Getting down and dirty
Often my client comes to me for a torch to light their path. I look back at them. I could say..."Sure I'll whip you up a nice interior, no problem. Here are some trendy new products.... oh yes, and your house calls for this detail or this functional application......blah blah blah...and this is part of my job as a designer. But it's not the essential personal ingredient that makes a project rich in the end.
The success of a project is evident by the commitment of both the client and the designer to do the work. One is nothing without the other. If you are my client, I ask you to dig deep into the wishes and desires of everyone living in your space and reveal this to me. I design with those ingredients and your shelter becomes a home for all the inhabitants. If you have a business, then who is your customer? Let me 'be' them. This process I call getting into the mud.
Sometimes I ask questions and get blank stares. "We thought you're going to tell us what we need to do...." a client will often remark. "No , not exactly, although this eventually happens." I say.
As deep as you want me to see you, the deeper the design. Deep design regenerates too, which is the most wonderful aspect of the entire process. But that's another story....
It's not about a sensible sofa with fabric that won't show spots. On the day of your first spot, we will celebrate with a party called 'Unholy Spot Day'.
It's not that great deal on drapery hardware your neighbor got in a catalog. It's not about being 'affordable' for goodness sake. Good design has little to do with the price. It is a balancing and should include recycled pieces and things you already own.
It's not about this color or that color. In fact, color usually reveals itself along the way...so forget about the typical elements and surfaces to problem solve. I have a much broader scope of choices to show you, when we get to that. Hold off trying to figure out how it will evolve, while you carefully imagine who you are in your space. Instead, show me your old rusty toy truck you owned as a boy or girl. Show me the way you hang your keys or the worry you have in throwing something away. These things are precisely what I want to see.
The man selling his computer out of his wheelbarrow, told me he has no time for "the thing". Now that's revealing!
Think daring if you will, or willfulness at the very least. It's about who you are, with each texture, each smell you like, each chocolate box you secretly hide away in the cupboard. Reveal yourself.
Each stroke I take, is from your palette.
What brings you peace? What contains fond memories? How do you respect nature? How do you honor your past? What things old and new do your like? How are you influenced by traditional and modern? This is your DNA design blueprint for design. Shouldn't this count more than the price of tea? I know...you have a budget, but that's simply an ingredient. It is definitely not the decisive ingredient.
Before you buy that fancy sofa, are you sure you wouldn't prefer lying on the floor? We can design that too..., or are you afraid your 'friends' wouldn't understand? I'm not saying traditional methods don't work...I'm saying; imagine the fullest of all possibilities first.
Now, let's get down and dirty, ok?
Carolyn
