First things first!! Every space is unique and will have specific needs. Every person has specific tastes. I may tell you that Oxford White looks great in an east-facing building with a lot of windows (ahem, it looks great in my office!), but a completely different space with different adjacent colors, surroundings, and furnishings may call for something else.

Now that I’ve been diligent in ensuring that we understand that a designer’s love for certain whites does not mean they are the right whites for YOUR space… here we go!

I stand up for what I believe in, and while I hear out the circumstances, I stand strong and firm for what I believe in. What does this mean for our clients? It means we are always striving to provide the best possible situation with our firm ethics holding us to refuse to bend when it comes to the quality of your project. This also means that we don’t get some jobs, and while we are bummed that not everyone out there holds as strong convictions when it comes to our health and the health of future generations, we are okay letting those jobs go because we are doing what we believe to be right and good.

We are just dipping our toes in the permitting waters, and have begun handling the permitting process when needed with the assistance of a consultant while we learn the ropes. The first thing we did when beginning to take this new part of the process on, is to visit the permitting office and discuss challenges, concerns, and frequently asked questions.

I do not have a perfect solution. Maybe recycling is the best we have. But, as I understood the 3 R’s - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Recycling was a last resort. The first was to reduce. So, if we are reducing our plastic use, should we really be mass consuming recycled plastics? Or, should we be focusing on those fantastic organisms found to eat and digest plastics, taking care of the plastic problem built up and completely eliminate the production of new plastics (yes please!).

The biggest trend I have seen lately is the desire to create unique, custom spaces using local (island) artisans on a shoestring budget. It sounds so dreamy, so down to earth and homey, doesn’t it? And, I’m sure we have heard several stories where people did this.

As with most of my blog posts, I am here to deliver a dose of reality.

I have teetered back and forth on whether we want to do the furniture thing for a while now. Because we do not get a lot of furniture requests, it is the area we are least practiced in. Then, we get to the selection and it starts to feel like glorified personal shopping, which is not how designers are trained (at least in today’s college programs). Today’s training focuses on DESIGNING the furniture specifically for the space it was to be a part of. Trying to select retail or even designer showroom pieces that already exist feel a bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Why do we need to understand these items down to this level of detail? Well, a great example is something I saw recently where someone suggested using glass tiles on a floor. The tiles suggested would have not only broke because they weren’t meant to be stood on.. they were also huge slip hazards! Safety in the home is absolutely affected by the finishes and fixtures we choose.