Designers in Stockholm had a problem. With exercise waning and the population getting more and more unfit, design was chosen as the vehicle to reverse the curve.
One such example of design doing just that came to a dreaded staircase. The stair was an imposing steep example of what no one wanted to do. Instead they all took the narrow escalator next to it. 99% of people leaving the train station took the escalator.
The design team collaborated, came up with a solution that is not only innovative, but FUN!
The staircase was transformed from plain white tile to a mix of black and white tiles that was an actual climbing piano keyboard, complete with sound. Every step created a sound of a key, and every person joined the chorus of sound coming from the staircase. Virtual symphonies of sound combinations came. People walked and walked the stairs, pausing, stopping, combining steps to create a sound and an experience unmatched in Stockholm.
Fun created a solution in a bleak situation when design was chosen to lead.
And we all need more fun, don't we?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
2011 is a HUGE Year for Interior Design
There is a definite feeling in the air that the crisis is gone. Clients are taking out the stops and doing the work that they have been holding off on, and having faith that the world will survive this last challenge because their own world has.
As my clients kick into high gear after the holidays, I am reminded of just what an amazing industry this is. I get to spend time with the most amazing people on Earth, and they happen to love working with me to create magic in their homes, or work spaces. I am the lucky one.
So lets all wake up, step out, throw a snowball, bake a batch of homemade cookies, and look at our interior spaces with an open view. They can be better. They can function better. They can be more organized. They can feel more like home.
I challenge you in this new year to take a step. Make a move that you worried about last year. Believe that life is good, and needs to be lived with the best spaces that we can create with all of that energy that is just sitting there waiting to be taken on. I am so proud of clients that have taken projects off of dusty shelves and started to rework them, bite off little pieces or devour the whole thing! It is fun to do this again. It is healthy to believe that spring is coming and Columbus is a beautiful place to express how we live and work, but mostly play through our lives with our own spirit of faith, hope and belief in all that makes our lives the best!
As my clients kick into high gear after the holidays, I am reminded of just what an amazing industry this is. I get to spend time with the most amazing people on Earth, and they happen to love working with me to create magic in their homes, or work spaces. I am the lucky one.
So lets all wake up, step out, throw a snowball, bake a batch of homemade cookies, and look at our interior spaces with an open view. They can be better. They can function better. They can be more organized. They can feel more like home.
I challenge you in this new year to take a step. Make a move that you worried about last year. Believe that life is good, and needs to be lived with the best spaces that we can create with all of that energy that is just sitting there waiting to be taken on. I am so proud of clients that have taken projects off of dusty shelves and started to rework them, bite off little pieces or devour the whole thing! It is fun to do this again. It is healthy to believe that spring is coming and Columbus is a beautiful place to express how we live and work, but mostly play through our lives with our own spirit of faith, hope and belief in all that makes our lives the best!
The Month of Love and Interior Design
As we approach February, I am reminded just how important love is in the lives of my clients!
I approach every Master Bedroom project as an inner santion. Questions like "what is your bedtime ritual?" are not meant to pry, but to support some of the most important moments in couples lives. When we get the answer "We always go to bed together." Our hearts leap for joy at the prospect of enhancing this time.
Nothing is more disheartening as a couple that has an office in the Master Bedroom suite, or takes their laptop to bed! The next most disheartening is having a LARGE screen TV staring at the couples bed. The fact that large screen TV's have even invaded the bedroom leaves me startled as a designer. The oasis of cuddling, coming together, and winding down a hectic day together just should not happen in front of the TV set!
My recommendations for couples with work or technology ruling the Master Bedroom is simple.
Create a sitting room adjacent to the sleeping area where those activities are stepped down. The transition to the sleeping space becomes softer. Non invasive colors. Restful and luxe fabrics that encourage snuggling up and letting go. All of us have a process of letting go of our day to engage in sleep. Hopefully most of us have much more going on relating to another person, but lets focus on the letting go part for the sake of the design!
Design is personal. This part of the day should be a surround of nurturing and caressing colors. Surfaces are soft. Bed linens are the highest quality of cotton that can be afforded. The mode is set in softness, and coccooning of a space of relaxation and rejuvenation. Colors that are cool may become too cold if not offset with soft texture. Warmer colors can become too warm if not offset with luxe feel of quality and repose.
I personally embrace soft finishes for most areas. Designers must relate to the couples own style of course, but soften it at every juncture.
My favorite area of the home is the Master Bedroom suite. There I can get into the clients head about what matters to them. I can enter this personal space with respect, compassion, and confidentiality with them. Being a great interior designer does not get any better than this!
I approach every Master Bedroom project as an inner santion. Questions like "what is your bedtime ritual?" are not meant to pry, but to support some of the most important moments in couples lives. When we get the answer "We always go to bed together." Our hearts leap for joy at the prospect of enhancing this time.
Nothing is more disheartening as a couple that has an office in the Master Bedroom suite, or takes their laptop to bed! The next most disheartening is having a LARGE screen TV staring at the couples bed. The fact that large screen TV's have even invaded the bedroom leaves me startled as a designer. The oasis of cuddling, coming together, and winding down a hectic day together just should not happen in front of the TV set!
My recommendations for couples with work or technology ruling the Master Bedroom is simple.
Create a sitting room adjacent to the sleeping area where those activities are stepped down. The transition to the sleeping space becomes softer. Non invasive colors. Restful and luxe fabrics that encourage snuggling up and letting go. All of us have a process of letting go of our day to engage in sleep. Hopefully most of us have much more going on relating to another person, but lets focus on the letting go part for the sake of the design!
Design is personal. This part of the day should be a surround of nurturing and caressing colors. Surfaces are soft. Bed linens are the highest quality of cotton that can be afforded. The mode is set in softness, and coccooning of a space of relaxation and rejuvenation. Colors that are cool may become too cold if not offset with soft texture. Warmer colors can become too warm if not offset with luxe feel of quality and repose.
I personally embrace soft finishes for most areas. Designers must relate to the couples own style of course, but soften it at every juncture.
My favorite area of the home is the Master Bedroom suite. There I can get into the clients head about what matters to them. I can enter this personal space with respect, compassion, and confidentiality with them. Being a great interior designer does not get any better than this!
Design Ranking in Importance a Key Element
Recent surveys by the National Association of Remodelers stated that the design and outcome of a space are the most important aspect to long term satisfaction. This is not surprising to those of us that spend our lives pleasing people and satisfying their needs. In fact that was number two, satisfaction of needs in the new space!
Oftentimes the unsung hero of the project is the designer that spent time with the client and made details count, created spaces that spoke of their personality and their way of life. As a designer that puts satisfaction at the top of my list, I know that it is not always easy to interpret for the client. Some clients never verbalize their needs, but show you all that is wrong with the way that they live currently. We must bring them solutions to those problems that are also following good design decisions. It is up to us to gauge what will truly make them happy with their surroundings.
When clients really have no idea what would please them, good designers kick into high gear. We show by example. We sketch, get large samples of finishes and large photos of pieces that will work. We work all of these approaches, and then suddenly POOF! the client begins to see our vision, and we are on our way. Many designers talk about clients with no vision and how frustrating it is to them. Those are the best examples of how we must lead, and guide them to great decisions financially, and follow good design rules to create a solution that really works.
Our greatest responsibility is to interpret clues, ask the right questions and lead by example. Credible design works for them. Creative design just works!
Oftentimes the unsung hero of the project is the designer that spent time with the client and made details count, created spaces that spoke of their personality and their way of life. As a designer that puts satisfaction at the top of my list, I know that it is not always easy to interpret for the client. Some clients never verbalize their needs, but show you all that is wrong with the way that they live currently. We must bring them solutions to those problems that are also following good design decisions. It is up to us to gauge what will truly make them happy with their surroundings.
When clients really have no idea what would please them, good designers kick into high gear. We show by example. We sketch, get large samples of finishes and large photos of pieces that will work. We work all of these approaches, and then suddenly POOF! the client begins to see our vision, and we are on our way. Many designers talk about clients with no vision and how frustrating it is to them. Those are the best examples of how we must lead, and guide them to great decisions financially, and follow good design rules to create a solution that really works.
Our greatest responsibility is to interpret clues, ask the right questions and lead by example. Credible design works for them. Creative design just works!
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