’s very, very important.

 

[00:24:34] Speaker 1 Yeah. Yep, it is. So that’s great story and a great lesson. So. So let’s talk a little bit about staging. So what is the difference between staging and interior design?

 

[00:24:44] Speaker 2 Well, when you do interior design for that specific family, you have their needs in mind. Right. Maybe another family comes in and doesn’t like it at all. But that’s how they want it. That’s their style. That’s their preferred color and placement of stuff. Right. But when you stage a house, you want it to be appealing to a bigger audience and a variety of people. So you have to keep it neutral, right? You have to keep it interesting. And also, you have to leave some space in the room for them to maybe bring their own furniture. Right. So if I stage for, say, a family room or a living room, I don’t want to put too many furniture in there, because what if they have a piano that they want to bring? Right. So I want them to say, oh, I can’t put a sofa there and a table, but also I have room to bring my piano in. So for staging, you have to be mindful of scale and not bring too much furniture. Give him ideas, little hints, and kind of encourage them to imagine themselves in this space.

 

[00:26:01] Speaker 1 Right. Right. So do you do you do you normally when you’re staging a home, are they furnished homes already or are they normally vacant homes?

 

[00:26:11] Speaker 2 Both.

 

[00:26:11] Speaker 1 Both.

 

[00:26:12] Speaker 2 Yes, both. And then sometimes when I go to that, the stage in consultation and I see good furniture that I can work with, I kind of mark the furniture that I want them to keep in the house and then take everything else.

 

[00:26:28] Speaker 1 So then you put it in storage or.

 

[00:26:30] Speaker 2 Yeah, so they, they put their furniture that we don’t want to use in staging either. Take it to the new house if it’s ready or put it in storage. And then I work with the furniture that is in the house. A lot of times I bring more to kind of update their furniture because that way we save them some money. Right.

 

[00:26:51] Speaker 1 Right.

 

[00:26:52] Speaker 2 But some other times, I cannot use that. Or people need all the furniture in the new house. Mm hmm. And I bring in all the furniture.

 

[00:27:02] Speaker 1 So do you. So do you have furniture in storage state? I mean, do you have your own furniture that you own, or do you normally rent it for different styles of homes?

 

[00:27:12] Speaker 2 I used to have all the furniture myself when we were in Orlando because our operation was a lot bigger. Yeah, here I try to keep the accessories, some smaller furniture, and then rent the bigger items.

 

[00:27:26] Speaker 1 Right. Right. That’s good. And then what? What are the folks do with their furniture that you’re moving out of the house? Do they put it in the garage? Should they put it in storage? What what do you typically see folks do.

 

[00:27:38] Speaker 2 Before the staging, you mean?

 

[00:27:39] Speaker 1 Yeah. If you’re bringing in your furniture to supplement some of the existing furniture. So if you go to a customer and the furniture isn’t right for staging what normally happens with their furniture.

 

[00:27:53] Speaker 2 Right now, actually, before here I came from a staging project. We going to a staging on Monday. They took everything that I couldn’t use and they had movers to come and take it to their new house.

 

[00:28:06] Speaker 1 Oh, got you. Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. So they were lucky they had somewhere to go with it.

 

[00:28:11] Speaker 2 Yeah. Yes. And then some some people put it in storage, but when I’m in clients house, I ask them, okay, what is what is your home? You know, the new home I’m looking like. Right. Because some things it’s better not to take or, you know, and that’s actually one of my services that I try to help you. To take only what works in the new house. So you don’t waste money on moving it. Storing it? Mm hmm. So it’s. That’s why I ask a lot of questions.

 

[00:28:44] Speaker 1 Yes. No, it’s important. So, yeah, you got to seek first to understand. Yes. And exactly what to do. Yep. So what else goes on with staging? Is there anything else we need to know about staging a home that you want to share with us?

 

[00:28:59] Speaker 2 We I always talk to people about depersonalization.

 

[00:29:03] Speaker 1 Very important.

 

[00:29:04] Speaker 2 Very important.

 

[00:29:06] Speaker 1 So what does that mean?

 

[00:29:07] Speaker 2 In Virginia, we have a melting pot. We have people from different countries with different backgrounds, different beliefs and religions.

 

[00:29:16] Speaker 1 And then in Orlando as well.

 

[00:29:17] Speaker 2 Exactly. So I’m used to that. Yeah. So I have to be very, very delicate and polite about asking people to depersonalize. Right. But it’s for the benefit of them. The sales. Yes. Selling their property faster for more money. Yeah.

 

[00:29:36] Speaker 1 And you never know. You know, I had a buyer years and years and years ago, 15 years ago, and I was showing homes and I had a buyer and we walked into a basement and there was sports memorabilia all over the basement for this one, for I can’t even remember what time it was. But Mr. Buyer, the husband, he said, Oh, no, there’s no way I could ever live in this house if this guy’s a fan of this football team. And we left and that was it. And, you know, I learned it firsthand a long time ago. You know, that you never know what you can have in your house that can turn off a potential buyer.

 

[00:30:12] Speaker 2 Exactly. Yeah. And my job is to, in that initial consultation, find them, pinpoint them, and explain that we need to take these down or not display them. So that way, you know, you don’t lose a potential buyer.

 

[00:30:31] Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s exactly right. That’s exactly right. So is there anything else you want to add to our conversation today?

 

[00:30:41] Speaker 2 I feel like I want people to think about interior design as a necessity and not as a luxury and know the difference between somebody somebody that is educated in the field and someone that does it because they are good with colors.

 

[00:31:03] Speaker 1 Right.

 

[00:31:04] Speaker 2 Because as a as an interior designer in design school, you learn so much more than just the statics. You learn about public safety, you learn about building codes, you learn about fire codes. All of this makes a huge difference. It has been times that I had to tell clients I cannot put a roller shade on it, you know, on the entry door for you, because what if it’s fire and you forgot to bring it up before you went to bed and you panicking and you want to get out, but this thing is in, you know, right face, right? Right. So I want people to know the difference between an interior designer and interior decorator and know that they you know, if an interior designer can actually is trained actually to think through everything, possibilities, scenarios.

 

[00:32:07] Speaker 1 Yeah. So you’re trained to think through all the things that your average person wouldn’t even know to think about. Right. And that’s what a true professional does. Yeah, that’s right. And we talk we talk about that a lot on our on our podcast in general, because we have, you know, professionals in the real estate industry. You could have a civil engineer who is really very well trained and very good at what they do, who’s going to uncover all the nuances with with building a home. And you can have another civil engineer who’s just going through the motions and kind of doing what they have to do to get the job done in the the the ladder will miss something important. So I think that’s a really good point that you bring up.

 

[00:32:47] Speaker 2 So yes, because these days I see that a lot of young designers are very ambitious and they are so good in social media. So they put their name out, but they have absolutely no experience.

 

[00:33:00] Speaker 1 Or potentially no education.

 

[00:33:02] Speaker 2 That’s right. Yeah. And they actually suggest things that are not going to be sustainable for the homeowner. Yeah. They don’t know where to compromise. Yeah. So all of that makes a huge difference. Yeah.

 

[00:33:18] Speaker 1 Yeah, that’s fantastic. Soraya, before we close, how do we get a hold of you if somebody wanted to reach you?

 

[00:33:25] Speaker 2 You can reach me at my website. Through my website, which is design and a staging group AECOM. Mm hmm. My email address is really easy, Soraya at Design Staging Group AECOM, and I have my cell phone with me all the time, and that’s the main way people reach.

 

[00:33:46] Speaker 1 Yeah. So do you have your cell phone number on the website? Yes. Okay, fantastic. Fantastic. So, Soraya, thank you so much for coming in today. We very much enjoyed your conversation. I hope you enjoyed spending a little time with us as well.

 

[00:34:00] Speaker 2 Yes. Thank you so much. This was a great experience.

 

[00:34:03] Speaker 1 Good deal. So this wraps up another episode of the Go with John Show. Go out there and build something extraordinary.