Life is a journey, and each journey starts with a single step. In the world of entrepreneurship, there are no shortcuts to success. Natalia Zubizarreta, a well-known interior designer, shares with us the importance of hard work and dedication.
Born and raised in Spain, Natalia has managed to earn herself a spot as a top interior designer in the country. Her work has appeared in various magazines such as El Mueble, Cosas De Casa, and many others. Despite having a rough childhood, losing her dad at a young age, and being brought up by a single mom, she has defied all odds and worked her way up. From a young age, she knew what she loved and followed her passion.
Together with her team, Natalia continually exceeds client expectations and sets the interior design scene’s pace. She has worked to create a new Basque-style that is credited to her. Natalia stresses that the path to success is bumpy, but often those bumps beget the most enlightening lessons. You have to be willing to give your all, sacrifice your time and energy to ensure customer satisfaction.
Success comes to those who work for it. With your eye on the prize and operating at optimal levels, you will achieve your goals. Patience and resilience should be walking beside you, and whenever you fall back, you need to move faster.
To be a renowned interior designer, Natalia recalls a time when she had to sacrifice her personal life to build her business. She values her work and clients, and that’s why proper ethics and transparency are key in her day-to-day life.
Being in the interior design landscape, her knowledge of decorating spaces gives her insight into some of the most common mistakes people make. According to Natalia, it only takes one thing to make a carefully styled space look wrong and poorly put together. Detailing some of those mistakes, she hopes to help people avoid these common mistakes:
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Ill-fitting furniture
It is one of the most common décor mistakes that people make. When working on a space, it’s not about trying to force things together; it is putting together things that work. If you have a piece of furniture that doesn’t work with the rest of your style, don’t force it. People will often hold on to furniture that does not fit into their current style taste.
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Poorly chosen art
Art is sophisticated and can add an allure to space; however, poorly chosen art can tramp all your efforts. This is especially true for large art pieces. It is always essential to have a vision board, figure out what will work better before you go out, and purchase art pieces that will not fit into your interior décor.
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Accessories
Natalia says that accessorizing a space is important. Depending on your chosen style, you can opt for minimal accessories and either modern or classic. However, too often, people overly accessorize a space, and it ends up looking like a load of clutter. It is crucial to find that perfect balance. Your choice of accessories is also very important.
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Mismatched colors
There is a certain rhythm to interior design. Bringing together colors, hues, and patterns that work together to bring out a beautiful and welcoming space. As Natalia plainly puts it, learn to accept that some colors just won’t work together, even if they’re your favorites. Achieving a particular feel means picking colors that complement each other rather than clash.
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Hoarding
Like with accessories, Natalia has found that many people’s décor is affected by their inability to let go of things they’ve outgrown. It is essential to learn to let go of things so that your space doesn’t end up looking like a hoarder’s nest.
In addition to these mistakes, Natalia also explores the pitfalls of not having a theme. As you embark on your decoration journey, whatever space is, you should have a theme that you’re going for; this is why a vision board is vital. Visualize the space and create a theme so that you don’t end up purchasing things that don’t sit well together.
Having covered common mistakes, here are the good to-dos that Natalia hopes every person who is looking to decorate their home, office, or go into the interior design should know:
- Always determine your style first – Your personal style and preference will help you visualize the space. If you’re working on a client’s space, it is important that you understand their style. Interior designers will usually get to know a client first and bounce ideas first before beginning the work. This helps get a handle on their style. Natalia says it becomes easier to figure out what you don’t like by determining what your style is.
- Decorate around your space – Your space is entirely defined; you are introducing new things to space. It is important that you understand your space so that you don’t end up with furniture that is too large or too small. Build around the space you’re working with before committing to any items.
- Always sample paint – The selection of paints can be quite daunting since paint connects the space and harmonizes the space and the décor. It is important to sample paint to avoid disjointed sections if your colors don’t match. As Natalia has noted before, not all colors work when put together. You should also consider what certain colors communicate and the mood they ooze.
Her advice to up-and-coming entrepreneurs is to set their goals and work to achieve them. The get-rich-quick schemes will only get you so far. She also mentions that risks and challenges are inevitable in a business; there are days you incur losses and others profit but in all this, keep going forward not for the money but for the passion you have for your job.
Looking at Natalia’s journey, entrepreneurship is a path traveled by many but conquered by few. Hard work and determination separate the winners from those who give up or settle.