Haven at Home Staging and Interior Design

To whom it may concern:I initially met with [redacted] and [redacted] for 1 1/2 hours to discuss decorating their home.  (I did not charge for the initial consultation.)My fees are $125 per hour, and we agreed to a block of 10 hours of my design  time, for which she paid me half (5 hours x...

$125=$625).  In addition, she gave me $400 to make purchases of art and accessories for her home.  They stated their first priority was to begin replacing their living room floor, so I met with [redacted] in [redacted] to pull suitable samples and negotiate pricing, then had him go to their house to take measurements.  [redacted] mother met him to allow access to their home. Afterward, he prepared an estimate for flooring and installation.  I also began pinning ideas to a board set up for their home, asking for feedback on the items I pinned/ suggested.  The use of Pinteret allows me the flexibility to present ideas without the expense of creating a mood board, which is time consuming, and expensive for the clients.  I charge $300 per room for them, so it clearly was not in their budget.  The Pinterest boards are an exceptional tool for designers and their clients, and are widely used in our industry.[redacted] made comments that she loved the items, the colors, etc. so I began making purchases on some of the items.  The windows are a standard size, so I was able to purchase beautiful drapes for them at an excellent price, well within her budget.  I had also shopped for accessories to include accent pillows for the sofa, a large area rug, and lamps.  I did not purchase these, but did take photos of my selections to show her, as they were in stock items and readily available.  Purchasing just the rug would have used all of the money she fronted.I spent well over 4 hours time on her project.  I have refunded her $900 total on 9/6/16.On the same day that I initially met with [redacted] and [redacted], my elderly(89 yo) father fell and fractured his hip, and was hospitalized.  [redacted] is a nurse at [redacted] where he was taken and remained for several days.  I was in communication with her about her project as well as the situation with my father, who was later transferred to a rehab facility in [redacted] for physical therapy.  She was aware of my family's medical emergency, and certainly could have easily verified it if she had any doubts.  I continued to work on her project while my father was in a skilled nursing facility.  Because I am his primary caregiver as well as a small business owner, I was not able to progress as quickly as I might otherwise have with her project. He was discharged after 2 weeks in rehab, and I took him home.  He lives alone so he still required assistance.  I apologized profusely to her, and offered her additional design hours for the price of the 10 hours we agreed to.  She would not accept my offer and became hostile and threatened to sue if I didn't refund her money.  As I stated, I refunded all but 1 hour of what she paid me.  It's unfortunate this happened, because I value my customers and my reputation.  That said, I had to care for my father.  I hoped she'd understand.

To whom it may concern:
I initially met with [redacted] and [redacted] for 1 1/2 hours to discuss decorating their home.  (I did not charge for the initial consultation.)
My fees are $125 per hour, and we agreed to a block of 10 hours of my design  time, for which she paid me...

half (5 hours x $125=$625).  In addition, she gave me $400 to make purchases of art and accessories for her home.  They stated their first priority was to begin replacing their living room floor, so I met with [redacted] in [redacted] to pull suitable samples and negotiate pricing, then had him go to their house to take measurements.  [redacted] mother met him to allow access to their home. Afterward, he prepared an estimate for flooring and installation.  I also began pinning ideas to a board set up for their home, asking for feedback on the items I pinned/ suggested.  The use of Pinteret allows me the flexibility to present ideas without the expense of creating a mood board, which is time consuming, and expensive for the clients.  I charge $300 per room for them, so it clearly was not in their budget.  The Pinterest boards are an exceptional tool for designers and their clients, and are widely used in our industry.[redacted] made comments that she loved the items, the colors, etc. so I began making purchases on some of the items.  The windows are a standard size, so I was able to purchase beautiful drapes for them at an excellent price, well within her budget.  I had also shopped for accessories to include accent pillows for the sofa, a large area rug, and lamps.  I did not purchase these, but did take photos of my selections to show her, as they were in stock items and readily available.  Purchasing just the rug would have used all of the money she fronted.
I spent well over 4 hours time on her project.  I have refunded her $900 total on 9/6/16.
On the same day that I initially met with [redacted] and [redacted], my elderly(89 yo) father fell and fractured his hip, and was hospitalized.  [redacted] is a nurse at [redacted] where he was taken and remained for several days.  I was in communication with her about her project as well as the situation with my father, who was later transferred to a rehab facility in [redacted] for physical therapy.  She was aware of my family's medical emergency, and certainly could have easily verified it if she had any doubts.  I continued to work on her project while my father was in a skilled nursing facility.  Because I am his primary caregiver as well as a small business owner, I was not able to progress as quickly as I might otherwise have with her project. He was discharged after 2 weeks in rehab, and I took him home.  He lives alone so he still required assistance.  I apologized profusely to her, and offered her additional design hours for the price of the 10 hours we agreed to.  She would not accept my offer and became hostile and threatened to sue if I didn't refund her money.  As I stated, I refunded all but 1 hour of what she paid me.  It's unfortunate this happened, because I value my customers and my reputation.  That said, I had to care for my father.  I hoped she'd understand.