MichelineASID.com http://michelineasid.com Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:09:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Commercial Interior Design – Designs for the Children http://michelineasid.com/commercial-interior-design-designs-for-the-children/ http://michelineasid.com/commercial-interior-design-designs-for-the-children/#comments Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:09:37 +0000 Micheline http://michelineasid.com/?p=295 For some, a commercial interior design to the entrance for a building, might be viewed as insignificant. This is so far from the truth. Recently, I had the pleasure of being honored at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening to the Lutheran Child Development Center in Port Charlotte. The Pastor had approached me a little over a year ago to help him create the vision he had for the school with my knowledge of commercial interior design. After his heart warming explanation of his vision and purpose, it became apparent the project was far from ordinary. As a licensed Interior Designer, it is my job  to provide a safe environment for the children to learn and play in, but this was a little more than that. This was primarily an entrance that was meant give a comforting sense to those entering the center, and to exude the feeling of being wrapped in the arms of God’s grace. It was an enormous task, as the weight of the Pastor’s heavenly ideas rested in my hands. The design entailed not only directing people into the existing community building, (where the school was to be located), but to also address the issue of security. By space planning the area to have a special entrance, it accomplished the mission of “the entry gates to heaven’s kids”. Of course budget was extremely small and a huge concern, and my job was to not only design the entry that empowered the Pastor’s vision, but also to provide a guideline for which the pre-school committee could present to it’s parishioners. Here is what the space looked like before and after.
Before After After After

Beyond the basic design concept, there are always site issues to deal with when it comes to the reality of any given project. In this case there were the code requirements to provide a water fountain near the play area. How was I to get water to a convenient location for the drinking fountain? The solution became part of the commercial interior design: to bring the water up and over through the ceiling, and down inside a wall that was strategically placed to screen the play area from the entry. Having access to plumbing in the middle of the space, also gave us the advantage to utilize it for other means. Not only will it give us code compliance, but it would allow us a fabulous water feature at the entry without much expense. The serenity of a fountain presented a wonderful place to stop and reflect. With the partial wall providing a screen from the entry to the secured play area, it also provided a spot next to the drinking fountain to hold a much needed hand-washing sink. Of course, I had to consult my plumber for advice on the fountain design. The GC was very happy with the install since the design made it relatively inexpensive as compared to breaking through the concrete slab.

 In the end, the parishioners approved, the budget was met, the vision by the Pastor was accomplished, and the school was opened on time for the year to begin. I feel blessed to know that the commercial interior design provided for this simple Entry will touch so many people. It was far more rewarding, for what would seem as such an insignificant commercial interior design.

]]> http://michelineasid.com/commercial-interior-design-designs-for-the-children/feed/ 0 Starting Fresh with Interior Design http://michelineasid.com/starting-fresh-with-interior-design/ http://michelineasid.com/starting-fresh-with-interior-design/#comments Fri, 29 Jul 2011 01:57:02 +0000 Micheline http://michelineasid.com/?p=279 Everyone needs the opportunity to START FRESH from time to time. A new look for your residential interior design or commercial interior design, is the best way to give new life to a tired environment. In this tough economy, we all need to stay focused on the positive. By making simple changes to ones environment is a way to evoke those warm fuzzy feelings inside. Sometimes the process can be somewhat daunting, and a fresh look to an environment remains as just what the Doctor ordered to cure the blues. Changes to your interior design can be the result of many possible things like:

  • New Business Plans
  • Lifestyle Changes
  • The Need to Relocate
  • Or possibly just the desire for something new.

What ever the situation,  there is a direct relationship between a new interior design and the positive emotions that it evokes within. Having a fresh look to your interior design, doesn’t mean you have to brake the bank either. Recently I had been asked to design a new accessory placement for a client’s home. This was accomplished by just utilizing the existing items and simply reorganizing their location. Now in this case, the homeowner came away from the experience with a  rejuvenated view of their home without a huge investment. It was an amazing transformation to say the least. The results were fabulous, and made us both walk away with that warm fuzzy feeling of accomplishment. This is truly the reward that keeps me creating beautiful interior design for clients over and over again.

In the case of a commercial interior design, the rewards of a fresh look can result in higher profits. This is a big WOW! It can mean the chance for the business to be remodeled & reorganized, which then creates the opportunity for other marketing strategies to bring increased business. Also, it will undoubtedly improve employee moral which in turn improves employee productivity. Case in point: An Attorney’s office contacted me to create a new commercial interior design since they felt their corporate image needed a boost. When the interior design was completed, it not only gave them the desired appearance of stability of character, but the feeling of tenacity through the use of strategic color and materials. The Partners could now work with the proper and efficient furnishings, their staff had a better filing system, and  the floor plan had improved so dramatically it became much easier for work to be performed between the staff. It was their way of STARTING FRESH, and their business grew quickly as a result. Or maybe it is create a Green Interior design where there are new energy efficient products and equipment within the office, and where the employees would have an environment they can feel more comfortable to work in due to the non-toxic elements now in their workplace. This makes us as human beings take pride in the business for which we work, and that is when the the real profit is realized by the employer. So typically it is a win-win situation for everyone. The employer gets lower energy costs (which off sets the investment of the remodel), ends up with happier employees, which returns by more business. How great is that by STARTING FRESH on your interior design!

With all this being said, even as an Interior Designer we need to START FRESH from time to time.  Occasionally this happens right within the midst of working on a project.  Although we don’t like to have to take this approach too often, but it does happen if things just are not coming together. This is not a fault, nor a problem, but it can be the best solution to liven things up and to get the juices flowing.  So here is my chance to say HELLO WORLD and I am STARTING FRESH with my newly improved web site that offers many great things…….one being the opportunity to have this Design News page where you will find many topics of Interior Design interest as: design ideas, design tips, industry trends, and projects I am currently working on.  I hope you enjoy, and thanks for visiting.
Micheline

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