Why “That’s How It’s Always Been Done” Has Never Worked for Me

Before Scarlett J Designs, I worked in marketing and PR at Red Bull — a brand known for pushing boundaries and doing things that hadn’t been done before. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that experience shaped the way I approach design today.

I didn’t leave marketing and PR behind when I became an interior designer. I brought the best parts of it with me.

The instinct to question the obvious answer. To look at a problem from another angle. To think about the experience, not just the individual element. And, most importantly, to ask: Why does it have to be done that way?

That question comes up constantly in our projects. We recently had a dining room where the existing electrical placement worked for the original round table, but not the new rectangular one. The conventional solution was to move the electrical. Instead, we got creative with how the fixture was hung — turning a problem into one of the more interesting details in the room.

In another home, the homeowner had built floating office shelves herself. Rather than removing something that had meaning just to create a completely “new” room, we worked with them — updating the finishes and sourcing a console that concealed the realities of a working office while allowing her shelves and collected pieces to remain part of the story.

That, to me, is what pushing boundaries in design actually means. It isn’t about doing something wild just to be different. It’s about being willing to question the expected solution and find the one that makes the most sense for this home and this client.

Sometimes that means using a material unexpectedly. Sometimes it means keeping something another designer might remove. And sometimes it means looking at a design problem and realizing the “problem” might actually become one of the best parts of the room.

There are plenty of ways to create a beautiful home. I’m much more interested in creating one that feels personal, thoughtful and a little unexpected — one where the solutions couldn’t simply be copied and pasted into someone else’s house.

Red Bull taught me to push the boundaries. Design gave me an entirely new place to do it.

About Scarlett J Designs

Scarlett J Designs is a Sarasota-based boutique interior design studio specializing in luxury residential interiors, renovations, furnishings, holiday collections, and elevated styling throughout Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat Key, Siesta Key, Lido Key, and Florida’s Gulf Coast. Through a highly personalized, concierge-style approach, we guide clients from the earliest planning conversations through the final installation, thoughtfully managing every detail to create homes that are beautiful, functional, and uniquely reflective of the people who live in them.

One Studio. Endless Creativity. Impeccable Execution.