Design Diary: Week 3
Tuesday-June 16th
Today I priced a fabric book that came in and put up memos that we had ordered for a client. The Jerry Pair rep had sent us an updated price list so I went through all the memo's we had from them and removed all the discontinued fabrics. I am learning that a big part of the daily duties of a designer involve keeping accurate records, updating price lists and inventory, and knowing the selling demographic of the area as well as your clients own preferences. We had a walk-in today who was interested in selling/buying antique rugs. Sharon (the bookkeeper) and I were there only ones there and it was a bit odd because he said he was just walking the neighborhood and decided to stop in. Regardless, we gave him information about our local rug supplier and had a good chat about his experiences with antiquing and working with decorators and designers in south Florida and LA. He was interesting to say the least. I finished the day by organizing reference magazines by date and type. The office gets many magazines for reference and inspiration such as Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Traditional Home, and many others and they had them all the way back to 2004. The goal is to slowly eliminate issues that are no longer relevant but for now, they are easily accessible and organized.
Wednesday-June 17th
This morning, right when I came in, I was greeted by two rather large packages that included beautiful gas outdoor lanterns with a patina copper finish from Carolina Lanterns. We also received two ceiling medallions for the same client for their master bedroom and dining room. I spent most of the day picking out finish and fixture options for the older, 1920's house that we measured last week. The average person would not realize how many details go in to a single room. For instance, all of these finishes are for a small bathroom and include paint options, floor tile, shower tile, beadboard inspiration, chair rail, cabinet paint/ finish, countertop options, door trim, wall sconces, commode, sink, and shower fixtures, faucets, and general inspiration for this spa-like bathroom. The pictures below show part of this selection process.
One thing design students should understand is the process of selecting finishes and showing them to a client. Normally, creating neat little project boards with inspiration and finishes and presenting them to the client (much like presenting school projects) just does not happen in the real design world. It is not always time efficient or practical to create a design board when most clients want to be able to touch the materials and move them around to get a sense of the desired look. Most residential designers present their ideas by laying out and explaining the various options to the client as shown above. As I was picking out these finishes and fixtures I was surprised at how much information Amy knew about the products when I didn't know where to start. She pointed out catalogs, specific products, and even paint color names and numbers that she knew might work in this space. I hope to someday be as knowable about the products and resources surrounding me so that I can make quick and beautiful selections. I finished the day by selecting traditional styled furniture from popular companies such as Hickory Chair, Century Furniture, and Global Views. These selections were for a clients living and dining space and were selected based on current furnishings that are being reused in the space, traditional styling, as well as some historical inspirations from the empire and late georgian times periods.
Thursday-June 18th
This morning, we visited a local tile showroom for Florida Tile http://www.floridatile.com to pick up more samples to show our bathroom redo client. We also explored their new products including a very new to the market idea of very thin porcelain tile. This product has the thickness of a VCT commercial tile (3-5mm thick) but the durability of porcelain. This rectified and digitally engineered tile allows easy installation as it can be installed over existing floors and is ideal for outdoor and commercial applications. Amy is currently looking into contractors in the local area who are qualified to install this new product so that she can recommend it to a few of her clients.
After lunch, the Wall Fab fabric and wall covering rep came by and showed off new products. The rep's family actually owns the Wall Fab company which is located in Miami. Wall Fab reps many different companies including Bella Dura, Scalamandre, Stout textiles, Sunbrella, Maxwell, and Maria Flora. Most of these companies are middle of the range as far as price point but Scalamandre in particular has made their prices more affordable in recent months. Next we needed to spec roller shades for a kitchen window. Amy gave me a quick lesson on how to measure windows, and select the right treatment (shades, shutters, blinds, drapes, or combination). I learned that Hunter Douglas and Skandia are great companies to start with when searching for window treatments as they have many options and styles. I went through one of out Skandia books and took out discontinued products while also selecting two options for blackout roller shades. Next, I helped make selections for another bathroom project including wall coverings, vanity, tile, fixtures, etc. This is the project I found inspiration for last week with the ideas of "luxurious" golds, creams, blacks, and grays for a very high end look. We are presenting two different color scheme options with one being more traditional, and light but still rich and the other including more blacks and rich golds. Last project of the day was packaging and loading the gas lanterns and medallions into Amy's car so she could deliver them safely to the job site the next morning making sure they were packaged securely.
That is the highlights of what was accomplished this week. I am also keeping an ongoing list of companies, and products to research that might be beneficial in the future. I'm really enjoying observing what my career could hold in the next 10 years.
Design Diva,
K.L.E
Today I priced a fabric book that came in and put up memos that we had ordered for a client. The Jerry Pair rep had sent us an updated price list so I went through all the memo's we had from them and removed all the discontinued fabrics. I am learning that a big part of the daily duties of a designer involve keeping accurate records, updating price lists and inventory, and knowing the selling demographic of the area as well as your clients own preferences. We had a walk-in today who was interested in selling/buying antique rugs. Sharon (the bookkeeper) and I were there only ones there and it was a bit odd because he said he was just walking the neighborhood and decided to stop in. Regardless, we gave him information about our local rug supplier and had a good chat about his experiences with antiquing and working with decorators and designers in south Florida and LA. He was interesting to say the least. I finished the day by organizing reference magazines by date and type. The office gets many magazines for reference and inspiration such as Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Traditional Home, and many others and they had them all the way back to 2004. The goal is to slowly eliminate issues that are no longer relevant but for now, they are easily accessible and organized.
Wednesday-June 17th
This morning, right when I came in, I was greeted by two rather large packages that included beautiful gas outdoor lanterns with a patina copper finish from Carolina Lanterns. We also received two ceiling medallions for the same client for their master bedroom and dining room. I spent most of the day picking out finish and fixture options for the older, 1920's house that we measured last week. The average person would not realize how many details go in to a single room. For instance, all of these finishes are for a small bathroom and include paint options, floor tile, shower tile, beadboard inspiration, chair rail, cabinet paint/ finish, countertop options, door trim, wall sconces, commode, sink, and shower fixtures, faucets, and general inspiration for this spa-like bathroom. The pictures below show part of this selection process.
Thursday-June 18th
This morning, we visited a local tile showroom for Florida Tile http://www.floridatile.com to pick up more samples to show our bathroom redo client. We also explored their new products including a very new to the market idea of very thin porcelain tile. This product has the thickness of a VCT commercial tile (3-5mm thick) but the durability of porcelain. This rectified and digitally engineered tile allows easy installation as it can be installed over existing floors and is ideal for outdoor and commercial applications. Amy is currently looking into contractors in the local area who are qualified to install this new product so that she can recommend it to a few of her clients.
After lunch, the Wall Fab fabric and wall covering rep came by and showed off new products. The rep's family actually owns the Wall Fab company which is located in Miami. Wall Fab reps many different companies including Bella Dura, Scalamandre, Stout textiles, Sunbrella, Maxwell, and Maria Flora. Most of these companies are middle of the range as far as price point but Scalamandre in particular has made their prices more affordable in recent months. Next we needed to spec roller shades for a kitchen window. Amy gave me a quick lesson on how to measure windows, and select the right treatment (shades, shutters, blinds, drapes, or combination). I learned that Hunter Douglas and Skandia are great companies to start with when searching for window treatments as they have many options and styles. I went through one of out Skandia books and took out discontinued products while also selecting two options for blackout roller shades. Next, I helped make selections for another bathroom project including wall coverings, vanity, tile, fixtures, etc. This is the project I found inspiration for last week with the ideas of "luxurious" golds, creams, blacks, and grays for a very high end look. We are presenting two different color scheme options with one being more traditional, and light but still rich and the other including more blacks and rich golds. Last project of the day was packaging and loading the gas lanterns and medallions into Amy's car so she could deliver them safely to the job site the next morning making sure they were packaged securely.
That is the highlights of what was accomplished this week. I am also keeping an ongoing list of companies, and products to research that might be beneficial in the future. I'm really enjoying observing what my career could hold in the next 10 years.
Design Diva,
K.L.E
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