BUSINESS OF DESIGN: IMPACT OF DESIGN- MY VALUE AS AN INTERIOR DESIGNER

When you look at this bathroom, what do you see?
Do you see a small modern bathroom, or perhaps the fiery colored glass top?
For those who can look beyond the design style, do you spy the grab bars in the shower? Why are they there? Who needs them?

This small bathroom was renovated for my 70ish client who had lived in this house for 25 years with a small bathroom that needed a complete update.

Before photo of the bathroom

Part of my job as a professional interior designer is to look at the client's needs and to develop a strategy that will carry my clients interiors beyond a 5 year plan. 

This updated bathroom had two different strategies for my client:

1. Safety - I incorporated many universal design elements although they were not needed at this time, but they be used when the occasion arises.
   
2. Emotional  - The client wanted a modern bathroom using her love of red and oranges. This bathroom makes her feel good but it also reduces her levels of stress if she becomes disabled in the future. She already has a bench and grab bars to assist her in the shower.

Most of my clients are now concerned with longevity of their investment and also considerate of the people who visit them.
Our clients believe is long lasting quality and don't want to repeat the mistakes they made before they retained us to redesign an outdated room or to renovate an older home they own.
First questions we ask our clients, "What don't you like about this room?" "How does it make you feel now?" "How do you want it to feel when we're done?"

My job isn’t just to enhance the look, I enhance the emotional wellness of my client.
Aesthetics are important. The environment we are in affects us emotionally, and, if designed appropriately, has the power to promote wellness of both body and mind. 
Most of my clients contact me for surface design problems because they can't live with the look anymore, which is an emotional response to their problem.
When I eliminate the negative emotions and feelings my clients have for a room, I have created a stress free zone and  a happiness factor. 

Many people have a misconception that anyone can be an interior designer, but in reality, anyone can be an interior decorator.
Here is a great article that explains the differences between an interior designer and an interior decorator.
I have so many conversations with new prospects that they didn't realize that many designers have education and experience behind their value, which cannot be compared to someone down the street who has a flair for decorating.
People think the terms designers and decorators are interchangeable, but designers go beyond the aesthetics of an interior and manage the entire project, coordinating the work of all other design and construction professionals such as architects, contractors, lighting designers, landscape designers, and many specialty trades.
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Years of education, training, and experience defines my interior design company.
For every project I work on, there is research going on a daily basis. 
My research provides a client with the best possible solution for their needs and wants.
New products and materials are coming on the market every day, and it’s up to me to decipher through and decide which ones are best for the application, maintenance program, cost, and health and safety of the end users.

I am also ethically bound to make sure the space plan meet all code and ergonomic requirements.  I have seen so many homes recently that are renovated but lacking proper code requirements that it saddens me when a homeowner chooses to do a remodel with a low cost handyman and not a licensed contractor. Or perhaps the homeowner didn't know the handyman isn't educated in electrical, plumbing, or building codes?

When you are looking to hire my company for your next design project, you will appreciate the 15 years of continuing education, experience, and problem solving  that went on behind the scenes in creating your home designed for living.

“Interior design is the art and science of understanding people’s behavior to create functional spaces within a building. Decoration is the furnishing or adorning of a space with fashionable or beautiful things. In short, interior designers may decorate, but decorators do not design.” ​