When people look at finished projects, they usually see the beautiful reveal photos. They see the layered fabrics, the perfect lighting, the custom cabinetry, and the polished spaces that look effortless. What they don’t see are the mistakes, growing pains, hard conversations, crying in the car, sleepless nights, and lessons learned behind the scenes.

The truth is, building Brit Nelson Interiors has been one long education in creativity, business, leadership, and humility. And while I’m proud of how far we’ve come, I can honestly say some of our greatest growth came from the moments that didn’t go according to plan and when we messed up.

Mistake #1: Trying To Please Everyone

In the early years, I said yes to almost every project. Different styles. Different budgets. Different personalities. Different expectations.

At first, that felt like the right thing to do because when you’re building a business, you think every opportunity is an opportunity you can’t afford to lose. But over time, I learned that not every client is your client — and that’s okay.

The projects that turned out the best were always the ones where there was trust, alignment, communication, and mutual respect. Once we became clearer about who we are as a firm and what experience we wanted to create, everything improved: the design work, the process, and even the joy we felt creating it.

Now we have a questionnaire everyone must complete. Then a 'qualifying call,' which is really more of a chat to see if we vibe. Then there's a site consultation. We now do significant preparation before we create a contract.

One of the hardest lessons in business is understanding that boundaries actually create better work.

Mistake #2: Underestimating Construction

No HGTV show can fully prepare you for real-life construction.

We underestimated timelines. We underestimated delays. We underestimated how many moving parts go into creating a home from the ground up.

There were moments where we thought something simple would take two days and it took two weeks instead. We learned that beautiful design means very little without project management, communication, organization, and patience.

Now, our process is far more structured because experience taught us structure protects everyone involved- and keeps our crazy at bay.

Mistake #3: Caring Too Much About Being Liked

This one was hard. As designers, we naturally want clients to feel happy and excited. But early on, I sometimes avoided difficult conversations because I didn’t want to disappoint people. What I learned is that leadership requires honesty.

Sometimes honesty sounds like:

“If you want the design you are telling us you want, your grandmother's furniture has to go.”

“This budget is unrealistic for what you are requiring of us.”

“This timeline is too aggressive- do you want good work or fast work?””

“That contractor relationship is not working.”- That was particularly painful because we recommended specific people to our clients and then regretted it. The clients blamed all the contractors' mistakes on us.

Avoiding those conversations only creates bigger problems later. Clear communication — even uncomfortable communication — is one of the most valuable things we can offer clients.

Mistake #4: Thinking Success Meant Doing Everything Alone

There was a season where I had to do everything myself and already know everything. In the beginning, I simply couldn't afford to hire the help I needed.

I answered every email.

Managed every detail.

Solved every problem.

I tried to be everything to everyone and would bend myself into knots if I didn't know something that truly only a seasoned general contractor would know.

One of the best decisions we ever made was building a stronger team and surrounding ourselves with talented tradespeople, installers, vendors, and creatives who elevate the work. Great design is never created alone.

Learning to delegate wasn’t weakness—it was growth, and it saved my tail.

Mistake #5: Forgetting That Homes Are Emotional

Interior design is deeply personal work. People are not just hiring us to choose tile and paint colors. They’re inviting us into their marriages, routines, finances, memories, insecurities, hopes, and dreams. Over the years, we’ve learned that the emotional side of design matters just as much as the aesthetic side.

A home renovation IS stressful.

Decision fatigue is real.

Construction exhaustion is real.

Life still happens while projects are underway. Kids get sick. Pets don't understand. It's messy.

Now, we approach projects with much more awareness and set realistic expectations than we did initially. I've personally slowly renovated my own home while living in it and it's no cakewalk—and I DO THIS FOR A LIVING!

Mistake #6: Not having clear numbers 24/7

We pride ourselves on leading with integrity and honesty. It's core to doing business. We expect that from everyone we work with. We didn't have a running spread sheet that everyone could see. Clients were invoiced through Design Files and that was “good enough”.

As we grew, so did our projects, and we didn't really know how to plan and track expenses efficiently. Sometimes changes happened so quickly that we thought, “Oh, it's just a small change order”. We didn't stop to evaluate the project's scope of work and budget, and then it grew; one task turned into two, then five. Before we knew it, we had a huge invoice and had to have some of those difficult conversations I mentioned in #3.

Asking for more money is probably the single most difficult thing I've had to do in my career. It's embarrassing, and your beloved client is the one who feels screwed. We now are CRYSTAL CLEAR on money and budget.

Does it take twice the time? Yes

Do we hate it? Yes

Does keeping up with it every day feel arduous and sometimes silly? Yes

Is the peace of mind worth it, knowing everyone knows where funds are spent? Yes!

It's the worst when clients doubt your company because the finances are unclear, however unintentionally that may have been. Now we all know and it feels so much better!

What We’ve Learned Most…

The biggest lesson of all?

Beautiful homes are not created through perfection. They’re created through trust, resilience, collaboration, and experience. Every mistake taught us something valuable: Better systems are not optional; Better communication is necessary; Better discernment- hire the right clients and the right contractors; Better leadership- scary but gotta; Better design- we got this- but could we present it better??

And honestly, I’m grateful for all of it.

The goal was never to become a perfect design firm - the goal was to become a thoughtful one, and we’re still learning every single day.

Thank you for growing with us.

XOXO- Brit

The Mistakes We’ve Made at Brit Nelson Interiors — And What They Taught Us