Design that Fits Your Style & Your Daily Life
You’ve finally convinced your partner to undertake some renovations in your space.
Soon, you’re living on Pinterest, Houzz and Instagram. You’re browsing, pinning and double-tapping up a storm, and before you know it, you’re showing your partner all of these new must-haves that weren’t even on your radar before. Add to that list your girlfriend who just finished her big renovation project. You must include everything that she did. Then your mother-in-law calls to offer her opinions on gas ranges versus induction cooktops. You’ve got lists upon lists and you’re ready to get started.
Next up is your consultation with your designer. You chat about what you want to see in your new space. You start rattling off your list, delightfully pulling up your saved albums. Your (much more realistic) partner raises their eyebrows in an effort to rein you back to reality. You know how the rest of this goes.
Making design decisions can be overwhelming. Don’t get me wrong — it’s also exciting and fun. But, if you’re not a designer (or even a “wanna-be” designer), it can be tough to say with confidence, “That’s the one.” Even if you’re working with a designer, you’re going to be the one with the final say.
Getting clear on how you function currently in your space and how you see yourself functioning in your future space will help you narrow down what you need — the necessities. These are fit into the budget first and foremost, and then the extras are added in as the budget allows.
To dig into this, questions I always ask during consults go something like this:
· What’s your daily routine in the space? How much time do you spend in it?
· What are some activities you and your family do in the space on a daily basis?
· What do you love about your current space?
· If you could change just one single thing, what would that be?
· Is the space big enough? Too big?
Once the major pieces and overall design direction are established, we dig a little deeper. If you truly are making decisions for you, then answering the questions with confidence is easy.
· You 100 per cent know that you need a larger fridge. Yours is too small for your family of six. Noted.
· You love your dishwasher to the left of your sink, and you really do not want your sink in the island. Awesome, we can work with that.
· Is a perfectly pressed cup of morning coffee using locally sourced beans ground at home part of your morning routine? Nope? Then you can pass on the built-in coffee bar, no matter how great the picture looks. Putting in a coffee bar isn’t going to turn you into an at-home barista.
Accessing design ideas at our fingertips through technology is both a blessing and a curse. It can inspire and it can spark amazing ideas. At the same time, it can launch you down a path very quickly of keeping up with the Joneses. If you stay on that path and away from what you truly need and want in your space, you run the risk of overspending in areas and ending up with a finished project that simply misses the mark.
The best designed spaces are a true reflection of your individual style combined with functioning features that make your day-to-day life more enjoyable.
Clear Space Design Co.