Circumstances alter cases! We all know that, and there have been enough dramatic, costly, dangerous and unwanted circumstances, in the recent months and years, to satisfy anyone’s sense of adventure! And, adventure comes in negatives and positives!
What we usually prefer is for positive opportunities to come out of even the most negative circumstances. And, without exception – adventures always, in some way, manage to affect our Interior space – residential, commercial, community and municipal! One way or the other, we are faced with still another adjustment of some kind.
Impactions upon our Interior space, residential or commercial, if temporary, are situations we weather and then return to our chosen versions of normal. Not so the matter of impactions that have staying power — that address an emergency, amplify a responsibility or just seem the right thing to do!
As I have addressed in previous articles in this series, the recent decade has pressurized our Interior spaces – our specific and dedicated Interior environments — immensely. Through severe assaults associated with amazing climate factors, the management of Pandemic ripple affects and radical swings in our National economy, Interior environments have withstood multiple transitions.
For many of us, a huge and obvious reality has evolved in the form of the question: Expand, Reconfigure or Move?
In residential considerations, family extensions that were always welcome as visitors have in some instances been redefined from circumstantial residents into potentially permanent living companions. Be it economical straits, a health issue that precludes solo living or horrendous property loss, family takes in family. And businesses face downsizing facility footage because more jobs are worked from home.
Residential structures with easy new use options (cellars, attics, garage lofts and such) are somewhat ahead of the game. Some situations are ideal for an expansion addition upward or sideways. Keep in mind that if you don’t see a clear way to accommodate additional residents, it’s wise to get space assessment from an expert – they can identify space solutions you might not see!
Commercial facilities present different, two-fold considerations! Do you own or lease? When leasing, sometimes reconfiguring the use of the Interior space can solve many challenges; the help of professional space use planners is an important thing to consider. Sharing exiting space with alternative endeavors or sub tenancy are other options. However, when you own the commercial facility, your options multiply: Indeed, you can Expand, Reconfigure or Move!
All options, of course, require financial outlays. The best approach may be to consider all possibilities, in actual context, with the relevant professionals before making choices and decisions. Deciding on one approach or another without fully considering alternatives may rob you of ideas and solutions you may not envision on your own. Having changes of our Interior environments foisted upon us, by circumstances beyond our control, adds a new layer of frustration and resistance. Not only can frustration and resistance cloud our scope of creativity, they can inflate our perceptions about the remedial costs of time, inconvenience, temporary cessation of production and financial outlay. We know what our services or products cost, but we tend to inflate what we assume and believe the costs of other venues to be.
Our region is on the brink of sauntering into a shift of season. The new problem is that we can no longer depend on its character! The seasons tend to bump into each other then back off and continue with erratic patterns. Those patterns (that are anything but traditional patterns!) place us at construction, remodel, reconfigure and moving projects at distinct disadvantage.
Do a reality check on your new domestic construct. Or, is your business one that has had to shift to a new and very different operations paradigm?
Now is the time to act, and help is on the way!
Robert Boccabella, B.F.A. is principal and founder of Business Design Services and a certified interior designer in private practice for over 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.
