We need examples! Suitably anonymized of course.

I think designers need to be very flexible with what styles they're asked to worked with and have to parse their recommendations carefully when they think the client is making a mistake.

I remember ordering custom window treatments for my kitchen and my designer really wouldn't pick final choices for me, and I can understand why.

Perhaps if you WERE a real designer and paying you money, she'd give more credence to your opinion. It would be a professional opinion. Some believe the adage, "free advice is worth what you pay for it."

I could not do it either (even if qualified). A very good friend has tried to recruit me a few times and I can't even get pass the phone conversations or text part to help. She has a small open plan coach home that she just put a very traditional cherry kitchen in. I'm talking very traditional. She now wants to do the rest very modern. Not transitional contemporary or eclectic. Modern! So, I said: what about your traditional kitchen in your open plan? She said: I think we should pretend it isn't there.

Some of these are big mistakes IMHO. For example, the kitchen is tight but she really wants a lazy susan, which I agree is fine, but she couldn't fit the 36x36 so one place offered a 33x36, but she went with the one that was a 33x33 which leaves only 9" opening to get things in and out of the susan...way too small in my book, but she'll have to live with it.

Another big mistake is, she's opened up the wall between the dr and the kitchen which is really nice. But she's determined to set the dr up for the holiday dinners which are maybe 1 or 2 days a year. She says the rest of the time they don't use it. I keep trying to tell her she will now that it's opened up...in fact that she'll get a lot of use out of it. But she won't believe me. To fit her crowd in for holidays she wants to put 2 tables side by side, but doesn't want to deal with a fixture hanging in the middle of the room between the tables, so she's centering a fixture over the table with the table only 24" away from one wall leaving a huge space in between the table and the island for the other 364 days of the year and a really tight fit for people to get in and out of that side of the table. But again, her house, her money, nothing I can do. I can see in the future she'll be buying a new fixture on a chain and swagging it to the middle of the room so it looks right.

At least I somewhat won the argument to enlarge her island now that the wall is missing...not as large as I would like, but it's better than what she first wanted.

And I'm still coaxing her into a color scheme that's less schizophrenic than what she currently wants. But it ain't easy. And I'm dealing with the frustration that I tell her something and she disagrees...her sister tells her the same thing and suddenly it's a great idea. Oh well.

Personally, I think the only designers who get to do what we all imagine they do are the ones who have achieved fame and are given big budgets, great spaces, and a lot of autonomy.

For most designers, I bet they spend a lot of time on executing client's bad tastes and foolish choices, and endure a lot of frustrations over timing, trades, delivery and budgets. No fun at all!

I think client objections would drive me up the wall. I've had friends ask for my thoughts which are often met with, "Oh, I couldn't repaint! We just painted ten years ago!", or "My husband would never go for that", or "That furniture arrangement would NEVER work" (yes, it would!), etc. I would hate, hate, hate it.

You posted the picture of your friend's kitchen a while ago. It looked very similar to yours, so I think that certainly says something!

Thank you eld, but that was a different friend...this is actually her sister whose kitchen we're redoing now...first friend is in the process of bathroom remodeling so I'm helping her with that. I've certainly won her DH over as he was nervous she was going shopping for bath stuff until he found out she was going with me...then he said, ok, np! :)

I agree Annie. I have a DF who asked me to go granite shopping with her. The times that she was able to go didn't work for me but I told her if she gets an idea of a few she likes I could hopefully go with her on the second round. She didn't want to use my stone person because she wanted one shop where she could get the sink, the tile, and the stone. I knew she was making a mistake but I held my tongue. I am sure there may be a few shops that have a nice selection of all three items but I think it is very limiting when there are so many wonderful stones, sinks, and tiles out there. I guess though the limited choice could make it less overwhelming but this is her last home and it should be special. WTBS, she does have a flair for making her home look nice so I am sure her choices will all look great together.