REFINE STUDIOS DESIGN PILLAR: SUMMARY
Having the power to create your own environment in a way that improves your quality of life is one of the most underutilized abilities in my opinion. Your home environment is the one place where you are in complete control. YOU get to decide, who is in this space? What do you hear in this space? What do you smell in this space? What belongings are in this space? How does this space flow? What’s the lighting like in this space? What’s the temperature in this space? How well does this space withstand everyday use? How does this space connect with its surroundings? Lastly, what does this space look like? You get to determine all of those things.
You go to work and it’s too cold in the office so you freeze all day long, the restaurant you go to for dinner is too loud to have a conversation, the hotel room you booked for vacation has a weird smell, these are all things that impact your overall experience. If it all matches your personal preferences then most likely you’re going to enjoy yourself that much more but how often does that happen? Almost never because what creates an optimal environment for one person, isn’t ideal for another.
At Refine Studios, our main focus is creating environments that are completely tailored to our clients individual needs. We believe that there are 10 pillars that make up your environment, when your needs are met in each of these pillars your quality of life is improved.
PEOPLE
This is the most important factor in your environment. You may have heard the saying home isn’t a place, it’s a person and that’s because most of the time that feeling of home comes from your people. Who is in it, whether it’s everyday or just occasionally, is going to have the biggest impact on your life. You can be walking into a multi-million dollar home that adds zero value to your life if you’re surrounded by the wrong people. On the flip side, that studio apartment could be your favorite place to be, with the right people. Of course we can’t help you choose these people, but we can bring awareness and design your space in a way that will promote interaction. It’s also important that we understand your desired lifestyle. If you wish to open your home to guests, the design will not only need to accommodate your entertainment needs but the needs of frequent guests as well. There is so much value in having a space to create memories with your loved ones.
BELONGINGS
Your belongings have a bigger impact on your life than you realize. In today’s society it’s very common to spend your weekends organizing the garage, or cleaning out your closet. Trying to manage all of our “things” can easily start to control our lives. Because of this we lean more towards a minimalist approach when it comes to belongings, but ultimately it depends on your capability of managing your items. Some people have several belongings and they are able to keep their house organized and tidy just fine. Others on the other hand, like myself, have a very hard time keeping up with an abundance of things. When your belongings are difficult for you to keep picked up and put away, that’s when they are no longer benefiting you. There’s no set rule on what’s an acceptable amount of items you should have because each person is different. If you need 36 different Tupperware containers, we won’t stop you. Our job is just to make sure all 36 containers have a home. We encourage our clients to take inventory of their belongings so that we can design their home to fit their specific storage needs.
SOUND
Sound can greatly impact your overall well-being and change how you respond to situations. It triggers emotions and music can even spark certain memories. There are songs that can take me back to an exact moment in time every time I hear them. Sound can also have a negative effect if it’s not properly managed. This is more common in public settings, but certain materials can cause sound to bounce around rather than being absorbed. Managing noise levels while incorporating positive sound into your environment helps to influence mood and increase energy levels. Understanding our client’s specific needs regarding sound helps to make appropriate selections.
SCENT
One of the first things you notice when walking into a space is the scent. This largely impacts the overall experience you have in the space. It’s proven that scent can influence your mood. Certain scents may even send you back in time to a specific memory. When I think back on places I’ve visited, the first thing I remember is how it smelled. Typically places that had a pleasant smell are tied to positive memories. We love to improve a space through the use of scent. Our goal is to create a signature scent for each of our clients' homes that make it feel comforting and personalized. There are many different ways to infuse scent into your home but it’s also important to block certain odors as well. Understanding our clients scent preferences and aversions upfront helps us to find products for them that enhance their environment.
FLOW
This pillar really comes into play at all stages of the design process, but it’s essential to address from the very beginning. We take time to analyze how our clients will be using each room individually and space plan to determine what their floor plan needs are. Each household operates differently so a floor plan that works really well for one family may not work at all for another. It’s important for us to understand each client’s daily routines and family personalities to create a layout that works well for their lifestyle.
Flow comes into play in a big way during cabinet design as well. We want kitchens and bathrooms to play a big part in working with your daily habits. There is nothing worse to us than having a kitchen that doesn’t function for the client it serves. We take a look at the size of your family, entertaining style, and storage needs to ensure that this space has a functional flow and enjoyable experience for all that use it.
We circle back to consider flow again during the furnishing stage of design. Your furniture plan should enhance the flow and functionality of your floor plan. When they come together you can move through your daily life with ease.
LIGHTING
Lighting can make or break a room. It sets the mood and intention for the space. Whether we are going for light and bright or moody and cozy, both the natural light and light fixture selections play a large role in achieving that feel.
We first address lighting when it comes to the floor plan and window order. We love natural light and want each room to have as much of it as possible. Floor to ceiling windows in the main areas let the bright morning sun energize the space and the golden glow of evening create a relaxing vibe. Natural light brightens up the color palette and keeps darker color selections from becoming overpowering.
We circle back to lighting when we do our light fixture selections. Light fixtures take each space to the next level but can also help a space’s functionality. We love large, oversize lighting to create a focal point and soft glow in main areas of the home. Using task lighting (think art lights, well placed sconces or flush mounts, and even stairwell lighting) can brighten up dark corners or highlight design features. We then add in another layer by adding table lamps and floor lamps to soften the glow and keep things subdued without having to turn on a slew of brighter can lights.
TEMPERATURE
Temperature is one of those elements that can really make or break your experience in a space. Restaurants that are so freezing cold your teeth are chattering…. the hot doctor’s office when you are stuck wrestling a toddler…. the cold conference room with no warm coffee in sight…. broken air conditioning on hot summer night…. These all make for some tense situations!
Temperature preferences are something we like to touch on early in our interviewing process because we need to think through this detail at each stage. For example- full windows facing the setting sun in your kitchen may be lovely for someone who doesn’t mind the warmth, but it can set the stage for a full- on adult tantrum for someone who can’t take the heat! Temperature also comes into play when we think about fabrics, bedding weight, the need for ceiling fans, fireplace options, even heated flooring or rug selections.
If you are someone who has a strong preference on whether you like being hot or cold, don’t hesitate to communicate that with your designer- it can really impact how you end up feeling about your home!
DURABILITY
Once our install is complete and the client moves in, we want to leave them with a quality design that can stand up to their everyday life. We never want to leave our clients with buyer’s remorse, so today we are talking all things durability.
One of the hardest parts about design can be finding the balance between the budget and durability. We spend a lot of time at the initial stages finding out how you use your home and who spends time there. That helps us get a better idea of where we need to focus on durability. For example, pets or kiddos make a big difference when it comes to flooring because they will likely need to be a bit more durable to withstand more use.
In the first rounds of material selections, we want to make sure the most used rooms have durable cabinets, countertops, plumbing fixtures and floors. We also discuss preferences on quality doors, windows and even paint sheens to stand up to everyday use.
When we move onto furniture plans, we take another look at your budget and priorities. We realize that sometimes budget requires sacrifice in some areas, so we are strategic in making sure the most-used furniture items and fabrics are able to stand up to the challenge and are easy to clean. Whenever possible, we order samples- this helps both our client and our team make sure what we are suggesting is worth the splurge. One more tip- read reviews! On more than one occasion we have backed out on a selection that we really loved the look of because the reviews were questionable.
AESTHETICS
When we first sit down with a client, we ask them what their aesthetic is. This is usually the hardest part for them. It’s hard to describe your personal style, if you haven’t taken the time to think about it.
We usually try to break it down by asking questions like:
What colors are you drawn to?
Do you like light or dark wood tones?
Do you like clean lines or more traditional designs?
Are there any styles you don’t like?
We also love to have clients share their Pinterest boards with us, that gives us a great insight into what they are looking for.
A lot of designers only design (and are known for) one specific style or aesthetic. We like to take the focus off of us and design for the client. We pride ourselves on the home feeling like you and less like Refine Studios. That’s why you will see that we design across many different styles- from modern and mid-century to classic traditional and everything in between.
NATURE
Nature plays an important role in each space we design. Bringing nature inside can really liven up a room. The first natural element most people think to add is a plant, and we are all for that, but we also like to go a step further!
You can start thinking about bringing nature in from your first few design selections. We like to start with windows- using large picture windows can bring in a lot of natural light and highlight an amazing view. Once we move on to material selections, think about bringing in wood tones and natural texture with stone tiles. You can even achieve a lot with the paint colors you choose. We love using greens and darker warm browns to bring in natural depth.
To find out more about each of these pillars and how our team relates to them in their personal lives, click the links below:
