One Room Challenge Week 05: Design Presentation

In the beginning of the Spring, we launched a sneak peak into a furnishing & styling project for Articulated’s home workspace and our dining room as a One Room Challenge. You receive 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 steps in our design process are always at play, especially when it is for ourselves because there are way more twists and turns to navigate (with creatives who know all the options!) We had the brainiac 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 a traditional front living room is taking a back-seat. Our work flow follows the same paths many people have had to navigate during the pandemic. Therefore our project can showcase ways people can find work/life balance in their home base.

We are very ready to implement the changes for our home office space as we work which will mean that the project must not affect our current work load and our client projects. This weeks’ post is about the design presentation, it is the fifth of eight weekly posts following the One Room Challenge timeline with a final project reveal, and one bonus article. So enjoy a peak in our space and the process of starting a project with us.

The Design Presentation

A Design Presentation involves meeting together with your design professional to review the final planning, concepts and selections for the project - or the final design solution. Our presentation will outline the inventory of existing pieces, purchase investments, and the timelines that we should expect. The goal of the presentation is a final approval of the documents and material prepared before moving into the next phase. In this project, the next phase is procurement while in larger projects it will be Execution of the design into contract documents (click to read and learn more). From time to time, there may be changes or updates to the overall design presentation based upon feedback, but this does not mean a second presentation. Rather it means additional time is needed to make the changes requested and obtain a final approval before moving forward.

Depending on the project, a design presentation will review prepared documents. In this project, the prepared documents are:

• Furniture Installation Plan. Showing location and style of all furnishings, fixtures and equipment with a list of items.

• Wall Finish Plan. Illustrating where the wall finishes (e.g., paint and wallpaper, mouldings, etc.)

• Proposal. Itemizing the furniture, fixtures, and equipment (cross-referenced with the Furniture Installation Plan) that have been selected and specified, their purchase price, timeline, and additional fees like shipping and delivery.

• Styling Notes. Describing the styling considerations and notes because some Clients are eager to perform this part on their own.

Below you will see our final design presentation package for the space with furnishings and their finishes, fixtures and equipment for our 110 year old home. A key accent colour, Palladian Blue from Benjamin Moore, is a historic colour inspired by the English Regency period. The fictional Netflix series Bridgerton is based upon the same time period, and gives the viewers a taste of the colours, style, and exuberance of the era. This colour will frame the bay window and act as a backdrop for a regency inspired library table flanked by 2 modern chairs we are re-holstering to incorporate our take on the Memphis Style inspiration mentioned a few posts ago.

Addressing our Goals & Objectives

We have 3 different types of activities in our dining room: working, dining and entertaining. Our activity considerations follow the same challenges many of us have all had to navigate during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic while working from home. What we have uncovered is that a dedicated office space is needed, but it does not need to be in a commercial office space location for us to be successful in our business. As such, we aim to create a home base that provides balance for our typical activities such as:

1. Working. Business communications and connected activities such as in-person meetings, virtual meetings, telephone calls, e-mails, etc. In addition, we draft, draw, and plan design projects while utilizing our Client Studio Portal and the inevitable amount of technical equipment that comes with this. We work in a highly digital environment so having an extensive material library is not what is needed for us any longer (This was the case only 2 years ago).

2. Dining. Although it seems like we are eating at our desks, we make conscious efforts to end our day and share a meal together. This means we also need to be able to pack up our workspace and host friends and family for dinner.

3. Entertaining. Much entertaining occurs around the dinner table for us. This includes a cocktail area that can easily and quickly be expanded into a dining area as needed. Having a console or another surface to place platters and the cocktail station is essential for our style.

THE IMPORTANCE OF COLOUR

The art and science of colour theory is at the foundation of all our 12+ years of design work and not only in this project. Colour theory entered mainstream art and design professions in the 1920’s with the famous Bauhaus School in Germany. A core fundamental is understanding how colour and light interact with each other, as referenced by Joseph Albers in his book Interaction of Color. Corey and I both received foundational and advanced levels of colour theory as a part of our undergraduate studies - Corey at the School of Art at the University of Winnipeg, and me at Emily Carr University. Connected to colour, is our vast collection of flat works and three-dimensional art glass and objects such as our roughly 250 books. As such, our dining room and library will need to be the key feature in the space as our inspiration referenced.

Talking about Procurement

It is important during a design presentation to set the tone for the next phases. Getting some difficult topics out in the open provides a framework in how we consider the rest of the presentation. Currently, our most challenging topic is procurement and logistics - and they are changing every day. These market situations are part of a design presentation because they directly affect the projects outcome. Our design presentation is partly a strategy proposal and we encourage everyone to read our article The Influence of Economic Conditions On Design to start the conversation.

Our roles are not just to select frilly accessories. Procurement (or purchasing) has become important in the past 2 years of the pandemic with supply chain issues and changes to federal trade policies. Our procurement strategy is to locate pieces which enhance our existing collections of antiques and art and this allows us to find long-term value in how we inhabit the space. Delays have already been duly noted for items like the chandelier and console table, and, despite our best efforts, it seems likely that the dining room will not be finished by the time the One Room Challenge (ORC) ends this season. Its mandate 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 issues of supply chain not only continue to affect us, but our existing clients’ projects as well. For example, we have a kitchen that is almost complete but missing an oven which is due in October of 2022. Our mantra is to find the pieces that will be worth the wait, or find pieces that are suitable elsewhere. So we plan to update this blog series with a second reveal.

For this project, a strategy we were conscious to utilize was to locate local sources and artisans for as many of the items as possible. We are restoring the caning of chairs and reupholstering pieces we would aim to re-purpose. When you choose to give a piece a new life with upholstery and good quality fabric, you are keeping it from landfill and this is a sustainable design solution we employ whenever we can. The best part is that we are giving ourselves the opportunity to choose unique options to define our personal style.

But we do not claim to have all the answers.

Our design services rely upon both our expertise, and experience to give you the most relevant independent advice on your project. You might not be aware that when we work on a project there is usually a lot happening behind the scenes to make your project a success.

This is what you are paying for when you hire us.

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Articles in this series