Interiors Blog 2012

JANE PRICE-STEPHENS

If kitchens are the social hub of the home then bathrooms are definitely the ultimate haven where you can relax (and luxuriate in the bath if you are female or sit on the toilet and read magazines if you are a bloke). Bathrooms are where we (females) pamper ourselves and should be a place where we want to spend time (unless your bloke has just been in there).

In today’s society, where we all lead busy and stressful lives, bathrooms have become the only place where peace and quiet can prevail (the lock on the door helps in this respect). A well-designed bathroom can also change the entire feel of your client’s home (and if you believe the ‘trusted estate agents’, it can also add considerable value). To realise this and create a sanctuary from everyday life you need to give careful consideration to each aspect of the room; the type of basin (wall hung vs. counter top vs. pedestal), the toilet (close coupled vs. wall hung vs. back to wall), the bath (freestanding vs. built in), and the shower (corner vs. quadrant vs. recessed vs. shower over bath)... and once you have done all that hard work you also need to think about the finishes for the floor and walls (which should complement and bring out the best in your sanitaryware).

Just like with the kitchen, spatial planning of the bathroom is critical... and not just because it’s typically one of the smallest rooms in your home, but also because unlike the kitchen (where the majority of appliances are rectangular), bathroom furniture comes in a variety of shapes and sizes - this in itself adds a significant layer of complexity to spatial planning and what you can realistically achieve within the space.

• When planning the bathroom think about the positioning of the bath first - it’s the biggest piece of furniture in the bathroom and, as a consequence, options for locating it may be more restricted, and in turn drive what you do elsewhere
• Another very important consideration is the throne... always aim to position the WC so that it isn’t the first thing that you see when entering the bathroom (if it is a more persuasive argument, imagine you don’t have a lock on the door and conjure up an image of what you would see if you walked in at the wrong time...) and also position it as far away from the bath as possible
• One of the additional restrictions that will have an impact on the spatial planning of your client’s bathroom and, more specifically, the position of the WC, are the draining and plumbing arrangements. In simple terms, the WC needs to be located near the soil stacks, which tend to be located on external walls (so in some homes this may drive the entire layout of the bathroom, bath included)
• Basins should ideally be positioned where there is natural light for activities such as shaving (men) and application of makeup (women, but also some men...).  Don’t underestimate the superior quality of natural light in a bathroom mirror when compared to artificial light - it may be cruel, but at least it’s honest...
• If you have space limitations, you may have to sacrifice the double basin that your client has always dreamed of (theory being one for her and one for the messy one, or the other way around...), but it will be worthwhile as it is always better to allow space for your furniture to breathe then to try to cram it all in!
• If you are lucky enough to have a large bathroom you will have much more flexibility around the design and be able to come up with a more impactful layout and emphasise some of the key features of the room more effectively (obviously harder to clean, but more impactful nevertheless). For instance, a large freestanding bath with lots of space around it to breathe will be a real centerpiece and will allow your client to really appreciate the space and freedom while they luxuriate in the bath (unless of course someone is using the toilet at the same time)

Above all else, when designing your client’s bathroom, there are a couple of fundamental questions that you need to address:

• Is the bathroom going to be in a traditional style or modern contemporary? This decision in itself will be highly influenced by the overarching style of the home and the design of the other rooms. Whatever style you choose, it should be one that your client will enjoy and one that complements the style of their home (it is worth bearing in mind that some people spend as much time in the bathroom as they do in their bedroom...) - it is a significant investment and refitting usually involves a great deal of inconvenience and cost!
• Another key question will be bath or shower, or both? In order to keep our ‘trusted estate agents’ in a happy place make sure that you keep at least one bath somewhere within your client’s home (preferably in a bathroom). Ultimately, actually having a bath or a shower is very much a personal choice, but if your client can have both in their home they definitely should! Showering is certainly more environmentally friendly - it uses less water and fewer resources to heat the water. That said, although bathing uses more water, there are times when a shower just won’t do - bathing is perfect after long runs (with ice if you are hard enough) or after a hard day at work and, of course, it is also essential for small children...
• Finally, make sure there is plenty of storage in the bathroom – your client will use it; we all need somewhere to store spare loo roll and other toiletries, particularly those little things that you don’t want guests to see. That said, if your client’s home is anything like mine, some forms of clutter in a bathroom are unavoidable (particularly if you don’t tidy up...) - this includes; toothbrushes, makeup, beauty products, make-up removal stuff and perfume (which all tend to pile up around the basin). An effective way to deal with all this clutter is to invest in built-in storage around the basin. Deep, easily accessible drawers will give you somewhere to put all your stuff, reduce clutter and make your bathroom feel more spacious 

You should never underestimate the hidden power your client’s bathroom has in terms of influencing the overarching look and feel of the home. Your client’s bathroom should be a haven where they can relax and either enjoy an invigorating shower or a relaxing soak by candlelight after a hard day at work!

Below are a few examples of bathrooms that I love…

(Image from Modulnova)

(Image from Modulnova)

(Image from Modulnova)

Jane Price-Stephens runs her own interior design business, to find out more visit: www.janepricestephens.com, http://janepricestephens.blogspot.com/, follow Jane on Twitter @jpricestephens or call 07970 547433.

BOB BORSON, ARCHITECT 

The Seven Deadly Sins are wrath, greed, sloth, lust, envy, gluttony and pride.

Pride. Should it really be one of the Seven Deadly Sins?

‘Pride’ as define by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as:
a) the quality or state of being proud: as a : inordinate self-esteem : conceit
b) a reasonable or justifiable self-respect
c) delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship

.

One of the modern day seven deadly sins – pride, or hubris, is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and is considered the source from which all the others arise. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self.

It is also what separates a good contractor from a great contractor.

('Anger', The Seven Deadly Sins by Pieter Bruegel the Elder )

I chooseth not to beleiveth that the pride from whicheth I speaketh is the same as the one identified by the Catholic Church, King Solomon, or Evagrius Ponticus. This is more about craftsmanship, and ownership of that craftsmanship. When a contractor shows attention to detail and wants to be part of the design process, it is an indication that they have ownership in the work they produce. When people have ownership in the work they produce, that generally translates into a superior end result.

Okay, so maybe it is the same thing, but Seven Deadly Sins or not, I want it on my projects – particularly the modern style projects which are far more demanding – so they are executed properly.

The downside to this level of craftsmanship, if you're looking, is that it is always expensive and slow. We have all heard the expression – better, faster and cheaper. When it comes to construction, you can only get two of the three and that is only when you are willing to pay for them. To the craftsman who build millwork or fabricate and forge steel components, or any other artisans, their craft is art and they generally believe that anything worth doing is worth doing for the sake of creating something beautiful. It is expensive because they self-police their work and deem things to be acceptable or unacceptable as part of the process, and the cost to re-do the work is built into the cost. Rarely is it one and done. Sometimes these artisans can be difficult to work with but you know (unfortunately just as they do) that it is worth it in the end.

The picture above is a tiny example of craft – and this is an important level of craft when building modern residences. This is a shower niche in my own house - the important thing to recognize here is that the niche is perfectly sized to the tile and grout joints – both left to right, top to bottom, front to rear, all while being perfectly centered on the shower head from the opposite wall. I didn’t even have to tell this particular contractor that this would be important – he knew it was important.

(Mosaic tile by Anna Fietta)

This is an image of a mosaic tile piece going into one of our projects - one of three such pieces in total. The top image is the overall installation at almost 5' tall and 11' wide and took Anna three months to make. I don't believe that you could build a piece like this and not have pride in the finished product given the dedication it would take to see something this detailed through to completion.

This is a another example of pride showing up on the job site. What you are looking at is the wood ceiling of a covered outdoor terrace. Notice how the light and the inline ceiling heater are perfectly in alignment with the joints of the wooden board. I didn't tell them that they had to do it and while I am confident that my design documentation is very thorough, this is a difficult level of coordination to achieve. It happened to be built this way because the person who built it took pride in their work and wanted it to be apparent ... definitely the work of an evil sinner. 

A sometimes unexpected by-product of having something beautifully made by people who take great pride and ownership in the work is that if anything ever goes wrong, even well beyond your standard warranty period, they will come and fix it for you.

Pride as a deadly sin? Not on a job site.

Bob Borson is an architect practising in Dallas, Texas, and writes a blog on what it's like to be and work with an architect. To find out more, visit Life of an Architect, catch up with Bob on Facebook, or follow Bob on twitter @bobborson 

JANE PRICE-STEPHENS, INTERIOR DESIGNER It’s a sad state of affairs when that’s the typical question that we ask when we have lovingly prepared a meal for our family.  So, what’s happened to the dining room?  Historically dining rooms were very formal in their style and design, used less frequently than other areas of the home and, in some homes, reserved for special events such as Christmas Day, Easter Sunday (if you’re lucky) and funerals...  with the advent of TV and other media that captivate our consciousness and provide a constant distraction, the dining room has diminished in stature as a used space within the home.  What a waste.

 As a consequence, the traditional concept of the dining room is being challenged - there is a general trend towards people preferring to eat pretty much everywhere else rather than in a dedicated and separate dining room. This is because dining in other areas of the home is deemed less formal, easier and more in tune with modern living. This is driven in part by the following trends;

• Living spaces are at such a premium (particularly in urban areas) so dining areas are increasingly becoming open plan or linked directly to the kitchen (or worse still, becoming a nether region between the living room and the kitchen - no more than a glorified hallway)
• Evening meals are also becoming a more informal affair. Nearly half of Britons now prefer a casual meal with friends or a barbecue to a traditional three course dinner party
• The emergence (to saturation point) of celebrity chefs on television has taken the joy out of dinner parties - as a consequence, today's host or hostess is feeling under intense pressure to perform to their exacting standards and to create something that looks just like the pictures in a recipe book or on TV.  As a result, the dinner party is becoming a declining pastime with fewer Brits choosing to take on the pressures of entertaining. In fact, over 60% of people (not based on deep analytical findings by the ‘trusted estate agents’) considered it worse than attending an interview or going on a first date
• The tradition of gathering round the table as a family also appears to be disappearing, with less than half saying they eat together and most preferring to have their meal in front of the TV instead.  From an evolutionary perspective there is an upside - the male of the species has in fact learned to multi-task.  They now appear to be able to watch TV and play with their WiiStation 360s at the same time as they eat their dinner

I personally feel that, irrespective of where your dining table is - in a dedicated dining room, within an open plan kitchen or in the kitchen itself, there is something special about sitting down to eat without the distractions of the TV (particularly when there is nothing on that I want to watch). In order to achieve this you have to make a concerted effort to make the dining room a space where we (and others) all want to spend time. Here are some of my key considerations when thinking about designing the perfect eating area:

Table: The main table of the home can be the focus for a whole range of activities, from family meals and celebratory dinners to hobbies, homework or general household admin.  Your choice of table will depend on how much you use it, where it is located and what you use it for. A multi-functional table, especially one in the kitchen (where it is also likely to act as a culinary workstation and, in my recent experience, a chewing post for puppies), needs to be sturdy, resilient and accommodating.

However, if the table is going to be exclusively used for dining then aesthetics can prevail (Woo Hoo from a design perspective). The choice between; traditional and modern; wood, glass, metal, marble or plastic; round, oval, square or rectangular, is otherwise a matter of personal taste and style (and, obviously, available space).

A round table works best for informal dinners. However, if you frequently seat more then six, avoid large circles as they will take up far more space (with a lot of wasted table space) and it’s harder to converse across the table - something you may want to do if you are sitting beside the most boring person in the room.

Whatever shape you choose and, as obvious as it may seem, you need to check that there’s enough space to pull out the chairs and to move around the table comfortably.  In many homes the dining table is left unused because you have to move stuff around to either gain access to it, or to create enough room for all the chairs.  Why bother?

Chairs: You have the choice between rustic, contemporary or antique (or, put more simply, old and new).  Other choices you will need to make include the scale (dimensions), colour, upholstery material and degree of comfort. Comfort is probably one of the most important considerations - if you ever do get round to hosting that dinner party (and overcome the intimidation created by the celebrity chefs) then people may be at the table for over two hours (not including ‘comfort breaks’).  My husband has a great measure of dining room chair comfort - whether or not he has successfully fallen asleep at the table by the time dessert is served.

When considering size and dimensions always check that the seats and the legs fit easily under the table. Measure your dining table and figure out how wide and high the chairs should be to fit under it easily (both for dining, but also when not in use). Also make sure that you leave some space either side - you don’t want your dining guests to be wedged in like sardines. Avoid buying chairs that are less than 50cm wide as they won’t be wide enough for sitting comfortably (more so by the end of the meal if you have done a good job in the kitchen). Also think about the shape of your table. If it is round or oval the space underneath may be limited so (again), make sure all the chairs can be pushed under easily when it is not in use. As a practical guide, allow around 60cm of tabletop for each person at a rectangular table and about 75cm for a circular table.

If you want to add a splash of cool contemporary to the dining area, really think about options for your dining chairs; you could opt for a fifties classic such as Arne Jacobsen’s ant chairs in bent plywood or Ero Saarinen’s moulded fiberglass ‘Tulip chair’. The least expensive choice (and one that I absolutely love) is a collection of old non-matching chairs from a junk shop or auction room.  These can be stripped back to bare wood and finished with wax or painted in the same colour to create a sense of unity. Old and new pieces can look really good together as long as you follow a few simple rules. Contrasting styles work best when the surroundings are understated... so, think plain walls and plain floors. Link different aged items using the texture and colour of upholstery fabrics.

Lighting:  Lighting is critically important for setting the right mood in the dining room. Hanging a pendant low over the dining table literally puts the table (and unfortunately for some, your food) in the spotlight. But make sure that it isn’t too low - you don’t want dinner guests ducking under the light to speak to one another, banging their heads or, when tipsy, thinking that a UFO is landing.

Lighting is also a key feature, especially in open plan areas where you are trying to delineate between the cooking, living and eating areas. For instance, in the kitchen you will require sharp directional lighting for food preparation. However, in the dining room the lighting should be soft and atmospheric. So, in the kitchen you may use spotlights but in the dining area you may want to complement this with a pendant (as described earlier). This helps create a distinctive space and an atmosphere of intimacy, quite different from the surrounding area.

Below are a few examples of eating areas that I love - you will probably notice that I haven’t focused on statement objects and artwork in the dining room as part of this article, but you can see from the images below that they can also have a huge impact...

(Image from Danish Magazine Rum) 

 (Image from Plastolux via The Diversion Project)

 (Image from LLoyd Ralph Design - James Tse Photography)


 (Image from Style Files)

So, what’s the measure of success?  Well, if you can drag your clan away from the multitude of distractions that are part of our everyday life to eat a meal round the table then you are doing something right from a design perspective.  If you can’t, you can always order out for pizza and join them round the telly...

Jane Price-Stephens runs her own Interior Design business, to find out more visit: www.janepricestephens.com, http://janepricestephens.blogspot.com/, follow Jane on twitter @jpricestephens or call 07970 547433
 

BOB BORSON, ARCHITECT There is an expression that I use probably more than I should: They've got a big bag of nothing... It’s not much different than saying someone is “full of hot air” or “all talk and no action”. The meaning behind this phrase is a person who will talk at length about a subject they don’t know anything about. Lately, I have been using this phrase while trying to describe different types of clients and the way they approach their construction budgets – and yes, it involves bags – (but in this case, the bag is an metaphor for the clients project budget).

Quantity over Quality

Client #1 views their bag as empty but sized to accommodate the budget – i.e. – they can put €500,000 worth of stuff in that bag. The way they perceive things, they select a project item and put it into the bag. After a while, the bag is full but they still have items left that they want inside that €500,000 capacity bag … so what do they do? They cram it on top, jam it into the side – whatever it takes as long as it gets - in - the - bag. Don’t worry about the fact that some of the items already in there are getting smashed, broken, deformed … it doesn’t matter. If everything has to get a little worse so that there is more "stuff" in there, than they are happy.

Quality over Quantity

Client #2 has their bag but the way they see things, their €500,000 budget money is already in the bag. As they select items from their list, they take some money out of the bag to cover the expense. When the bag is empty, they stop pulling items off their list. They may not get as much "stuff" but what they do get is going to be exactly what they wanted.

This type of "get more for less" type thinking is fairly unique when working with clients who don’t have experience dealing with project costs. Most people go though their daily routines selecting items based on a balance of want vs. need vs. cost. It’s a skill that most people master out of necessity.

I try to help my clients understand the importance of identifying a budget and sticking to it – but I also put a lot of importance on setting priorities and understanding the cost of the things they want in their projects. Get what you need and then start adding items from your wish list. All too often I hear horror stories of very intelligent and successful people that make terrible decisions based on what makes sense to them – despite any evidence to the contrary. If they don’t get everything they want for what they think it should cost, then they simply move from contractor to contractor until they find someone who tells them what they want to hear. Do I really need to tell you that the end of that story is never a happy one?

“Sure, I can build your dream house for €80 a foot … you didn’t think that you were going to get straight walls for that price right?”

“What do you mean you can’t get it to cool below 80 degrees? Was that important ’cause at €80 a foot, I didn’t price it with air conditioning.”

“You bought our ‘Atrium’ style plan' …  at €80 a foot, it doesn’t come with a roof. Roofs cost extra.”

 While it might seem like I’m poking fun at contractors – I’m not. If you are getting the same basic pricing from everyone who looks at your project, you can’t expect to find one who can still give you what you want without there being consequences. If three bids come in and they are all around €100k over your project budget, the solution isn’t to find cheaper contractors. The solution is to re-evaluate the scope of work to be done and the appropriateness of the level of quality.

If you are one of the people out there reading this, shaking your head in agreement, then you should pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for grasping what seems like an easy concept – when you have been educated or are experienced in this process ... you clearly have a bag with something in it. Too bad everyone doesn’t think like you do because there are a lot of people walking around out there with a big bag of junk.

Bob Borson is an architect practicing in Dallas, Texas, and writes a blog on what it's like to be and work with an architect. To find out more, visit Life of an Architect, catch up with Bob on Facebook, or follow Bob on twitter @bobborson 

JANE PRICE-STEPHENS, INTERIOR DESIGNER It’s a fact - people tend to gravitate towards the kitchen when you throw a party (because that’s where the booze and the food is...).  But it’s also worth recognising that the kitchen is where much of the drama surrounding everyday life tends to take place in your home - it’s not just a space for cooking and eating (although these things can be dramas in themselves, particularly if you are a terrible cook or have very young children).  Kitchens have become the social hubs of our homes.  A place for social gatherings, chatting and having coffee with friends and family, playing with our

children and animals, doing homework (and music practice - although soundproofing may be required...) and where household admin gets sorted (or left in a really big pile for months and months and months, or maybe that’s just me...).

Before we get to the expensive bit, it is worth recognising that to enable all of these activities and to be able to accommodate the workspace that these things demand, a large and practical family kitchen table is an absolute must! At a minimum, the kitchen table is a place where everyone can sit down and eat together, but it also acts as the essential gathering place for the family to complete many of the activities listed above.

Beyond the table, kitchens are one of the major areas of expenditure in the home. Even the most basic kitchen storage costs money... surface and finishes can also be very expensive and that’s before you consider the question of investment in appliances and equipment. So, irrespective of your clients’ level of culinary expertise or their interest in cooking, it needs very careful planning ...and being perfectly honest, effective planning matters much more than size when it comes to creating a functional and workable kitchen space.  That said, you can obviously do much more if you have a huge kitchen space, but I remember having a very functional kitchen in my first home in London - a titchy one bedroom flat in Maida Vale!

The ‘work triangle’ concept was developed in the 1950s and established the ideal position for the cooker (hot area), the fridge (cold area) and sink unit (wet area). It provides guidance on the optimal distance between these three points so that work is carried out not only efficiently but also as comfortably as possible. The recommended overall distance on adding up the three sides of the triangle is 6m with no two points being less that 90cm apart.

The basic principle of the ‘work triangle’ applies to most kitchens irrespective of size. The application of the ‘work triangle’ results in a number of basic kitchen layouts:

1. Single Line - arranging everything along one wall, you will need at least 3m of wall space. This works well in narrow and restricted spaces (think flats and studio areas)
2. L-Shaped Layouts - arranged on two flanking walls, or one of the arms of the L can act as a spatial divider in an open-plan area
3. U-Shaped Layouts - offers the maximum amount of storage and working space
4. Gallery Layouts - with cupboards on the facing wall, which also suits narrow and confined spaces
5. Island Layouts - ideal for inclusive, sociable kitchens. Some of the main kitchen functions are located on the central workstation

A good way to create additional space for a large family oriented kitchen is to absorb adjacent rooms or areas into the kitchen (such as the dining room or a utility space) or extend a short way into the garden, either to the side (the famous ‘side return’) or to the rear, or both if you are lucky enough to have sufficient outdoor space!

If your clients’ are fortunate enough to already have a generous family kitchen it means their children (and other family members) are more likely to congregate in this space and, as a consequence, they become more familiar with routine domestic tasks (most of which take place in the kitchen) - they may even be persuaded to help with food preparation and washing up (but perhaps I am being overly optimistic in this respect...).  This being the case, it is worth bearing in mind that the kitchen is a family space and should be designed as such - I doubt you are trying to recreate the type of industrial kitchen space that you would find in a restaurant (although these are quite popular in modern apartments and bachelor pads, even if seldom used to their full potential)... so, while practicality and usability is an absolute must, this principle applies equally to everyone who will be using the space and must also reflect all the things your clients’ plan to do in their kitchens.

Stating the obvious, but it is also a good idea to locate the kitchen where you have easy access to outside (this is often the case anyway) - this means that on fine days, even the most basic of activities that are usually completed in the kitchen can spill into the outdoors - this includes but is not restricted to; food preparation, cooking (BBQs) and eating.

Below are a few examples of kitchens that I love...

(Image from Architecturaldigest photo by Robert Rufino)

(Image from For My Home by Jami Goldsmith)

(Image from Style Files)

 
As I said, kitchens can be expensive, but they are one of the most frequently used and abused spaces in your home.  It’s also worth bearing in mind that spending as much as you can on storage (good quality hinges and handles, etc.), workspace (stone if possible) and finishes (good quality tiles and paints) can extend the lifetime of your kitchen.  I am sure that the ‘trusted estate agents’ would agree that a well designed kitchen can disproportionately increase the value of your home...

Jane Price-Stephens runs her own Interior Design business, to find out more visit: www.janepricestephens.com, http://janepricestephens.blogspot.com/, follow Jane on twitter @jpricestephens or call 07970 547433
 

KARINE KONG, RETAILER Last December, I highlighted that while the lack of financial and human resources may not be easy for small businesses to achieve great customer service, it's not impossible and I hope that by implementing the few changes I mentioned, you've already seen a bit of a difference in your day-to-day work if not, now is the time to action things. For the past 15 years, I have been using January as the key month to reflect on life, goals I set to myself and those I want to achieve.

Small or big, I've always felt that writing my goals down make them more real and train the brain to be ready when the right opportunity comes, so you jump on it rather than freak out.

In my twenties, I read a lot of books on personal development. My favourite ones are by far:

-  The 7 Habits of Highly effective People by Stephen Covey,

- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki which made me understood, why, although very tempting, I should still wait before treating myself with liabilities like a vintage MG to cruise the streets of London or a Mehari for our holiday home in France

- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, which is more a fiction book but taught me a lot about vision and integrity.

- A last one that I have purchased but not read yet and which was highly recommended by Nathalie Massenet, Founder of Net-A-Porter, is Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain

On my list of past goals - now achieved - was leaving France to move to London, having a bilingual child, giving up smoking, being in a happy relationship, be successful at work and being featured in Living Etc or Elle Decoration. So far, everything on the personal side has been achieved and having a full page dedicated to My Interiors Life in Living Etc (January issue) was well beyond my expectations but prove my point...there isn't such a thing as a small dream.

So if you have not done your list yet, take an afternoon off this month to list all your goals from small ones, easy to achieve to BIG, OUT OF THIS WORLD ones.

Since I have launched BODIE and FOU, I have applied the same method to the business and use January & February to reflect on the past year and on what we have achieved as a business.

For instance, we successfully launched our first mail order catalogue and have a small Summer brochure on the way (which you can request here). We reached 4000 fans on Facebook last week while our goal was 3000 by end of year 2011, increased our turnover, profit margin, average order value and customer base and we still achieved 95% positive feedback on our customer service and product range.

Once you have drawn conclusions on your past year of trading, list the goals you want to achieve for your business.

If your busiest trading time is Christmas like us, my advice is to focus on making changes and improving your ways of working during the first 6 months so that you can focus on making the Christmas campaign a successful one from June onwards.

On my list of things to achieve this year is improving our systems to work smarter rather than harder, sorting out our IT system and stock system, improving the navigation of our website (which is something you should constantly improve) and be focused on what we know works for us to get better at it.

Karine

PS: You can join me on Facebook, Twitter and read about my creative projects and things that inspire me on the BODIE and FOU Blog. Until next time!

BOB BORSON, ARCHITECT

Last month I spoke a little bit about how important it is to take advantage of your personality when you are a design professional. In my efforts to be brief, I left out some important things in the post that I now regret and it has been bothering me ever since. It should have read:

"Personality goes a long way in this business, so take advantage of yours (unless you are a tool)  and become friends with your clients".

Based on the emails I received, I should have added "unless you are a tool" in the original because nobody (except perhaps their mothers?) likes working with those sorts of designers.

One other thing that I left out that goes hand in hand with the idea of using your personality to your advantage, is that you need to have an opinion and you have to be able to support and articulate why you have the opinions that you do. That is what makes you "the professional".

It may sound arrogant, but my opinion is better than yours. It’s true and I can tell you why. That’s why my opinion's better – it's because I can tell you why it's better.

Most formally educated designers have been trained to understand why they like something and to then be able to communicate those reasons. While you might like a certain shade of orange because it’s pretty, I might say I like that shade of orange because the way the light hits it causes the surrounding areas to change and that modifies the perception of the size of the room.

It frequently happens that a client will bring in a photo of a space and tell me that this is what they want - that they like "this". When I ask them what is it about "this" particular image that they like, the response is a generic: "I just do, it feels right". Continuing my line of questioning about specifics, we discover that they don't really like the colours... or the furniture... or the fixtures. What they are responding to is the mood based on room size, ceiling height, amount of window compared to wall, etc.

Not being able to understand why you like a certain thing doesn’t mean you're wrong for liking it or that there’s no value in your opinion, it’s just that I can evaluate the motivations for why I perceive things a particular way. Being able to express the reasons for evaluating a thing makes that judgment more valid. It also allows you to recreate the successes you have without having to literally recreate the space.

It isn’t a gift, but it is a skill that takes a long time to develop and understand, and I work at it constantly. One unfortunate side effect is that I drive my wife crazy explaining to her my (unsolicited) thoughts why some coffee shop or restaurant is laid out poorly, has silly lighting and inappropriate furniture.

The ability of any designer to be any good at what they do is their ability to listen to a client who can’t describe why they like something other than they like it, and explain to them what they are looking at and describe it for them. Hopefully, the process will get you both to the essence of what makes a thing great and apply those qualities to something new without resorting to copying.

Bob Borson is an architect practicing in Dallas, Texas, and writes a blog on what it's like to be and work with an architect. To find out more, visit Life of an Architect, Catch up with Bob on Facebook, or follow Bob on twitter @bobborson 

JANE PRICE-STEPHENS, INTERIOR DESIGNER

Over the coming months I'm going to explore the concept of ‘beautifying your clients’ homes, both inside and out’. Let’s start with the Living Room, probably one of the most important spaces in the home. (Some of you might argue that the kitchen is more important these days, but let's cover that idea in a future article!)

In simple terms, the living room is where your client's family and friends spend the greatest amount of time.

In the olden days, the living room/sitting room/lounge/drawing room/parlour/front room (delete as appropriate - your preferred name will provide an insight into your societal ranking, i.e. class...) had the straightforward purpose of communicating to visitors your status, wealth and (impeccable) taste. As a result, many of these rooms were hardly ever used, just in case anything got worn or broken.

As society has changed over the years and we have evolved to communicate our status through cars, watches and Jimmy Choo shoes, the function of the living room has changed too and, strangely enough, it is now a place to enjoy a book, read a newspaper, listen to relaxing music, watch TV or to entertain.  Or, if you are lucky enough to have kids, to kill people and crash cars on your WiiStation 360.

I typically advise clients when designing their living room not to get too preoccupied with what other people will think (no pressure, but if you get it right they are sure to like it anyway...) - this is a room where your client is going to spend a lot of time so you need to make sure it reflects their personal style and preferences. In order to create their ideal living space, I always advise clients to tear images that they like out of magazines for inspiration; Whether it is images of complete rooms or specific pieces of furniture, over time you will see a theme that emerges and this can be your point of reference when designing the room. It is important to try to adhere to this theme wherever possible and keep 'the bigger picture’ in mind when designing the room as this will really help in driving consistency and ensuring you create a space that incorporates furnishings that work together rather than against each other. Once you have a theme that your client loves, it should make the process of choosing paint colours, sofas, fabrics, chairs and curtains much easier.

Within the living space, the sofa is probably going to be the largest, most impactful and most frequently-used piece of furniture. As a consequence, I think it is absolutely crucial that careful consideration is given when choosing a sofa and you explore a range of options at different price points so you can see how different they can be, both in terms of appearance and comfort. A sofa can also represent a significant investment and something your client has in the room for a relatively long period of time, so it’s worth investing the time up front. Here are my top tips for choosing your perfect sofa...

1. STYLE: Stating the obvious perhaps, but choose a style that complements the home and the overarching theme that you have chosen. From a design perspective, a sofa that reaches right down to the floor visually fills a larger room better than a sofa with defined legs and thinner arms, which may be better suited to a smaller room.

2. SIZE: Size matters - how much of the room do you want the sofa to occupy? Do you actually want it to be the focal point of the entire space and dominate your living room? If so, you may want to go for a large L-shaped sofa... it’s brilliant for entertaining, but also practical for kids, watching TV, having a little doze, etc., etc.  But always remember the consequences of buying a sofa that is too small - I am pretty sure your client will get fed up with it very quickly, particularly when you are tired and need comfort and space.

3. FUNCTION: Decide on the job your client wants their sofa to do. It is important to consider their lifestyle and to understand honestly what they typically spend most of their time doing in the living room. This will have an impact on the spatial planning of the living room and the orientation of their sofa - it will also have a huge impact on whether they use the sofa (if you get it wrong) and, as a consequence, whether they use the space to its full potential.

4. MATERIAL: Aesthetic is important, but functionality is key when it comes to choosing a material for the sofa. I would love an off white sofa in my own home as they can look absolutely stunning, but they are so dangerous if, like me, you have a dog that eats about three sofas a day and a cat with a superiority complex. Be careful when picking the material to upholster your sofa, particularly if they have pets, children or if it is going to be exposed to direct sunlight. For instance, leather is aesthetically pleasing but can be scratched and punctured easily (it also bleaches in the sun). Fabric on the other hand can be prone to staining and pilling. If you are buying a new sofa it is worth investing the extra few hundred quid to get it covered with a protective coating that will add to its lifetime - most of the higher end sofa retailers offer this as an option.

5. COST: It is also worth bearing in mind that you get what you pay for with a sofa. Expensive sofas made from hardwood, with dowelled joints and steel coil springs will last for many years, whereas cheaper models made with staples and lower cost materials cannot be expected to last long. Like a bed, a sofa is a worthwhile investment.

Below are a few images of sofas I love...

(Image by Frederico Cedpone, for Poliform)

(Image from B&B Italia)

(Image by Frederico Cedpone, for Poliform)

Jane Price-Stephens runs her own Interior Design business. To find out more visit: www.janepricestephens.com, http://janepricestephens.blogspot.com/ or call 07970 547433.

One of the highlights of INTERIORS UK 2012 was the Designersblock Design Village – filled with creativity and activity. While most of the exhibitors in the village were showing products for the home, there was one exception...a singing, dancing shoe maker.

Peter Bullock, shoe designer, maker and restorer, brought some drama to the INTERIORS UK Design Village area with ‘live shoe-making theatre’.

His products are not strictly-speaking interiors-related, but Peter’s fashionable leather brogues are all designed and made in Britain – and we think they’re good-looking enough to be used as ornaments in the home when they’re not being worn!

Peter says he makes: “...footwear for fast feet to put a spring in your step”, and is inspired by his early days on the dance floor. He might have hung up his dancing shoes, but his passion for soul music hasn’t dwindled – Peter could often be heard singing while he worked on his stand at INTERIORS UK.

Justyna Sowa, INTERIORS UK Social Media Manager, is a big fan of Peter’s patent lilac brogues. “They’re so comfortable to wear,” she told INTERIORS UK. “I feel like dancing every time I put them on!”

VIPs and journalists at INTERIORS UK 2012 have been admiring the beautiful gallery of Colour Charts on display in the Press room at the back of Hall 2.

Back in 2010, artist and photographer Chris Eckersley took a series of close-up photos in the Winterbourne Botanical Gardens (part of the University of Birmingham) showing stunning flowers, leaves and plant details. He then used the photos to create a series of colour palettes, taking six colours from each image and matching and mixing paint colours to match.

It's amazing how harmonious and beautiful the results are - the colour combinations are far more beautiful than any paint manufacturer could ever hope to achieve.

Chris has now started to use his colour palettes to create bespoke pieces of furniture now - such as the Arden Two sideboard for Liberty & Co.

You can find out more about his work on his website.