New building construction rarely presents the Interior designer with mysterious, very small areas with no obvious intended use. Usually, driven by budgeting and efficiency strategies, every inch of planned space has to justify its expense by purposeful use, compatible with its contiguous space elements.
However, “older” buildings (residential or commercial) often have odd little spots that can be baffling! They may be little left-overs from a remodeling focus that simply forgot what was on the other side of the wall, or part of an alternate intention that just didn’t happen! In any case, such situations crop up all the time; and, over time, your experienced (sometimes frustrated) Interior design team just digs into their bag of “micro solutions” and handles it.
Turning very small niches into useful and or aesthetic gems makes the difference between dead space and good use. Sometimes, such spaces occur along traffic patterns in the larger environment. We have all experienced them, although we may not have noticed them. And that’s one reason why your Interior team actually likes such spots when they occur, and creatively transforms them.
A small, oddly occurring area in an otherwise logical floor plan can sometimes be easily incorporated into an adjacent larger space. (For instance, if the wall between is not weight bearing.) But the very reason such little spots are challenging, for justifiable purpose, is that their structure just can’t be changed, or changed easily!
Your Interior designer’s first discipline is to design within the project’s budgeting parameters, then defer to the best Interior design solutions for the intended use of all concerned areas. Small, odd configurations must be transformed into little assets to the whole. The available answers to such puzzles can range from a mini, pragmatic use, to an aesthetic gem.
Some such spaces present a chance for your Interior designer to treat your customer, patient, client or visitor to a delightful encounter. When moving from one principal area to another, why not pass by an odd spot that has been transformed into a mini art gallery with light and color that contrasts its neighboring space? A single chair tucked into a small, private corner (where someone’s difficult decision can be considered) can be a very welcome amenity. Or, it could be an alternative, limited occupancy “waiting” space that is cozy and comforting – a departure from the bustle and sounds of the typical, larger waiting room? It might be the exact right spot for a single, small work station for a visitor to your facility.
It all depends upon your point of view. Your Interior designer has gotten to know you in the planning process for your Interior design project. Your personality, your individual preferences of color, light, sound and style will drive the functional decisions, the budgeting considerations and myriad other choices. What drives the creative possibilities for those odd spots in your project’s environment will probably be your own flexibility and your Interior designer’s imagination!
There are hundreds of small ways to get good mileage out of your Interior design dollar while adding to use or just aesthetics in otherwise little dead spots. Remember, your Interior design team must be multitalented in order to move through the many aspects of your directives! There are baseline functional considerations, budgeting guidelines and the special focus “character” of the project. Those need to balance out with appeal — that rather mysterious Oooo-Ahaa ingredient everyone wants, but is often hard to specifically define!
It’s an ultimate factor at completion — and every little nook and corner counts!
Robert Boccabella, B.F.A. is principal and founder of Business Design Services and a certified interior designer (CID) in private practice for more than 30 years. Boccabella provides Designing to Fit the Vision in collaboration with writingservice@earthlink.net. To contact him call 707-263-7073; email him at rb@BusinessDesignServices.com or visit www.BusinessDesignServices.com or on Face Book at Business Design Services.
