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hi, i'm ash!
Creator of the New Travel & Design Series, 'OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES.'
Travel writer & host, cultural explorer, and architecture & interiors freak.
Meet ash >
I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈
I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈ I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT ✈
The Newsletter
Every week, we're exploring global culture through the lens of the home. From floorplans to fixtures, we examine how houses are built, designed, and decorated around the world (with a side of sass, of course!)
The Podcast
The only podcast where we pass on the pyramids and poke around in the plumbing. I’m Ash, and I'm, exploring the strange, smart, and wonderful ways houses are built, designed, and decorated around the world.
The Books
A new series of OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES books designed to help you try on a new life in different places around the world—by getting to "go behind closed doors" inside local homes to discover what it's really like to live there.
Gah, this is so fantastic!! I am so familiar with that sticker shock as a homeowner with huge (unrealistic?) dreams! “I’ll just buy this bungalow and then ADD A SECOND FLOOR. How much could it really be?” You could write about anything and I would read it like a novel. This one is entertaining and SO useful. Thank you! – Copywriter Julie
LOL!! Me too!!!!! “Sure, let’s tile the whole powder room!” Then sees thousands of dollars in cart and is like…wait. 🤣 WHO KNEW??? That and wallpaper!
Aaack, I get ghosted after proposals are sent all the time! 😕 Hard to put the value into words. Like obsessive amount of time spent procuring resources and vendor relationships to easily access the perfect item for the project.
Omg, interior design is 100% one of those industries where people have NO IDEA how much it actually costs – especially because of the cost of all of the items! I don’t think they realize.
You know, I remember when I worked with a designer on another property years ago, her first question was: what’s your budget? And I had a really hard time with that, because I was kind of just like, I dunno?????? Let’s make it look good for a reasonable amount????? I wish there was a better way for designers to assess what’s realistic, while giving clients some idea of what to expect.
Right, because design fees are different than the cost of goods, which is different from project management which involves wrangling all the trades people and answering questions that come up on the job site when the design plan is being implemented.
TOTALLY! It’s actually quite involved!!
Yes before and after pictures never do a project justice with the sheer amount of decisions that had to be made to get that After photo. And all of those nitty gritty details are boring to read so flashy pics are the default.
I remember you teaching this inside six figure freelancer and it was a game changer for me! Thanks for the refresher!
Holy cow, I needed to read this! Not only does it explain why so many people back out after the proposal, but I was also dreaming of a concrete aisle in the barn after all this rain. Not anymore. 🤣
Incredibly helpful! FYI, if you ever turned this post topic into a workshop, I would sign up in half a heartbeat! 😀🙏
With anything to do with construction – guess high and then triple it! Seriously. Watched enough family members building houses and remodeling to know it’s always way beyond what you think it could possibly cost, especially when it’s done well. 😉
Love how you frame this. Didn’t think of what I do like a concrete pad, but that context helps so much. I’ve seen how quick rush jobs lead to eons of building problems, and how ugly things turn out when someone doesn’t truly understand their medium, aka concrete. Going to be reading this post a lot as I rethink how to present what I do as a Higher Self artist and astrologer! Thank you!