One Room Challenge Week 01: The Project Scope
Before we introduce you to what Articulated is doing with the One Room Challenge, we wanted to share some background information. If you did not know (or it was not obvious before), Andrew (me) and Corey are a couple and we met 4 years ago. Through the magical world of online dating, we found that we had been living next door to each other in the West End of Vancouver BC for over 7 years already.
Fast forwarding to this challenge, since the start of the global pandemic we have been operating our interior design studio practice from our dining room and we love the extra time that we have (as design-nerds.) Over the last few years, we’ve updated some rooms in our 112 year-old home but we had the brainiac (maybe?) idea of flipping the purpose of some rooms around. For this One Room Challenge, we want to swap our separate dining and living rooms because the room has the most daylight throughout the day, meaning traditional front living room is taking a back-seat.
I am the first to admit that my collections have imposed some interesting topics of design discussions between the two of us. I find it difficult to expect that my experienced & award-winning interior designer partner and fiancé that he should not make changes to the spaces that I have lived for over 12 years. We have found a common style that we are really deeply passionate about because it embodies all of our eclecticisms and weirdness. This One Room Design Challenge provides the opportunity to realize a modern Memphis style inspiration and challenge the intended use of our living room.
The mission of the One Room Challenge is to “provide participants with a supportive, enthusiastic forum in which to share the process of transforming a room. The ORC is not a competition, but rather a celebration of creativity, inspiration, and original ideas.”
The Project Scope
The Existing Conditions
In the case of our project discovery, our dining room is not as oddly planned as it is over 110 years old. Designing interiors was a very different approach then and builders were both the interior and exterior designers. In this space, there are many competing focal points like the historic fireplace and mantle millwork, the bay window overlooking a busy park, and 2 passageways into the space and out onto the porch. This means that we will need to consider that the circulation through and within the room will need to be centralized. This is sure to impact furniture arrangements.
Goals & Objectives
Our goal and objectives for this project revolve around flipping our front living room into a dining room and workspace with the following key considerations:
Daylighting and views. We aim to consider a new furniture arrangement that allow direct daylighting and access to view to the park beyond with beautiful large trees outside. It affects our wellness and our connection to our community.
No structural/systems modifications. We do not intend to change any structural, power or lighting locations. Not only does this consideration impact the code-compliance requirements from our jurisdiction we must address, it also limits our exposure to heavy line-items in the project budget.
Multiple live/work activities. Space planning and furniture arrangements that support circulation for the space as a dining room, and then as a functional, creative and dynamic workspace.
Display of books/collections. Another requirement is to be able to create a space that we can functionally enjoy our collections.
Budget
We are the first to admit that identifying a reasonable budget is a challenge for the majority of owners. Our overall budget considers that there will be customizations that we will be making but also that the existing conditions are pretty spectacular and there will be things we will just have to live with because of mitigating factors. So for this project, we’ve set a budget goal not to exceed CAD$25,000.
Inspiration
Our inspirations for this room came from the book Bibiostyle: How to Live With Books by Nina Freudenberger and Sadie Stein. The many ways we live with our treasured volumes is at the heart of this book, including a historic Parisian apartment with a dining room combined with a library. This concept is something I have seen previously in magazines showcasing Parisian interiors and it seems like just the right thing for us because the room is already in an intact Late-Edwardian 112 year old multi-family residence.
Interior Detailing
Our room’s architectural details will become the bones of the room like you see in a contemporary Parisian apartment.
A colour scheme to be coordinated with our artwork, antique collections and books and other fabulous finds.
We will source, select and specify all wall finishes & upholstery, and textiles.
We are willing to design one-of-a-kind pieces, refinish/restore and reupholster, and consider applied design details which will be rather unexpected or unconventional.
There is one small hitch: we must integrate 4 matching 200-year-old Jacobean Revival style dining chairs.
Speaking of furniture, these pieces are designed to support the activities within the space as well as be objects of beauty and purpose. One of the most important features of any dining room is the dining table and most of our projects for eating spaces will begin with sourcing this furniture piece first. We often find that the dining table either inspired the entire space (because of its size and hierarchy of important) or often it is an inherited heirloom. The single most common oversight clients make selecting a dining table is the wrong size for both the space and the planned activities. It is an expensive error to make at the outset of a project, and in most cases we will recommend you remain “table-less” until you fully-determine these 2 requirements. For the 2 of us, we are approaching this journey in a similar fashion.
project summary
In the case of this project, the discovery reveals that most of the pieces are existing or will be locally sourced. The items affecting the timeline are the dining table, fabric, and custom upholstery. Our aim is that the execution of the design is kept as uncomplicated as possible because we are still working out of our home office during the implementation of this project. We might talk the process, but we also walk the process especially with creatives who are familiar with all the options and limitations!
Background: The Discovery Phase
The goal of the Discovery phase is to identify the design problems and develop a strategy to solve them. We begin with a complementary 30 minute Discovery Call. Like any job interview, we align the projects goals and objectives with schedules and project budget. From here, a 90 minute Design Work Session (in-person or online, depending on need) has a goal of reviewing the project site and gathering information that will aid in preparing a detailed Proposal for Design Work Services. Our proposal outlines what we think it will take to complete the design work being considered. Depending if you are an online, hybrid, or full-service type of client, fees will be hourly, fixed, or both. With a retainer and signed agreement, the design work is scheduled to begin. Learn more about our process.
What’s next:
As #designnerds we love the idea of doing something for just ourselves. With this One Room Challenge you get the inside scoop on a design project for our dining room and living room flip as well as follow along with our design process. The same steps in the process are always at play, especially when it is for ourselves because there are way more twists and turns to navigate (with creatives who change their mind and know all the options!).
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Articles in this series
Follow along with us during the One Room Challenge of our home workspace and dining room.