A Designer's Role

While discussing my work with a woman the other night, she gushed, "I think being a designer would be so much fun! How do you not just pick things that you like?" This is a valid question that may also help explain how I view the designer's role in a remodel or material selection process. 

The answer is a combination of factors but before expanding on that, I will share a secret fear and insecurity that used to plague me. When I first started (and even occasionally yet) I'd go to meet a client to select finishes, and I'd think to myself, What if I don't know that they like? What if I don't get their style? These questions used to haunt me because I didn't go into these meetings with a concrete plan or with finishes pre-selected and so I didn't have control over, or know what the outcome would be. While I may be a designer, and generally right brain oriented, I am anal enough and human enough to feel better when I am in control. 

What I discovered over the course of many client meetings was that things worked out just fine even if I didn't have a concrete plan. Clients' generally know what they like and don't like even if they can't articulate it. So why did they need me? For a variety of reasons. 1) Many showrooms are vast and overwhelming and scary. 2) Even if a client thinks they know what they like, a reassuring vote of approval is much appreciated. 3) Sometimes the finish a client likes is not a great product for the application or it is out of their price range and they need an affordable alternative. These are all great reasons to have a designer help you navigate through the many decisions to be made when building or remodeling.  I enjoy helping clients discover their 'style' and help mold their vision but don't (okay rarely) feel the urge to impose my opinions on their project's design.  Much like a good parent tries to guide a child with sound advice and the wisdom that comes with experience, without trying to make the child into a miniature copy of themselves or what they want the child to be. 

So to sum up how this ensures that all of my projects don't look the same or overly bear my distinctive stamp, each project evolves somewhat organically and I am just there to help it grow in the right direction. When the client walks in and points to a tile or a light fixture and says "I love that!" we have our starting point, our building block. From there it is a collaborative process where through much communication and idea sharing we manage to arrive at a point that is reflective of the client's personality and style but refined with a designer's eye.

Things are looking up!

As you will come to find out, I am a big fan of the unexpected. Whether it be an ordinary object used in an unexpected way, or an outlandish object used in a traditional way, I'm not too picky. One area of design that can have a huge impact, but is all too often overlooked, is the ceiling. Good design never neglects the floor upon which we walk, why then do we let the ceiling go without any consideration? This is a huge missed opportunity and as the following pictures illustrate, when you utilize every plane in a room, the result can be stunning and very beautiful.

 Beautiful wood ceiling adds warmth and structural interest with the beams.

 Unusual ceiling recessed designate zones in a VERY open concept room.

The white on white ceiling is understated which allows the complexity of the design to shine without being overwhelming.

 Simple but classic.

 I have a secret love affair with vaulted groin ceilings.

 The ceiling in this space is the visual punch. The rest of the fishes are relatively simple and subdued. Again, simple color scheme tones down complex pattern.

 Highly unusual, lacquered ceiling.

 Simple color, lovely pattern!

Whatcha' Want vs. Whatcha' Got

One of the drawbacks of being in the interior design industry is constantly discovering new products or looks. How is this a bad thing you ask? Because it makes it damn hard to settle on any one particular style when it comes to your own home. Let me expand on that a little more.

Over the years, my personal style has evolved and become more defined. I now have a better grasp of the difference between appreciating the aesthetic and actually liking the style. I can better differentiate what I think is 'cool' or 'interesting' and what I would actually like to have in my own home. However, when you are on the look for the latest trends or design ideas, you may think you have nailed down what you want your kitchen remodel to look like, but then you discover a new look you love even more. Remodeling our kitchen is no where in the near future but a girl can still dream, and dream I do. I envision a classic and clean white kitchen with marble counter tops and grey cabinets. Or maybe a different color on the uppers and lowers. OR MAYBE white cabinets with black face frames! Do you see my dilemma? New inspiration, means new love affairs with the newest look.

Then there is a completely different dilemma, which is what you want, but what you have to work with. Which leads me (finally) to the part of this post which will result in actual pictures (I promise!). And that is the issue of our bed. Now is the part where you must reconcile the newlywed, 1st time homeowner, with the Interior Designer. Our bed is merely resting on a piece of plywood on a metal frame, without even a boxspring. GASP! The problem being that we live in an older, story and a half, home which means all the walls upstairs are dormer-ed, making furniture placement a wee bit difficult. And so, while you judge my current bed situation (and I know you are!) enjoy some pictures of beds I long to own, in my someday house. (See I promised pictures eventually)

 There is just something luxurious about mirror, however impractical.

 Maybe a little too much for my own home, but I would love to stay in a B&B that had this romantic of a bed.

 Again, more formal, but would make a dramatic statement in a guest bedroom.

 Not loving the actual headboard, but the entire quilted wall behind it!

 The shape of the headboard with the trim to accentuate it.

I love the whimsy of this bed (but it falls into the 'i think it's cool/interesting, but wouldn't actually want necessarily' category.)

 I LOVE this bed. Perfect amount of orante detail on the wood frame. The lack of tufting (which I love tufted headboards) looks so clean and light and the lavendar! The pale, softness of this bed just begs me to curl up with a book or a hubby (like how those are interchangeable?) and stay in it all day! Okay, enough gushing.

Whadda' want that isn't working with whatcha' got? Leave a comment!

To Sit or Not to Sit?

A space can be beautifully built with ample day light, open spaces, and rich finishes and still feel off if the furniture isn't right. Maybe the classic mistake of buying over sized furniture (that didn't look so big in the huge retail store) is the culprit. Or maybe the furniture is too sparse and the room looks slightly vacant and unloved. Or maybe  the furniture is just too damn predictable. That is why when I see new spins on old classics or an unexpected piece is makes me smile and nod approvingly (as if the picture of the space can relay my approval to its creator).

So here are a few pictures that I have in the archives. Some furniture and some lighting. Both can be such key elements in a space and help decided whether or not you spend any (enjoyable) time in the space. To sit and stay for awhile...or not?

 Instead of a bench at the end of the bed, why not just incorporate them into one!?

While this desk would not hide nearly enough clutter, the bibliophile in me is loving the very considerate book storage.

 Fabulous take on a wall of bookcases. This is ear-marked for one of my future homes.

  These lights are made from re-purposed wood scraps. The glow they give off makes them double as art pieces in my opinion (which is probably good considering they don't give off a ton of light).

 Not a new spin for the laundry room but such a space saving classic(drying racks). 

 That is some moody lighting!

 Love the rustic look of this classic table base.

 Floating and built-in eat in nook. Has to be a breeze to clean around!

 Shelf Storage, but only as much as you need.

 

  Not sure if these two faucets fit in the 'furniture' category but I love their innovativeness none the less.

 This concrete and wood coffee table would definitely be a talking piece. What a wonderful mix of rustic and industrial.

 Is is a bookshelf, a desk, or media storage? Or is is just plain beautiful all around!?

 

 Look at the beautiful shadows. A show stopper when on or off!

Smog-Eating Buildings?!

The 'Green' movement has been making great strides over the past few years, but there is some concern that all is not as green as it seems. *Greenwashing is at times hard to detect and there is controversy over some of the rating systems used to gauge the sustainability of a a product. For example, the bamboo floor craze. It seems everyone was putting in bamboo because it was a renewable product. Bamboo can be ready for harvest within 3-7 years versus almost 100 years for some hardwood species. However, if the bamboo floors you are putting in your newly remodeled home are coming from China, there is the carbon footprint of the transportation overseas, then to the distributor, and then to you. There are entire computer programs dedicated to life-cycle analysis that determine the hundreds of factors that can come into play for a single product (and now you are putting hundreds of products into a single home). You can see easily you can mistake greenwashing for green.

*When it comes to pollution, "buildings in the United States contribute 38.9 percent of the nation’s total carbon dioxide emissions, including 20.8 percent from the residential sector and 18.0 percent from the commercial sector (2008)." 38.9%! That is a whole lot of pollution. 

But then comes our superhero, Innovation! I am amazed by the number of products featured in the last few issues of Architectural Record that actually reduce carbon/smog/air impurities. While I will not claim to have run extensive computer aided life-cycle analysis studies on these products, I will say that they grabbed my attention and they definitely had me saying 'wow!' One such product is Nedlaw Living Walls. Using the, "patented biofilter technology and a building's own air handling system....[it] breaks down and removes airborne pollutants. Off-gases. Odours. Chemicals. They aren't just filtered, they're quantifiably eliminated. It's the same biological processes used by nature outdoors, brought indoors. Beautifully." And these walls are beautiful. Especially when we spend so much of our time indoors and the research related to plants, outdoor views and increased productivity are pretty (no pun intended) astounding.

 University of Guelph Humber

Another product is Reynobond with EcoClean. Now this one gets a little complicated and you may have to brush up on your chemistry, but I will give it to you in layman's terms after all the fancy lingo. "When Nitrogen Oxcide molecules float near the surface of Reynobond with EcoClean, they are attacked by free radicals generated from the titanium dioxide reaction with water and oxygen in the air--oxiding the NOx molecules and converting them to harmless nitrate." Huh? So basically using a naturally occurring chemical reaction, the Reynobond coated product leverages the use of sunlight, water vapor, and oxygen in the air to clean the very air itself. 

Los Angles High School #9 (Reynobond coated panels were used in construction)

If that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, check out their website: www.alcoa.com/bcs/aap_eastman/ecoclean/en/home.asp

And here is the NedLaw website while i'm at it: www.naturaire.com

The gist is that in order to create anything energy has to be used in one form or another. It comes down a complicated combination of how much energy, water, and other renewable resources a product takes to be produced as well as how much it takes to get it to the consumer, the actual life-cycle, and what we can do with it when it is ready to be replaced. I am all for a product that, while it may take some effort to produce, upon creation (and application) will begin to purify the area around it for the term of its life. And if it looks good doing it too, well hell, that's the best of both worlds; form and function.


*Greenwashing (a compound word modelled on "whitewash"), or ""green sheen"",^[1][2] is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that a company's policies or products are environmentally friendly.

*http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/gbstats.pdf

Reuse, Recylce

As I sorted through the stack of mail this weekend, amongst the numerous bills *sigh*, was a coupon book. Hardly extraordinary by usual standards, but this one only featured coupons for 2nd hand stores, recycling centers, Goodwill, etc. It was put out by one of my utility companies for which I am very impressed and it was one of the few things that didn't get pitched (into the recycling bin of course).

I a very proud to see the reuse, recycle initiative gaining steam and while not all things are as 'green' as they seem, we are still better off for a heightened awareness of making do with what we already have. The old adage, 'one man's junk, is another man's treasure' is a good motto in today's world of over-consumption, over-packaging, and over-spending.

The hubby and I recently helped his parents give their one and only bathroom a face lift. One of their requests was a solid wood, oval mirror. A seemingly simple request, until you attempt to locate said item. I know we could have special ordered it or went to a high end store to purchase one, but we were on a Big Box store budget and I defy you to find anything made of solid wood there. On a whim, we stopped by our local Goodwill store, where we have found numerous treasures of which I am very proud, and happened to find just the perfect mirror. Sort of. Below are pictures of it's transformation from ugly country duckling (sorry to those of you who liked it as it was) and how with a little elbow grease we transformed it. Scroll to the bottom to see the rockbottom price tag we snagged it at.

 Apologies for the image quality. I forgot to take before photos and had to snap some mid-progress ones with my phone.

 Close up of the country, crackle treatment, hand-painted flowers goodness this mirror was rocking.

Before and after of the bathroom where the new mirror is a fabulous upgrade that matches the custom vanity. Vanity courtesy of Siegle Woodworks. (also note the increase of counter space for which I am most proud!)

Somewhat close-up of the NEW mirror. 

Any guesses on how much we paid for the diamond in the rough? $9.99!! My Grandma Wanda, at whose side I learned the joys of bargain hunting, would be so proud of me :)