Do I Even Have a Dream?!?! My Unconventional Journey to Interior Decorating

“Why is therapy office decor so important anyway?!?! What’s the big deal? The clients aren’t coming for spa day! They’re coming for me to help them with their issues.  Anyway, my clients don’t seem to mind that it doesn’t look pretty in here. I mean, it would be nice if my office was decorated nicely, but I wouldn’t even know where to start!” -thoughts of many lovely therapists.

My name is Mimi Goldsmith and I am an interior decorator that specializes in transforming residential interiors and therapy offices.  My very first project was a therapy office in a commercial space. That project actually sparked my love for design. It was really a blessing that came at the perfect time. I had 4 young kids I was caring for and my hubby had just started med school that year. Let me tell you, it was rough! He was gone all day, ate dinner with us and then had video study groups the rest of the evening.

He did warn me that it wasn’t gonna be easy. He actually told me something kinda funny too. He told me that at his med school orientation, the Dean was giving a speech. He started with,  “Med school is no walk in the park. It will get grueling. It will ruin any social life you had. If you’re in a relationship, it most likely won’t last past the first year of school.  Are any of you married?” My hubby piped up,  “Don’t worry, I pre-filed!” I know, terrible! But I thought it was hilarious (that’s why we work so well together)!

So, that should give you a pretty clear picture of what med school life looks like. Life had made it’s adjustment, but I couldn’t keep up. I did try, but I was struggling. I was very happy that he was following his dreams, but I think watching him “go for it” made me realize how stagnant I was. I’m usually a pretty happy person, but the change of climate in my home made me feel like I was standing still, watching my life pass by.

What was my dream anyway?!?!  I was 38 at the time and I remember many times when I’d be hanging out with a friend, I’d turn to them and ask, “What should I be when I grow up?” They’d laugh and we’d move on to the next conversation. But I was really unsettled not knowing what my dream was. I mean, I was pretty busy having and taking care of kids for a good decade. But they were getting older and more independent and I just kept asking, what will I be when I grew up?

In the back of my head I kept hearing something a friend says when the new year comes around. She says, “G-d should bless you with a year of revealed good!” That is my favorite blessing! First of all, it’s unique. “Happy New Year doesn’t have that much oomph after you’ve heard it 30 times. Second of all, it’s very powerful and helped me to really appreciate when I was actually able to clearly recognize the good in my life. Well, listen to the following and you’ll see the kind of blessing that I got.

One evening, I went shopping with a good friend. We headed out to HomeGoods (do you also hear the angels sing when that word is spoken?).  As we shopped, my friend said, “I’m so excited, I found a space for my private practice office and I’m signing the lease tomorrow!” We hugged and I congratulated her. Then she said, “The only thing I’ll need to do is decorate it, but I have no idea what to buy and where to start. Wait, Mimi, you’d be so good at that! You want to design my office (insert more HomeGoods angel singing here)?”  I answer, “Shut up! Really? Don’t tease me!” We hugged (I may have jumped up and down in excitement) and my answer was a big fat, “YES!!!”

The next morning, I met the landlord so I could take measurements of the room. Well, before he even showed me her office, he was taking me to other offices that were still in construction phase asking me about paint colors for those offices. I know it’s crazy, but I left the building with 2 projects that morning!!! I went home and starting doing research on interior decorating. Paint color! Lighting! Color palettes! Mastering my new floor plan software program! I loved it all! I mean, I had always loved it. But once I started doing research for the projects, I realized how passionate I was about it. It was love at first sight. I had found my dream.

The evenings look different now. The fam eats dinner together, I put the kids to bed and then my hubby and I sit together on our own laptops.   We sit there for hours, him following his dream, and me following mine.  My frustration has been squelched and my passion has been stoked.  Realizing my dream had freed me.  I am now able to love and embrace my life with joy. I am happier, which means that the family is happier too. All from a night out shopping with a friend at HomeGoods?  You could bet that it was all chance, but I put my money on revealed good.

Thank you for the blessing!

Hope you enjoyed hearing about my journey!  Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to connect! If you are thinking about decorating your commercial or home therapy office (or really any room you’d like transformed to have great energy), feel free to reach out to me. You can either fill out the contact form here or click here to choose a 15 min. time slot on my calendar to discuss your project with me.

I’VE GOT SOME OPTIONS FOR YOU DIYers!!!

WHAT’S COMING NEXT?

A new blog post describing the thought process I go through when choosing and positioning each item.  You’ll also learn how the collaborative process works, seeing how a decorator and therapist work together to create the right experience for their clients.  The blog post will include a video interview with the therapist, recorded in her office. Together, we will discuss the process of transforming a room from looking like a DMV waiting room, into a calm space with healing energy. Subscribe to the blog if you’d like to get notified when new posts are published.