Field Report: Interior Decorating Consult

Recently we had a fun appointment with a client west of Boston. She brought us in to consult on a design plan for a library/den. In order to determine the best furnishings for the room, we spoke in depth about the room's functionality.

Our client had many great ideas for how the room could be used: reading, playing games, Web surfing, studying and relaxing. After looking around her house, we realized many of those activities were already taking place in other areas. Rather than try to design the library so that it could accomodate all these functions, we worked with her to enhance the usage of the spaces in the home that were already serving these needs.

For instance, there was already a computer at a desk in the kitchen. We interviewed all family members to see how that area might better meet each of their technology needs. One person wanted a more comfortable chair; another needed access to a printer; a third offered to add their laptop to the computing area. This great collaboration alleviated the need for a computer in the library.

Ideally, we would have the library be a cozy, intimate room for reading and relaxing. By incoporating everyone's voice into the process, it was a way to figure out how to achieve this, and how to rejuvenate the other spaces in the house for their originally envisioned function.