The Roanoker July/August 2024 - 92

Homes
remotely timeless, versatile or easy to design around? While
I can't share a one-size-fits-all rule book, I can tell you what
general principles we're keeping in mind as we tackle this
particular challenge.
VISUAL COMMUNICATION
If there's anything I've learned from years of creative work,
it is that nothing is more essential to a collaborative visual
project than an image. Words are fluid and nuanced in a way
that can lead to gaps in expectations between the designer
and the client. An image pins down the details, making it
much easier to visualize ideas and specify likes and dislikes
that language might miss.
For example, I am particularly less than excited by my
client's insistence on every aspect of her new room coming
in saturated neon pinks and purples. This doesn't even come
down to my own visual preferences alone, but other essential
considerations, like understanding how that quality of color
will interact with one another, how it will change the feeling
of the space and the short-term devotion the client is likely
to have for these hues. It's not exactly sustainable or feasible
to do a full color-related overhaul of her bedroom every few
years. But communicating this to a four-year-old requires
pictures.
With a general knowledge of her color interests, I started
looking for images of kids' rooms that used those colors as well
92 july/August 2024
as a mix of others to start a low-stakes mood board. Through
this process, we've discovered that there are actually a lot of
other colors that we both like -- like sea green and soft teal --
which offer a complementary base for the pinks and purples
she wants. She's also found a number of shades of pinks and
purples that she likes in different contexts, like in paint trim
instead of all the walls, or concentrated in the closet for a
dramatic pop when the door opens. My client simply didn't
have a frame of reference for these ideas without the photos.
Now, searching on Pinterest and adding to our mood board
is a fun, collaborative experience that is helping us to expand
our options so that when we finally narrow down our choices,
they will be well-informed and hopefully something we can
love for years to come.
FIRM BOUNDARIES, HELD LOOSELY
This somewhat contradictory concept is key to designing with
our kid: While we want her to have a feeling of freedom and
some sense of authority in the process, there are also some
places where we are unwilling or unable to accommodate her
desires (a hand-painted mural featuring her favorite cartoon
characters or installing a royal purple shag carpet is just not
in the cards, and there's no point beating around the bush
about it!). But holding our boundaries loosely to make this a
truly collaborative process means that we have to be open to
finding ways to incorporate her ideas elsewhere.
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The Roanoker July/August 2024

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