Embarking
on the design of a new house or a renovation can be a tricky business, so many
decisions, ranging from the relative sizes of rooms to their location; so many
choices in furniture, colors, textures, finishes, art, light fixtures, plumbing
fixtures, doors, windows, finish hardware, window treatments, etc. Some people
engage an architect to help them sort things out, while others feel that a
decorator is the way to go. How to decide whom to hire is not always
obvious.
Typically architects will help you
to sort out the size and type of house, the disposition of all the rooms, and
what the house will look like on the outside and on the inside. Decorators will
generally help you to select colors, textures, finishes, decorative fixtures,
furniture, and art. If you were to take the house turn it upside down and shake
it, everything that falls is usually under the decorator, while everything that
stays is usually under the architect. The best designs come from a close
collaboration between the clients, the decorator, and the architect.
A
successful collaboration between the architect and the decorator is always one
based on mutual trust and deep respect for their individual sphere of
influence. Once the Owners have made
basic decisions of the house or apartment’s location and program (i.e.: kind
and number of rooms, and their relative sizes) then, the architect will proceed
to study, the character of these rooms.
This is usually done via photographs or visits to specific places. One
can imagine that in such an exploration having a decorator is advantageous for
obvious reasons. The decorator will pick
up issues of color, fabrics, materials, etc.
The
architect begins the design process by establishing, with the Owners, the
"building type": a center hall colonial, a courtyard type, a
Palladian type, a Charleston single-house type, or perhaps a combination
thereof. This "type" is as much influenced by the house's location
(as in the Charleston single-house) as it is by the climate, region, and
relative size of the house. A small
cottage will probably not be a good candidate for a Palladian type, just as a
mansion is hardly ideal for a center hall colonial.
Apartment
renovations are less influenced by types, and more by issues of character. Is
the existing apartment building pre-war or post-war? If pre-war, is it classical,
classical moderne (or Art Deco), or modern? Is it all on one floor, or two? Larger apartments have entry halls,
libraries, dining rooms and tend to have clear separation between the service
rooms (kitchens, laundry rooms and other utility rooms) and the served rooms. These
factors play a role in the apartment's room distribution and ultimately in its
character.
Once
the plan and sectional distribution of rooms is established and the exterior
facades are more or less known (as would be needed for a house) the first phase
of design also known as “schematic design” is complete. It is during that phase
that the architect also vets most issues dealing with the local Department of
Buildings. The architect then proceeds to draw all the room interiors with all
the door and window casings, wainscots, millwork, tiles, cabinets, etc. This
sets up the interior "architecture" for all the rooms. In some cases
the decorators will have an idea for some or all the rooms which may or may not
affect the casings, millwork, and/or cabinets.
It is
wise to engage a decorator during this next phase also known as the “design
development” phase. In this phase all the issues of character are developed
both indoors and outdoors. A decorator
is instrumental in helping the Owners select door and cabinet knobs and pulls,
tiles, floor, wall and ceiling materials, carpets, curtains, shades, and lamps.
In addition, all the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, audio-visual, security,
curtains, shades, and all the interfaces with other consultants are coordinated
during this design development phase.
Construction
documents is the last drawing phase before starting construction, while the
architect is drawing all the details of the job so that a contractor can build
it, a decorator can be instrumental in coordinating and finalizing the finish
schedule as well as confirming finalizing the selections for all the interior
materials that were established during the design development phase.
Architecture
and decoration are but two sides of the same design act. Decoration comes from the word decorum which
connotes appropriateness and character. Ornament is related to decoration and
in architecture ornament is used to reveal the character of the
architecture. In this manner a house( or
apartment) in the city and a house (or apartment) at the beach can both have similar
rooms and parts but different expressions. Good decoration bridges the Owner's taste
and dreams with what is appropriate for the character of the architecture and
the particular place, making the result harmonious and beautiful.
