Oct 01

Designing with the Brand in Mind

By pattisays In aesthetic medical, before and after, branding in interior design, Color schemes, commercial interior design, commercial remodel, context of interior design, contrasts for balance in design, creative process, custom design interior design, design process, Design Team, design tips, flooring, graphic arts, hiring an interior designer, interior design, interior design trends, medical offices, mosaic tile, photography, remodeling, tile, timeless colors, trends, window dressings, workplace design /   2 Comments

The grand opening of a project is always fun. Months of planning and construction resulting in a finished scene.

It’s not an easy path nor is it always as planned, but this project, conducted mostly long-distance, with only two field visits, is a great success.

Great clients make great projects. It’s a team effort and it helps that everyone is on the same page. The designer is a navigator, lighting the way to get to the end result. It can be a circuitous path. Like all projects, there are decisions and modifications, priorities and compromises.

Arizona Facial Plastics, having created a brand and provided a concept with which they wanted present their practice, sought an interior which instilled confidence, with the refreshing, pampering atmosphere of a spa, but with the aura of a conscientious, progressive medical environment.

In the fast-paced ever-expanding world of aesthetics, it is important to emphasize the quality and experience of service offered. In this clinic the services range from complex surgical procedures (performed off-site) to all of the cutting edge procedures and treatments desired by today’s discriminating clients. World-class products and state-of-the-art equipment and procedures are provided here, in the clinic, with quiet confidence and confidentiality.

To achieve their goals, we first focused on the brand and its style and colors. A crisp, serif-style A underscored with an elegant scroll, warm, soft charcoal compliments the bold cool gradated turquoise set against a fresh white ground.

Selecting finish materials began with the flooring and cabinetry. As is true with all interior projects, it is best to begin with the items that have the least options. There are fewer carpets and cabinet finishes than there are paint colors, for example.

We found the perfect carpet with a broadloom that provided a forgiving pattern, multiple textures and yarn colors. The complex product had an organic pattern of plush cut turquoise pile set in relief from a loop comprised of a grayed lavender and pale green citrine. Having made this selection, we then extracted individual colors of vinyl tile to compliment the carpeting in adjacent exam and procedure rooms. Gradated white porcelain tiles were used at the point of entry set against the contour of the carpeting in the waiting area creating a fluid, curvaceous transition and guiding, directional flow to the interior of the suite.

Once the flooring was selected, the cabinet and counter-top materials were next. A translucent yellow-green citrine engineered solid surface material was selected for the transaction counters at the reception desk and medical assistants’ work area. Dark charcoal plastic laminate was used for casework and select counters while exam room cabinets had a pencil-sketched floral patterned soft green laminate playing across the counter-tops.

An accent of sparkling glass and stone mosaic tile face the reception counter at the point of arrival.

Behind the receptionist, an elevated planter of succulent “sansevieria trifasciata”, regarded for it’s exceptional oxygen-producing properties, is a refreshing organic backdrop. Above, custom drapes filter light from the sloped ceiling atrium windows.

 

Non-representational expressions of color were selected for the wall art  throughout the space.

For the waiting room, we commissioned photographer, Katie Barry Councilor, of Smoketree Photography, to create a custom collection of abstracted body forms in grey scale. We then enhanced each image with their brand’s cool turquoise color, in the negative spaces, creating a series of artful stretched canvas images flanking their logo.

The take-away for clients is a serene, yet reverential  experience which instills confidence and promotes relaxation and rejuvenation. The subtle reiteration of the AZFP brand’s turquoise color throughout insures that the clients will be refreshed and reminded of their pleasing experience when they encounter that color even after leaving the clinic.

Hope you enjoy these before and after shots!!


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Aug 20

Color Schemes and the Complex Simplicity of It All

By pattisays In blue and white, color and temperature re: interior design, color forecasting, color of light, Color schemes, color trends, colors, Contrasting colors, creative process, design, design process, design tips, design trends, drama of color, hiring an interior designer, interior design, interior design trends, lighting, patterns, re-purpose, re-upholstery, recycle, recycle design, Refresh, remodeling, Sherwin Williams, temperature of light, tile, timeless colors, upholstery /  1

Color schemes are many. Color schemes evoke a mood or convey an atmosphere. They certainly can and often are responsible for imagined temperatures and/or seasonal sensations. What constitutes a pleasing color scheme? What constitutes pleasing? It all comes down to balance, layering and subsequent interest. It takes a enlightened eye and usually cannot be achieved by accident.

We are nearing completion of a living room that incorporates many design elements. Family heirloom antiques add a vintage touch along with the architectural style of the bungalow home.  Contrasting these pieces is a sleek-lined, modern, sofa that we found and reupholstered. And while not driven or influenced by current color trends, we selected a scheme derived from the existing Persian rugs. By extracting the blue and white from the patterns to refresh the interior – a classic, timeless color combination – we blended a wonderful scheme. Finding the common denominator(s) blue and white, we sought to anchor all with this consistent theme. Differing patterns provided additional layering and interest.

Then, just last week while dashing through the DCA terminal for SWA, my eye caught the attention of several magazine covers all featuring blue and white schemes!  Always in vogue, but not always featured as the cover story, this coincidental (or not) collection of blue and white photo images was a riot! I was forced to snap a few shots to send to my happy blue and white client.

If I described a new master bath remodel project as all white, I wonder what might come to mind. All whites are not created equal and the variation is startling when you see them in context, adjacent to one another. So here is the easiest example. A fan-deck from Sherwin Williams shows a collection of whites. They “read” very differently from one to the next. Yet taken one at a time – isolated from the rest – each would seem to be just plain white. Notice too how they differ from the white paper upon which they are printed – it is the spacing between the color chips – and even the white fabric upon which they were placed for the photo!

But there is really no such thing as “just plain white.” Once seen next to another, their unique qualities of hue come into play. A yellow white is creamy, while a cool white reads blue. It’s the context that makes the  color more legible. Without that they could be assumed and accepted to be merely “white.”

So, in this recent color scheme nearing completion, whites in context show their many colors. At first glance and if asked, one would say “the room is all white.”

Upon closer inspection (photos taken from a different angle seconds apart), that simplicity is replaced by a more complex, heightened level of awareness. This complexity is what adds interest and results in a better finished product than a true monochrome. What was a collection of white materials, in this master bath, is truly revealed as shades of white varying from ever so soft celadon to cream and grey to what might be read as actual “white” white.

 

Don’t trust your eye when it comes to color. Discover how paint on walls changes all through the day. Artificial light-sources alter the way a color appears.  Context with other colors alters the way one perceives color. Color is fun! Colors are fun! When designing interiors, enjoy the process of layering and the varying effects colors have on each other. Simplicity is usually not really simple. That term can be deceptive. Making it look that way is an art. Encourage the enjoyment of discovery.

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