ABC’s of Fine Design

Interior design is just not about homes, sometimes it’a about the busness you visit and how you feel in them. An example would be an Airport Lounge. You want to feel comfortable enough if your there for a few hours, but you don’t want people to feel comfortable enough not to want to leave. Unless your doing a club section.

The same thing goes with the plan you fly in. Most commercal airplanes are about the same, but did you know that interior designers actually are involved in the design of these planes? If you didn’t your in for a surprise, many time people with interior design degrees help design the inside of these planes. Of course many don’t do much commercal work, they usually design private jets for corperations or wealty people. These are people who want bars, tv’s and beds in their planes. They use them to go anywhere and want the same comfort on board as they have at home. How about that for a job?

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You always want to be on the lookout for a new product. Usually it is something that most people don’t have and want. When your boss or your potential boss walks into your home you want them to remember you. Sometimes you can do this by having something they want, but don’t have yet.

How do you get these new product. Find out where the interior designers go to get their products, remember many places don’t serve the public so be prepared for a no, you can’t have that answer. Some designers may even find just one item for you, you of course would have to pay a mark up and I would recommend letting your friends know who you got it from that way you drive business to the designer and that may make them help you more later when you want the next new hot thing.

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I was talking with a women in the store today about her design business. She use to have a small interior design business in a close by city and she was the one I talked to when I decided to go to school for design. She retired a 2 years ago but wow does she have some interesting stories.

The one she told me about today was one of a women who would always wear her chemise whenever the workers were around. The women was single and in her 40’s so she was looking for a husband. She ended up marrying one of the workers a year later. Just after their wedding she decided that she was going to try her hand at design. Eventually she did well enough on her own that she bought the business of the designer who did her home, the women I know.

The point of this story is that you never know who your going to meet and when. If your looking at getting into the design field watch out for people who are already there, they may just give you a push up or they may leave and you can help fill in their spot as this women did. I guess this would apply to anything though.

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A huge trend right now is to go into business for yourself. When you do this you need to think about not just your logo but your business interior design as well. You want it functional, good looking and you want it to show what your business is all about. As a designer it is my job to figure out what would make all of this work. I look at things like what you have on your imprinted promotional products such as paper, pens and so on. Do you have a symbol you use regularly. If so I may design a rug that will go in your reception area or have it imprinted on the counter top of your register.

There are many ways to get ideas for design in your home and business. If you take a look around you and find things that are either used a lot or are something you like, you can see if you can use them in your design.

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There are many ways you can keep a design under budget, you can buy lumber that was once in another building, or even some of the fixtures or furniture. If you have a home office you can get used cisco or monitors that work just like the new stuff.

Just because it’s not new doesn’t mean that it’s not a good product. I have a friend of a friend who has started going into old homes and businesses and taking out things like moldings, doors and windows that are still in good shape. he then sells them to people for half the price it would cost them to buy new. He does make a good amount of money and it’s good for the environment as all of that stuff he takes out of these homes will not end up in a landfill when the building is torn down. So the next time your looking at some crown molding at your local home improvement store, check around first and see if you can get a good deal on used crown molding.

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Last week I talked about bathroom fixtures and how easy it is to do a bathroom yourself as long as your not moving anything. This week I want to talk a little about kitchens. Kitchens help to sell a home, actually most of the time kitchens will sell a home so I well designed kitchen is a must.

A well designed kitchen consist of some very simple things. A fridge, sink and stove. Kitchen sinks are easily obtainable and usually the cheaper thing to get. You can get them in stainless steal, a huge trend right now or you can spend some extra and get a custom sink that fits with the rest of your kitchen or home. One thing I always look at is the faucet I personally hate the kind that pulls out itself. I like that item separate from the main faucet. Because of this I tend to look for kitchen faucets that have a separate pull out and are usually stainless steal. Why stainless? Well it’s a metal I like, it hold up well and I just don’t like the look of plastic faucets. Of course if you are remodeling your home for you, you may decide you like plastic. If your remodeling for sale though I would stick with a metal faucet.

When designing a kitchen remember all the appliances need to match. Even if your doing it just for you, you should try to get all of the appliances together and even get the same brand. Yes even stainless steal can look different if it’s made at different times. The big thing to remember is have fun with your design, make it your own if your the one who is going to be living there. Remember interior design is personal.

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Travel. I know many of you think you would love to get paid to travel around the world. You spend hours looking up the cost of flights to New Zealand or Rome. You think you will be paid to see the sights and dine in the best restaurants.

Sometimes this is true and this is the best part of design. You can check out the different designs of different cultures. From their architectural style to there interior flare. I personally would love to travel to Europe and see the old buildings that I have read about in school.

Good time withstanding design is usually done in a classical or eccentric way. Modern design changes rapidly, but classical design can stay for decades or longer. When your looking at designing your home think of the trips you have been on or better yet take a trip to a place that you have never been, buy something handmade, bring it back and design around it. You will be surprised at what you can come up with.

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