a time for change

An often heard comment from new clients is: "I just want a change. What do you suggest?" No wonder we've elected our new democratic candidate based on this immediate message. This premise is rampant in most industries feeling the pinch right now, as well as those of us remembering easier times. I am asked to consult with business owners looking for new ways of amplifying their image, as they feel the tone of ambivalence in the marketplace. In my field of design; the desire for change is often heard as a request for new color on a wall or new upholstery fabric for furniture. Very few candidates for design change, ask for something 'really different' as I would put it, but simply want a face lift to make life happier looking.

My math tutor Stacey had a bit of a problem with her cozy one bedroom apartment. Given the fact she had purchased some fairly large counter stools and a good sized chaise lounge, there was barely enough room for a nice seating group and a most needed desk area in her living area. She didn't want to loose her furniture yet she wanted it to all work together. The bedroom was her sanctuary, and it was inconceivable to imagine it as an office space. The dilemma was apparent. Then Stacey met Dave, and things became more complicated. Dave didn't have a corner in her little place, and this made it harder for them to spend time there. They ended up at Dave's house and the travel of thirty miles a trip, plus the lack of sharing time in Stacey's world felt out of sync to her.

One day while contemplating her situation, I spoke as I thought, about a series of choices she had. One of them was creating a small curtained area upon entering her apartment and setting her bed into the middle of her living room, thus leaving her 'now bedroom' as an office for two desks; one for Stacey and one for Dave. It was the room she needed for her work area. There were very few visitors, usually friends and young clients....why not?

I watched Stacey's face change instantly. She had never thought of such an idea. I mulled it over in my mind for the next few days.

I thought about how to make a bed a comfortable front room piece. I thought about how guests could relax on a bed, and yet converse with others. Would this make them feel comfortable or not? I thought about how to make a bed look less like a bed. But most of all, I thought about why I wouldn't make that change myself. The idea has made me contemplate my own preconceived notions about furnishings and 'designated rooms'.

Next up: a culmination of thoughts on my own plan for change and especially furniture placement. How can I suggest an idea, without considering the most daring of proposals....as the answer lies ahead.......

Carolyn

design, deadlines and diet

It's been awhile since I had the desire to post on my blog. It might be my schoolwork is extensive right now, barely leaving me time for leisure activities. I find myself content with quiet most often, after years of raising two teen girls. This is a new time for me, as it is, for many people I meet. It's a time for making a difference. What can I give the world, in this next phase of my life?

After the dust settled from my youngest daughter's move, the start of a new semester in math, client projects that include the everyday contractor checking and purchasing....I rarely have time for cutting on my bonsai trees. Which brings me to my post theme: coming back to base central.

Don't you find that once in awhile you just have to review the whole scheme of things? I do. It is 'design' in the ultimate sense.

Let's say I have had books stacked in the corner, having not been opened in eons. If the books bother me, then it's time to move them. In doing so, I find some old letter inside a cover, or the title on a book: will spark a memory or act like a reminder to jot something down; that I may want to complete. I think whenever I organize myself, I enjoy the feeling of rememebering where I've been...and sometimes where I am going. I make my own deadlines, not just because of homework or my client projects.

I haven't been outside as much as I would like to, so I tear a tree out of a magazine and zap it, with a magnet on the front of my refrigerator. I love big pictures where you can't help but see it. I used to have a red chair on the top of my refrigerator, balancing on a stack of books where the top spindle was wedged into the ceiling just enough to hold it at a slant. My kids would always comment to their friends, not to look at'that' and then a little story about how weird their mom is. I don't mind. I've always been a bit of an odd bird. The chair was a reminder of how my kitchen was for my family and friends, and to invite them over. Clues for making life better...visual clues, for me; works.

With a balance of my own accomplishments, taking clues from what comes, I feel a freedom to discover the whole world again, like a child. It doesn't matter if my mom snubs me, or a hot shot young thing cuts me off on the road. My kids may call and forget to ask "how are you mom?", and it's really ok. I get my math test and the grade may be the lowest in the class...but guess what? I learned something. What better grade can you get for that? Maybe I'll start a diet that only lasts five days.....but who the jack-o-lantern cares? It's only me, and the best design I can muster.
Carolyn

the art of a good question

Recently I had the good fortune to meet a potential client who had all the right questions. I was thrilled...at last I meet a person, who. although might not have the answers, knows how to find them. This led me to consider the years of being in business as a designr and the few good questions that come my way.

What is an appropriate question,is very subjective. Some people need very few answers, and others need you to read their minds. How could we judge what questions get to the heart of the matter? My advise is: give it a try, so you'll get the most from your initial consultation.

"How much money is it going to cost?" is a good question but only after the criteria of what space, and the quality of the work proposed is laid out. Occasionally I will pull figures from the air (experience helps) because people feel better when I do. In actuality nothing can truly be estimated until the plans are drawn....so as an initial question...it is usually unanswerable.

"What can you do for $50,000.?, is a better question, because it clarifies in my mind, as your designer, what you would like to spend. Sometimes this is not in relation to the desires you might have in construction and design needs. It really doesn't matter. It is my job to tell you what you can, or can't have, for this amount of money. I can start somewhere.

"Can you show us what you've done before so that we can have an idea of what you can do?" There are two questions wrapped into this one, and for this reason I am careful to answer both. First can I show a client what I've done? Of course, although if you browse my portfolio on line at your leisure, this might be more time efficient for the both of us. Then, after you see something you like, you may want to ask me about it. What I can do for you, you most probably won't find, because it will be very individual and quite unique than anything I've designed before. Just as you see from my portfolio, various completed projects have little in common. So will yours be different than any other.

"How will you find out my particular taste?" is a very good question and seldom asked. I believe one of the reasons for this is that we have, in this country especially, a habit of following a certain style trend. We wait to see the magazines, the catalogs and the showrooms before we will state what we like. In the course of a lifetime you will probably be exposed to many styles. It is up to your designer to find out your particular colors, and textures, your preferrances for what you've liked before, and where you are right now. This takes some time and is usually found in the things you already have. You might think your Swiss army watch, the interior of your car, or your flower shed won't say something about you....but they do.

It's always a good idea to write down your questions and tear out a clipping from a magazine here and there. Most of all, listen to your concerns no matter how they come to mind. Form good questions before you meet with me, or any other designer. These questions will help distinguish you, as the unique person you are.
No matter what the content, your questions will set the stage for your designer to know you better, and the path ahead will be defined better, because of them.
Carolyn

a site of all possibility

I've walked into homes, where the layout of furniture is fine. The pleasantries of accessories abound, but the interior looks more like a magazine, rather than someones life. A new customer might ask, "What can I do?" I imagine the best advice might be taking a walk and sincerely looking at what you find.

If we look like our parents house, we are still there.
If we look like our kids own the joint, then we might as well be our kids.
If we look like the department store, then the sales lady did her job.
If we look like our designer's portfolio, we better start praying.

When I put my work boots on, and crawl over rubble, looking at an interior wall frame that will someday be a vision I have, I'm not me, I'm you. My client. (being presumptuous here, for the sake of my point)

But when I go home, and I put a flower stem into a glass, light my incense, put my music on and change my table cloth, I am me. This may seem like a simple fact, but this isn't as simple as it sounds. Sometimes we get stuck into the patterns of our life or the arrangement of our furniture and we forget we have choices.

I put up this image of the Granada Building because I think it is awful. I could be far more tactile in my descriptions, but let's not waste time, ok? This building is in San Francisco and it houses between 350 to 450 retired residents. My first impression upon seeing it, was: "This building looks like a tombstone Carolyn. The people inside must feel encased. They might as well be dead already! If I lived there I would rally the troops, make colorful flags and march the halls, send a continuous stream of huge envelopes to the owner with bright reflecting confetti that will fall upon his desk with a hand painted notes: GIVE US COLOR!. I would hang banners out the windows of every willing resident, plan watercolor classes in the recreation room and make arrangements in the lobby from overgrown tree branches. These people need you Carolyn....to wake up!"

If we can't feel passion about something, then our life has taken on what I call a 'grey tone'. Black and white is good. When you walk your home or business and for any reason ask yourself whether you need a designer or not, let me suggest the following:

First make an empty space. The bigger the better. Then begin to look around you, on the street, in the lobby of an office building you are waiting in, on a park bench, in a friends living room. Ask yourself what you know of the inhabitants, and whether this means something to you.....to discover who's there.

When you do this, just as a designer would do for you, before setting a pencil to paper; then the space will look different. You will search for clues.

Your empty space is a potential clue. It is like the point of all you live for. It might look grey , then notice the various shades. You will see how this emptiness starts us thinking. When we begin to see the shadows, we're on our way towards the black and white.

Carolyn

your gift

I have a new client who's house I'm gutting the center of. She wanted a lovely new kitchen but unfortunately the previous architect (and I use that term loosely)designed the kitchen against a common wall with the house next door. Because this wall had no windows, being in her kitchen was like being in a dungeon...dark and very uninviting, no matter what artificial light you put there.

I must admit, I tried to conceive of a way to create this environment without tearing things up, to the extent I did. But there was no way.....light must be found and indeed it was; when walls between the front and the back of the house; came down.

The moral of this story is this: it might be light, or art, or saving what's best before designing new, or simply taking the time to assess the many possibilities, but a sure fire way into any clients heart, is to find their gift. When you do this, as a designer, or any other professional, you've found the pearl.

Dolores is a delightful person with a wonderful story to tell. She's concerned about this country and our political future. She has a marvelous voice in the community and she's not afraid to let her views known. This is her gift.

Her kitchen is the heart of her home.
To give light to a kitchen is to give light to the soul of its inhabitants.

Here is a tid bit to remember:

If you find your true calling, make sure your designer is sensitive to what's needed for your gift to enrich the world. Then, and only then; we will all benefit from your qualities!

Carolyn

A site for who you are

Lately I've been thinking about a name change. It's a nasty habit of letting fear slide in the back door. Each time I need to reorder stationary, I wonder how people perceive the title 'site designer', and I get a bit nervous. I consider this nervousness good though. It means I'm not asleep at the wheel or leaning on systems that don't fit me.

I know the title is odd, a little off the main stream; especially when an entire population comprehends the term 'interior designer' quite well. After all, I used the traditional title for years and was always understood, when describing what I do. Then I got this wild idea to be rebellious and perform what I call 'sitings' on locations I thought needed improvement. I photograph places to offer ideas to unsuspecting potential clients. Sometimes I simply shoot spots, because they tell a wonderful story of who lives there.

Once I was in full swing of this quirky marketing strategy; the title seemed more appropriate. Isn't every location a chance to explore? Why refer to a design profession as 'interior', when you love to design anywhere?

Although I'm often asked if I design websites, I really don't mind explaining the nature of my work. It gives me a chance to redefine if necessary, and this is precisely how design in our lives can work! It's a realization of continual refinement. It's redefining or needs and never stagnant...always evolving!

Take for example the site of my friend George's chair. This scene has evolved over the past two years. It's actually my favorite site in his house, for several reasons. One, it says something about who he is; his commitment to comfort and an eye for quality. He ordered this leather chair custom and set it in the same location his father had it, when he was alive. He's kept the lamp from his early childhood days as I remember. The second reason I like this scene; is because it is different today than the last time I visited, yet in some ways, the same.

It's not important to see an entire room as something 'to design'. What's more important is to follow where your eye rests when you relax, or speak to company.

What area takes on meaning for you?
What offers you pleasure when glancing in a certain direction?

These are the sites of your life! They suggest the church your soul resides in, your own personal orbit of objects moving in and out, and the visual language of who you are. How you handle the daily mail, or newspapers or cups on a tabletop; each movement carrying traditions forward in your life; like waves of your own intentions. It serves you to pay attention.

There is a Zen story of the student on the verge of becoming a teacher. He approaches his wise master and asks him if he's ready. It's a rainy day and he's standing in his stocking feet outside the Zendo, after his morning meditation. His master asks him "When you came into the Zendo this morning, did you place your umbrella to the right or to the left of your clogs?". It turned out this student wasn't ready to become a teacher quite yet. He went on to study six more years of practice.

How much are we present in our daily lives?
Carolyn

Neccos continued

If you haven't read the last post, please do. The following relates to it:

If a store presents the customer with twenty designs of a towel ring, it becomes a challenge for the retailer to stay current and interesting? It might lead to higher competition, if more stores took this on. No one or two manufacturers could reign, or one country of origin; for products. No display system would resemble the next, from room to room. Variety would become the new face of success.

Who would take it on though, especially in a culture of 'style stores'? With no face of style, a store would have to revert to the old 'General Store' style, where the emphasis is on the products and individuality, and not in the selling of a style.

Only talented display artists could provide the ideas of how these products are shown and this is good! The market might require the kind of people (like back in the late seventies) who create window displays that knock your socks off! With more variety, retailers would be forced to use artists to handle the wares. No 'display criteria manual', would suffice for employees without real art training. More jobs would be available for artists and a culture that thrives because of it!

Imagine a wall full of towel rods in anodized colored metals, tied rattan, barbed wire, tire tubes, stainless steel, colored acrylic, flexible clear tubing with glass beads inside. Recycled materials could flourish. Inventiveness would be the new criteria for success. With adequate research, resources are available, so what's stopping companies from making more available? What will it take to find products and services with the lowest impact on the environment? When will this happen?

An answer to my mother's comments, about the convenience of having all the products and color ways coordinate, as you see in Restoration Hardware; I add the following question:

Because the public is exposed to less, people revert to the seven color system. Is this truly success?

I hope it will all change someday, and retailers will sense the urgency consumers feel for tension between colors, a play between surfaces and light, some humor and nuance in the mixture of products, but most of all; a bit of risky playful fun in the way articles are shown together.

Carolyn