My dad had two rules about buying anything: "Buy once, cry once" and "Don't borrow anything you can't replace."
The first one stung when I was twenty-two and wanted to furnish my first apartment with whatever was cheapest. The second one kept me out of trouble more times than I can count.
But it wasn't until I started designing outdoor spaces that I really understood what he meant.
The $200 Lesson That Changed Everything
Early in my career, I had a client who insisted on buying the cheapest patio set she could find. "It's just for outside," she said. "How bad could it be?"
Six months later, she called me. The cushions had faded to an unrecognizable color. The frame was wobbly. The whole thing looked like it belonged at a garage sale, not in her beautiful backyard.
"I should have listened to you," she said. "Now I have to buy everything again."
That's when my dad's voice echoed in my head: Buy once, cry once.
She cried twice. Once when she paid for cheap furniture, and again when she had to replace it all.