​Sometimes it’s a hard sell, because putting the whole team together at the front end of your project may seem premature and cumbersome.  Some professionals may agree with that caution.  However, bringing all aspects into focus in the initial planning process has many advantages that outweigh the resistance to do so. 
 
Envisioning the full scope of a design project as early as possible can eliminate both misconceptions and serious conflicts further down the line.
 
Organizing your team leadership participators in brainstorming and troubleshooting eliminates unrealistic perceptions that may exist concerning factors of cost, feasibility and possibility!
 
If you are an old hand at design projects involving all modes from completely new build-outs to remodeling and refreshing, you will probably see the wisdom in addressing as much as possible, up front.  On the other hand, if you are new at the game, it is worth your while to take a breath and slow down a bit.   Jumping right in with a chosen first priority, then winging it as you move along -- continually searching for the next-needed expert – is a recipe for trouble.

​In several past articles I have discussed the important connections between the decisions and results of your commercial Interior design project and other aspects of your business enterprise.   From human factors to effective marketing, synergy needs to happen!
 
The space planning strategies, the traffic patterns that your employees, clients or customers must follow, the emotional and visual impacts of color --  and your choices concerning furnishing and equipment -- are all part of what your business projects to its consumers!
 
As time and innovation move on, many, many changes occur in the fields of health, furniture design, efficiency paradigms and performance technologies!  Those changes have large consequences!

​Be it a cottage, a nest, a classic or a mansion, one’s home is a personal and intimate place.  Homes are reflections and projections of their owners and occupants.  Most homes are desired havens from the external contrasts where individuals work, visit and take care of life’s other necessities.
 
When the interior design of someone’s home is entrusted to a professional team, it is an extraordinary privilege.  In order to achieve and deliver the personal vision of a residential client, design professionals must actually intrude upon that client’s tastes, dreams and comfort-zones.  Your designer must learn not only what you want for your home, but also how you feel about that environment.

​Commercial Interior Design has many disciplines to consider!  That’s one big reason why preliminary brainstorming and conferencing with a business client is very important.  Once the paper work is wrapped up, the planning process begins and needs to be thorough.
 
There are several aspects to any small business operation.  There are, of course, the central and primary services or products that the business offers to its community market.  Those entail appropriate space planning and development as well as coordination of all the finishes, equipment, furnishings, etc., necessary for the specific circumstances.  And, because Interior business space integrity is an essential part of the business marketing plan (or should be), the Interior design must comprehensively synchronize with the desired business image.

​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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​When your design project vision is clear and you have selected the professional team that you will be working with, the last thing you want is for third parties to throw a wrench in the works.
 
The next-to-last thing you want is to be paying your design team for damage control, after the fact, because of trouble directly caused by neither you nor your team.
 
But, it does happen.  Because there are myriad details and many participants, sometimes trouble can develop in aspects of the project path where you or your team cannot have seen it coming.
 
The small stuff (it can feel big in the moment!) may be annoying, but can usually be resolved quickly.  Larger “wrenches’ that shut down the whole machine are quite a different matter.

There is no lack of examples – some that could curl your hair – and most of them could have been prevented.  Many of the mistakes, oversights, miscommunications or accidents can be traced directly back to poor quality controls.

​Isn’t it interesting how we often describe colors and lighting in terms of our sense of touch?  Lights are soft; that color feels cold, and so on.  It’s because the concepts of color and light are deeply integrated with texture, particularly in design considerations.
 
There are significant differences between painting a wall “flat,” and, texturing it first, then painting.  Applied color changes because of the highs and lows of a texture; light will play capriciously as textures vary.
 
Your designer must consider all textures carefully when choosing lighting, and color. That is one of the junctures where all three elements must be simultaneously managed.  It is important to remember that changing one of these factors affects all three.

​It would be difficult to overemphasize the importance of timing and the many ways in which other patterns and problems can compromise essential timing rhythms.
 
When a prospective client first speculates about really doing the project they have long been considering, they then want to accomplish it as soon as possible.  Although it may have been months or even years since they first thought seriously about it, once a decision has been made to move ahead, it seems from that point on impatience sets in!

Some impatience is just the very real and congenial excitement and anticipation of actually seeing their vision take substance. On the other hand, some impatience is about not quite understanding the inter-locking, carefully timed moves and actions it takes to bring the project along smoothly to satisfactory completion.

​Sometimes it seems as though the easiest and most economical way to approach your design project would be to purchase some consultation time from an expert, then move right into action on your own; no problem!
 
Well...  It would be great if it were that simple, and if steaming ahead on consultation input alone would cover the bases.  But, “consultation alone” has some pitfalls – and some disciplines.
 
Most of us have either observed or experienced the difference between knowing how and actually knowing how!   The former is intellectual; the latter is about implementation.

Many projects present added complexity when the client requests that “secondary” or special use environments be designed into their primary use vision. 
 
With the clear trend to focus more and more activities on one primary site, the opportunity arises for creative design challenges.  One of the simplest is the dedication of part of the residence to business activities: the home office.  With the advancements of more efficient electronic capability, many individuals telecommute for a company as employees of a business located elsewhere.  Independent contractors (owner operators, the self-employed, etc.) are no longer limited to renting an external office.  The stigma of “working out of one’s home” simply no longer exists.
 
Interior space planning and design professionals have met this challenge.  Designing secondary environments within or adjacent to a primary residence requires unique management strategies for both designer and client.  The needs and patterns of family life must be weighed in consideration of the sound, concentration and privacy factors essential to an appropriate workplace.
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​When English is the client’s second language, communication can run into snags, and misunderstandings can innocently develop.
 
Many of us speak more than one language.  As our developing world has expanded and transportation has shortened the distances among differing cultures, our communities have become more diverse – and more interesting.
 
While there are many advantages in being able to speak more than one language, and understand translation of its words, we think in our original and first language.  Literal translation, unfortunately, does not deliver all the goods! 
 
There are simple expressions typical of each language, there is “slang,” there are variations in the usage of the same word and many other subtleties that provide the perfect set of circumstances for misunderstanding.  Add in the factor of accents and pronunciation, and the odds increase for simple comprehension problems.

So you've hired an Interior Designer,and completed  speculation, research, photos and preferences , it is time to bring “intentions” into sharp focus, and begin to create a specific project plan.  You have done your homework, have shared ideas and wishes with your professional designer and have set your feet on an exciting path.
 
With serious consideration for the time and money commitments your project will demand, you and your designer begin to fine-tune the product of your preparatory phase.  You will make choices that will guide the prioritizations in the project path.  You will begin to develop the formula for balancing dreams with reality.

​Just as we all have individual personalities, preferences, wishes, dreams and idiosyncrasies –kitchens are special, individualistic Interior space!  (...or they should be!)
 
The outfitting of a kitchen should agree with the importance of a kitchen to the individual most likely to use it.  Your professional Interior design team knows that getting it right with your kitchen design is a top priority for a functional, balanced home.   Matching a kitchen design to its projected use and user is just good old common sense!
 
Home kitchens have evolved amazingly in recent decades.   The very early paradigm of kitchen as the family gathering place (often the only heated room in the house) has evolved and transitioned with many, many variations.   All reflect the residents’ lifestyle.