Design isn’t democratic and that’s okay

Do you really want a home that looks like everyone else’s?

Let me tell you something I’ve learned after a decade of designing homes for collectors, entrepreneurs and people with big lives and bold stories: design is not a vote. It’s not a poll. And it’s definitely not something you crowdsource on Instagram.

Design, at least the kind that transforms your everyday life, is not democratic.
And that’s okay. In fact, that’s the point.

The Tyranny of “Good Taste”

We live in an era of likes, pins and viral aesthetics. Every scroll tells us what’s “in,” what’s “timeless,” what’s “elevated.” Beige sofas. Bouclé chairs. A fake fiddle-leaf fig in the corner.

But real design? It’s not about chasing trends. It’s not about asking what everyone else is doing. It’s about vision. It’s about perspective.

And in my work, that’s mine. That’s what I bring.

The Client Who Wanted to “Play It Safe”

A few months ago, a client reached out to me for help with her Upper West Side apartment. She was brilliant, a tech executive who had built a career on solving complex problems but when it came to designing her home, she felt stuck.

“I just want it to look nice,” she said. “Like what you see on Houzz. Clean. Modern. You know, safe.”

I smiled. “Do you want safe,” I asked her, “or do you want unforgettable?”

She laughed. She got it.

We started with the dining room. Everyone told her to go neutral. I didn’t. I brought in a deep peacock green on the walls, paired it with a custom oak table with brass detailing and an oversized art piece by an Israeli artist who works with dyed paper and silk threads. The space glows at night. It has weight. Drama. Warmth.

Her first dinner party after the install, she texted me: “They walked in and gasped.”
Good. That’s what I want.

Taste Is a Skill, Not a Poll

Here’s the thing no one tells you: good taste isn’t universal; it’s cultivated.
It takes years of exposure, curiosity, discipline. I spent my twenties in Paris, studying intellectual property law and design management, then worked in product development at Hermès, learning how every stitch, seam, and screw contributes to the feeling of absolute luxury.

Now, as an interior designer in New York, I curate every single element in a space, from the art to the scent to the way the light shifts at 3PM in the winter. My job isn’t to give my clients what’s trending. It’s to give them what they never knew they needed but instantly recognize as theirs.

And that takes trust.

The Myth of “Everyone’s Opinion Matters”

I’ve had clients send me group texts where ten friends weigh in on the sconces I’ve selected. Don’t get me wrong, I love that people are excited. But here’s what I always say:
I’m not designing for the group chat.

I’m designing for the life you’re actually living.
For the quiet morning coffee. For the late-night music. For the art you collected on your honeymoon in Morocco.

Design is not about pleasing everyone. It’s about revealing you.

Let Me Do What I Do Best

I don’t design by committee. I design by connection, by conversation, by insight.
And if you let me lead, if you let go of needing “everyone’s approval,” your home will become a place that feels undeniably, breathtakingly like you.

And no Pinterest board can do that.

Written by Carole Vaudable, interior designer

Ready to design a home that’s made for your life, not the algorithm?
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Dining Room proposal designed by Carole Vaudable Interior Design.