It's a beautiful fall day. The door is open. The sun is shining. A woman in her 70s pops her head into the door and asks, "Are you bored."
I think to myself: this is an odd way to start a conversation.
I look up from a desk full of paperwork, "Why do I look bored?"
Her response, "Well it's just the colors in here. They are — I dont know how to say it — boring. I like a little more jaz."
What I wanted to say was one of my grandmother's favorite come backs, "Who asked you?!"
What I said instead was, "I wanted it to be a neutral backdrop so that it doesn't compete with the work I do for my clients. A lot of my clients like a lot of color. Some like neutrals, but if I work around too much color, I cannot concentrate on my client work. It interferes."
She tells me wouldn't have picked the flooring I picked (cork). I tell her the benefits of cork, and and why I picked it. But that it's not for everyone. She tells me the space needs an oriental rug. She tells me she'd be very hard to work for.
Really? I love people who insult my taste.
I thank her for stopping by. I ask her name, wish her a nice day. The least I could do is be nice.
Things like this never happen when you work out of your home.