For all my passionate, hardworking, professional colleagues - including

vendors, tradespeople and  fellow interior designers – this one's for you.

1.    You can draw a plan, an elevation, a perspective.

2.    You understand and utilize concepts like symmetry, balance and chiaroscuro.

3.    You know when to throw aforementioned concepts out the window.

4.    You have a degree in interior design.

5.    You were over the robin’s-egg-blue and chocolate look about 12 years ago.

6.    You're concerned that HGTV stands for Homes Gone Totally Vile.

7.    You use acronyms like “COM”, “CFA” and “PO” on a regular basis.

8.    Your portfolio contains projects other than your own home.

9.    Your photo albums are filled with pictures of architecture instead of people.

 10.    Despite being an animal lover and a vegetarian, you just can't resist shagreen and goatskin.

11.    You know how floor vents, doorswings and light switches can make or break a design.

 12.    You’ve gone to the mattresses with a contractor over a millwork detail or hardware spec. 

13.    You've pulled many an all-nighter as a student, employee and/or business owner.

14.    A stoneyard to you is like Disneyland to a six-year-old.

15.    You sometimes think your business card should read “professional schlepper”.

 16.    You know that not agreeing with your clients is often in their best interest.

 17.    You think vertical blinds, laminate floors and hollow core doors are the work of the devil.

18.    You value your vendors and treat them with courtesy and respect.

19.    You can appreciate good design even if it’s at odds with your own personal aesthetic.

 20.    You’ve gone totally ape s— over a wool sheer, doorknob or custom finish.

21.    You’ve earned a “hello” from Belinda at the design center.

22.    You refer to 2009 as your "year of mourning" because House & Garden, Southern

Accents and Metropolitan Home all shuttered their publications.

 23.    Big budgets are nice, but you can still rock an interior on a shoestring.

 24.    You would rather stick hot needles in your eye than live in a spec house.

25.  Despite the fact that 10% of your time is spent designing and the other 90% is spent on coordination,

problem solving and personality management, you still wouldn't do anything else in the world.

Tricia xo