There is never a shortage of grief when disaster sweeps through a region, leaving normalcy in the dust.    Disasters – man made or natural – seize temporary control of lives and circumstances.  Whatever the plans might have been, they have involuntarily been changed.  At the very least, they have been drastically delayed.
 
In situations where complete loss of property exists, the impacts of such loss are great; and, all of the fail-safes that businesses and homeowners have previously set in place must come into play. 
 
For some, however, such preparation may not have been an economic option.  Many have been set on a disastrous path of great loss with bleak prospects for regaining stability, any time soon, without the benefits of insurance and other protections.
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Few situations are more challenging for your design team than a war among the client principals!   When there is an on-going duel concerning concepts, preferences and decisions, your design team inherits an assortment of untenable choices!
 
The primary role of your professional team is to take your concept vision, develop it into a workable design that you can approve, then guide and assist you through the detailed process of production.  This is very difficult to execute in a war zone peopled with partners, spouses or corporate associates from an organizational chart, who want it their way or no way.

​Many projects present their design teams with some ugly situations!  It can range from a client’s passionate desire to “preserve” some unmanageable features in an old, tired building, to unchangeable architectural limitations such as odd angles, extra-high ceilings and impossibly narrow aspects.
 
Designers like the challenge of such situations.  In pursuit of solutions, we tap into our ingenuity, skills, talent and knowledge of everything available thru construction modification to innovative use of materials, supplies and “FFE’ – furniture, fixtures and equipment.

​Understanding the foibles of old buildings (and the surprises that can be just one wall-covering-layer away!) comes from both experience and research.   Your design team must dig into the history of the specific building, and often discovers that original construction plans and information may be long lost.  Community libraries and museums may have historic photos where that old building appears (in its youth); and, a plea to the local population might produce some pictures as well. 
 
When old buildings have been used and re-used over many years in a variety of ways, it is sometimes difficult to determine the original contours, facades and finishes.

​They always seem like a good idea, short cuts, but more often than not, there is a price to pay.   Sometimes that price is dear; and, concerning the complexity of detail management for an Interior Design project, some short cuts are just plain bad news.
 
Let’s take a look at where a project can be seriously delayed, prolonged, compromised or sabotaged by the lure of short cuts that seem smart, but just aren’t.   Who hasn’t been in a hurry at the super market, changed check-out lanes because the one “over there” seemed to be moving faster, and wound up where the register tape ran out?   That simple, mundane lure to save a few minutes doesn’t have many ripple affects, and the ones it does have only affect you and your impatience!