​It’s not quite the same bag as buying a used car, but it comes darn close!   Transforming an interior environment that includes a challenging set of “givens” – some that can’t be changed  but maybe a few that can be modified – is sometimes enough to make you lose your hair...
 
“As is” comes in many forms, shapes, sizes and complexities.  Often a new client puts it right up front:  No structural changes, no major modifications of existing configurations...just do what you can!   And, oh yes; the orange ceiling color stays.   Oh, boy.
 
Like most Interior Designers (and Architects) I welcome challenges!   Most of them make you stop short at first, then the wheels get turning and the Interior design team accepts that this one will be different.  It simply means that the planning, strategies and prospective Interior design concepts will have to develop from the old exposed pipes, the mystery box in the far corner of the (orange) ceiling, and the sloping concrete floor.   The client’s clear message of limitations rings in your ears.
 
All of such challenges are not quite as radical as the example above, but almost any fixed situation – be it color, structural anomalies, or immovable objects – immediately force the team to “react.”     Creative design is usually reactive primarily at the front end – listening to the concept the client has in mind, learning the negative stipulations and/or limitations (including financial) and learning their Vision.  Then, the Interior designer moves into “active” mode, creating the client’s vision from their talent, knowledge of resources and understanding of the problems and possibilities.

​When considering your Interior Design Vision, you probably initially consider how you want it to look!  Next in line follow the important considerations of feel, function, purpose and support.  Those are the other sides of your design vision for which your professional designer takes responsibility on your behalf.  
 
Not everyone with a picture in their mind automatically sees the best ways to connect their visual preferences to those critical “other aspects” that will result in a successfully performing finished project.
 
Wanting your investment in your environment to be beautiful, to be in line with current style trends and to be attractive to the relevant market is predictably typical.  That desire (and goal), while credible and doable, does not – in itself – cover all the essential bases.
 
A commercial environment must meet many criteria to qualify as a successful installation.  Its overall design integrity, its specific configurations, the detail applications and its responsibility to appropriate functionality are high on the list of essentials.  A beautiful appearance with few or poor functional components that address the purpose of the environment, just will not work successfully, over time.

We can all probably agree that it’s the accents, the focus elements and the unique twists that get our attention ‑ at first!   Color combinations you might not have guessed would go perfectly together, or the way a vintage component fits right in with a complementary contemporary design are signs of the professional touch: knowing how to accent without over-kill!
 
“Eye candy” is great when it does the job of introducing, accenting, balancing or coordinating appropriate Interior design that successfully represents the client’s vision.  In fact, those interesting accents are often the subtle glue that ties other elements together.  Tastefully selected and conservatively implemented, a special element, material or color can provide connection between various areas of a facility, home or professional practice.
 
Trouble happens with just too much of a good thing!  When it may get out of hand, and the eye candy becomes a distraction to the overall Interior design goals, rather than a subtle connector, it can be as much of a flop as good music played too loud or too much sugar spoiling a perfect cup of coffee.   You have to know when enough is enough!
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