Services

LIFE TRANSITIONS

We handled downsizing, up-sizing or just new-sizing, optimally designing for the changing  needs for our clients’ seasons of life.  We liked to call it Just Right-Sizing!  We helped with multi-generational living modifications, Universal Design and Aging in Place.

NEW CONSTRUCTION

Many of our clients were newly constructing their home, or making additions, and needed furniture plans, light control solutions, and materials and finishes selections.  Pre-construction is the best time to plan all of the interconnected elements of design.

HAVE DIFFICULTY VISUALIZING SPACE?

Sometimes clients can be great at selecting color schemes and textures, but  just can’t visualize a room that is equally functional and aesthetically beautiful.   We specified optimum layout solutions and furniture sizes, providing true to scale drawings of floor plans, and 3D visualizations.

View Our 3d Imagery Video

TOO TIRED, TOO BUSY FOR DIY?

Life is busy and it can be hard to find the time, or even the motivation to actually move your project forward, leaving you stuck in a proverbial rut.  Plugging away on your own, progress seems elusive.  We found that often all that is needed is a bit of consultative design direction…or sometimes just handing-off strategic portions of a project that keep things at a stand-still.

DIY

Doing it yourself is not only a popular home improvement strategy, it can be a budget friendly way to help achieve your goals for a liveable, workable, likeable environment. Providing, of course, that there is a good plan.

Your unique vision needs to incorporate your own ‘non negotiables’.  Non-negotiables that allow, perhaps, for only minor modifications of the existing built environment. Or modifications that must be restricted to a very short timeline.  Or maybe you want to ensure you’ve considered the details for the new small addition that you’ll be building yourself.

Perhaps there’s non-negotiables like needing to integrate a family-heirloom stained-glass window.  Or your mom’s Mid Century Modern dining room set.  Or maybe there’s brand new kitchen and bath flooring that came with the house but you’re not willing for a re-do.  The floor has a beautiful pattern but an unusual color that needs to pleasingly integrate with the rest of the room, and you’re stumped.

The best outcome for Do It Yourselfers is to do it with a simple plan.  It’s a good time to consider getting a good consultation with a good designer!

MISSING THE FINISHING TOUCHES?

Maybe the missing pieces to an optimized interior include art, accessories and some finishing touches, or perhaps a single piece of new furniture, or area rug.   A simple re-design, or accessorizing is the way to go.

AGING IN PLACE? LOOKING FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGN?

Some clients already love their home and never want to leave it.   Now more than ever, supportive solutions for lifelong living in one’s own home are available.  And those solutions can be beautifully integrated within the design of the home.

DO YOU HAVE APPROPRIATE LIGHTING?

Adequate, flexible and attractive lighting can sometimes be an afterthought when clients are considering improving interior spaces. But lighting is one of the central components in optimizing any interior space. Today’s lighting options have never been better!  Good lighting dramatically improves one’s quality of life.

IS COLOR CONFUSING?

It’s no wonder! Near infinity is the number of colors appearing in the natural world!  The human eye can only see a fraction, and how we see colors is profoundly connected with the conditions of the light in which we see it.  Not just natural light, but the many color temperatures of light.   Our perception of a color is also profoundly affected by the colors surrounding it.  Maybe it could be argued that, given these realities, coordinating the many colors involved in an interior scheme is as much science as art.

Textiles, flooring, surfaces, finishes, and other materials… the list goes on, for things requiring color selection.  One can easily feel intimidated. The good news? Strategic use of color is possibly the most impactful tool we have to visually optimize space.

Color can unify, excite, calm, define, highlight, camouflage, and correct a multitude of aesthetic challenges! Further good news?  The color from a can of paint can provide one of the ‘biggest bangs for the buck’ because it can so profoundly and quickly transform a room.  You just need to get it right.  Always sample up color on several walls and at different times of the day before purchasing.

WORKING FROM HOME?

Where we work is increasingly fluid. Is there space in your home that is, or can be, a hub for productive thinking, working, creating, planning? Is it ergonomically comfortable? Is the equipment, and are the tools, quickly accessible in proximity to the desk area? Is there adequate and convenient storage to maintain an uncluttered environment? Are there information systems in place for taming any ‘paper tiger’ challenges? Is there adequate lighting?

Does the ambiance make you want to be in the space, and thus provide motivation to ‘get to work’? Combining design services with organizing services is a smart approach to optimizing the space that is often the ‘creative brain center’ or even ‘livelihood center’ of the home!

DISORGANIZATION AND STORAGE CHALLENGES?

Maybe life seems to have taken some twists and turns, seemingly high-jacking your efforts to maintain order in your home. You may, or may not, have had difficulty maintaining order in the past. Maybe you just want to ensure good organizing and storage strategies are incorporated into your new design plan.  But maybe there are existing storage or closet issues that need improving and/or updating.

Good organization practices and systems,  and well organized spaces are the backbone for ‘getting things done’!  Pursue an organizing fresh-start.   Learn the tricks of the trade for getting and staying organized. Get your closets and furnishings ship-shape for storage.  Do an organizing supercharge to to give you more time for living your life!

CUSTOM BUILT INS ARE SUPER SPACE SAVERS!

Built-ins and sometimes closet systems are often, and understandably more expensive than ready-made storage furniture.  However the ultimate value is usually very significant, for both personal satisfaction and a home’s resale value.

Now, more than ever, closet systems and built-ins are unparalleled for making every inch count.  The gained storage and functionality can’t be overestimated when incorporated into small spaces, or even larger rooms requiring multi-purpose use.  Family Rooms, Guest rooms, Home Offices, are prime candidates.  Good design maximizes limited space, beautifully.

FULL SERVICE DESIGN

For some, the ideal is to have a reliable and trusted design team and their associated trades resources, provide a near-turnkey experience.  Time then, to entrust your project to a good designer, conveying how you want your home to function, feel and look.  You can transform your vision into a reality with Full Service Design.