Hi Nigeria youth,
Over the next two weeks, starting from now, you will receive your free e-book in interior decorating via this platform, our believe is that you will transform this book into a business that will empower you into breaking forth into financial liberty, so you could help create wealth in our society.
This e-book spread over the next ten days will teach you:
1 How to Get Your Project Brief
2 How to Brain Storm Your Style Ideas
3 The Secrets to Using Color Well
4 Making Fabrics Work for You
5 How to Choose Fittings and Fixtures
6 What to Look for in Home Finishes
7 Furniture Placement Guidelines
8 How to Pull Your Decorating Scheme Together
9 The Finishing Touches
10 Taking Decorating a Step Further
So let's get started!
Interior Decorating e-course Part 1
How to Get Your Project Brief
How to Get Your Client or Project Brief
This sounds more professional than it really is, most things in
interior decorating can be broken down into processes. Then you can follow simple step by step methods to achieve them. This is how we achieve the client brief.
List up all the project's details, address, number of rooms, number of family members, pets, lifestyle (professional, family orientated, teenagers with lots of friends, babies, loads of pets, retired and relaxed, home office etc) current style of the house, the type of construction, the budget, the overall content of
the project (ie renovate the kitchen and bathrooms).
Take one item at a time and expand on them. For example Family Members - how many? What ages? What are their needs? This is especially important for the bathroom area - privacy, showers, baths, double basins, additional toilets etc. Current Style of the house, if it is a 1960's bungalow, what kind of style are you wanting to portray in the home? Is the whole house going to be updated eventually or simply the kitchen and bathrooms? Look for long term plans as well as present as these can effect the look of the whole house if it doesn't flow cohesively. The type of construction, this is vitally important for structural purposes, for example you may want to put granite bench tops in the kitchen, these are extremely heavy and if you had a timber framed floor would need additional engineering support for the floor, the same applies if you wanted to add marble to the bathroom floor on the first storey, again very heavy.
The Budget - this is a major part of the brief, a good designer brings their project in on budget, this keeps everyone happy! It means that when you do your initial planning you are realistic as to what materials, fittings and fixtures are affordable, and you can set a priority list and use it to get the best quality project for your money.
The Overall Changes - in other words, the scope of work. What do you want to do with your renovations. Is it simply a repaint with new carpet, drapes and furniture or more extensive construction and cabinetry work involved. List up what you want to achieve, what changes are required and to what rooms, what contractors will be involved and their input. This all helps when you want to define your budget and start prioritizing.
Lifestyle - this is important when it comes to finding the right style of decoration. You need to find out how the occupiers of the home work on a daily basis. It is no use having a stark white kitchen with clean sleek horizontal surfaces when you have toddlers and babies and you spend all day making food for them. Getting everything out and putting it away again and again. You need something with user friendly appliance storage, easy access and a more softened look if you are going to spend most of the day in the kitchen. Same thing for a mass of teenagers you would need to allow a large space for a huge refrigerator as they will also eat all day!
Then the most important part - the aesthetics! What style or look you or your client wants to achieve. This can also be the most difficult as it is the creative side of decorating. All the rest has been "accounting" lists and numbers, vitally important to any project but not the fun side of decorating that we all enjoy.
The Key to Successful Interior Design - Is a Good Client Brief - part 1
So what is a good client brief?
A client brief is where the designer finds out exactly the parameters of the client's project. The designer is then able to provide a positive solution to their requirements.
It sounds simple and it is. So why do so many designers get it wrong?
My theory is that they take what the client says at face value. They are often in a hurry and want to get the project started or vice versa. Many designers fail to satisfy their clients needs.
I think is because they are not nosey enough! I don't know if you use that expression - we do at home as my daughter pokes her nose into everything that comes and goes out of the house. It means knowing everything that is going on. In other words - you take off your designer hat and put on your detectives! No, this isn't a plot for a reality TV program, but it is quite a good idea though. It simply means that you have to really dig deep and find out how your client really lives (or works if it is a commercial project but for continuity I will stick to the residential example).
Who does a mad clean up before guests come around? Throw miscellaneous things into drawers and cupboards never to be found again so that all your horizontal surfaces are clear and your home looks spotless? I am extremely guilty of this habit.
Our household is very busy, we have two designers who work from home, one four year old budding artist and a two-year-old demolition trainee and a cat who barely has space left to make a mess! This means that we have an abundance of paper with beautifully painted pictures drying around the house, piles of paper, books, and magazines stacked up in areas around the house where we stop to work. For us it is normal but others see it as a complete mess, and scarcely believe that my husband and I are designers. Our reply is that we are so busy making other people's homes look good to worry about our own!
Anyway the point that I am trying to make is that I am untidy! Yes says my husband but no, I want to make the point that people often have two sides - the side that they show us when you let them know you are coming to visit and the real side that you see when you just drop in!
That drop inside is what the designer detective needs to unearth to show how the client and family really live. Then they will have a feeling for the type of design that will work for them. You need to dig deep to find out what they really need as well as want.
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