What is a Degn Project North Star and Why Do You Need One?

Most of my clients tell me that they just don't know how to sift through the available options for their projects. There are so many options out there, and while it's easy to decide on what they don't like, they don't know how to choose between the options they do like.

Here's where a North Star for your design project comes in.

A North Star is exactly what you might expect it to be: a guiding principle or phrase that represents a feeling, helping you stay the course when making selections.

Say you have two choices of fabric for your new, custom sofa. Both are beautiful and functional, and your designer assures you they both fulfill the design principles that make a room look and feel amazing. You can’t go wrong with either one. How do you choose between the two?

My advice to my clients is, which one aligns most with your Design Project North Star? The best choice is almost always immediately obvious at that point. 

If my Design Project North Star is “a classic library with a New England flair,” the fabric choice for my sofa—either a classic mohair wool or a microfiber blend fabric—becomes crystal clear. (It's mohair wool, by the way. It's a timeless choice.)

When beginning a new project, defining a Design Project North Star is something I help my clients do during the creation of the Mood Board. You can read a little more about mood boards in my next post, here.

And if you're ready to start defining your North Star, I would love to guide you through the process. Click here to get started now.

Until then,

MB