Three ways to see the design
So you’ve decided that you can no longer live with the kitchen or bathroom you have in your home and you feel it’s time for a redesign. You know you’re ready for a remodel, but before you call in a contractor, you’d love to get some basic background on how a design comes together.
Designing your space will be easy, but before any plans are put into action, it’s important that your designer or contractor understand your personal needs. When it comes to design, there are many aspects that one must consider. There’s flow, usability, storage, aesthetics, lighting, code compliance, and price.
These are all very important points that need to be addressed along with many others, but before we delve into the design infrastructure, you need to start with the bigger picture first.
There are three ways to view a room and they are emotionally, spatially, and aesthetically. Let’s see each one.
Emotion is often the number one reason people decide to remodel a space. There has often been an emotional imbalance between the homeowner and the home that leads to years of frustration and longing for a remodel. Typically, a homeowner has lived in a space they don’t like for a long time because they aren’t sure how much the remodel will cost, are concerned about the remodeling process, or aren’t sure how to create a space they’ll love. .
As a designer, it is often necessary to envision the end result and the emotion the design will evoke before planning anything specific.
A few months ago I met with a client who showed me photos of a bathroom he found online. This client told me that the image of this room made her feel happy and that was all she really wanted from her new bathroom.
Designing to feel good and evoke a happy feeling is the first step, but there is more.
When a designer first enters a space they instinctively begin to analyze the flow and spatial aspects of how the overall room works. A good design should create a good emotion and a great design goes further and creates a functional but balanced space.
A kitchen can look nice and make you feel good, but if the kitchen doesn’t work properly, the happiness you feel when you see the space will quickly dissipate.
When considering your remodel, move beyond the pretty pictures on the internet and really focus on how you intend to use your space. Keep in mind creating volume in one area and pay close attention to hallways, prep and work areas.
A properly designed kitchen or bathroom can be easily detected. They seem to flow even when there are people inside the space.
Once you feel good about the layout and have created a design that fits the space and works with the activities taking place, it’s time to consider the aesthetics of the design.
The aesthetics to consider are texture, balance, shape, color, and proportion. The challenge here is to match all aspects of emotion and space with the right products and product placement.
One area that is often overlooked when working on aesthetics is lighting. Lighting is such an important part of any remodel and can make the difference between good design and great design. Consideration should be given to the appearance of the fixtures used as well as the amount of light, the location of the light, and the type of lighting that is needed.
The remodeling process can be intimidating, but by creating a good design plan before the hammer hits, you can be sure your remodel will turn out great!