Working designer tells all!
Design Disasters
Don’t forget to look up! Details above the sight line.
Aug 27th
Three pet peeves. Ok, I have a few more but how about just three tonight? A client of mine had remarked today she saw a house on the MLS that she thought maybe I had done…she loved the modern look. Flattered but unsure what house she might be describing, I sat down and searched in the MLS over 500K. Didn’t find the house but did find a big headache and a few pet peeves. I am wondering who designed these features, floorplans and faux pas’.? What do you think? Still like plant shelves?
Peeve #1: Plants belong in the garden. Or at least in a pot in your living room. At a level where you do not have to strain your neck to see. Ah, you say. These are fake plants. Really? WHO originated this horrid idea? I always thought it was a south Florida thing but apparently not as a quick MLS in your own neighborhood will verify.
Plants are not meant to be high and mighty except in a forest. Get rid of them and if possible ditch the shelf look too.
Attack of foilage will spoil any appetite ( at least the hood duct box is painted same as wall but still could be better ( see next peeve)
Looks like you might find a few critters in this garden and I do NOT think this is what is meant by “going green” ….
Nope. Not in the bath either. Lots of plants hanging around is no substitution for good design. This bathroom could have been much nicer without the shrubs.
Peeve #2:
Hood venting. Listen to me on this one. It never fails to amaze me how many plans come across my desk that have zero attention paid to how the hood will duct to the outside AND most importantly how it will affect the kitchen design. I abhor the box motif in these shots. This is what happens when it is not thought completely through at the BEGINNING of the job. You will not see this on my website. I advise the client at the outset that we will be dealing with this issue sooner rather than later. Using a wood hood and taking IT all the way up to ceiling if venting through the ceiling. Or, an exposed chimney stack and letting it be architectural. Anything but the dreaded box!
Cladding it in the same wood like this does NOT make it go away. In fact, it is even more obvious here than if it had been painted the same color as the walls. Just bad or probably, No design advice.
Same issue here….why?
Peeve #3: Tray ceilings gone wrong. Very wrong. And a couple of random examples of just really weird ceiling transitions. Who allows this to happen? Don’t get me wrong…a well done tray detail can look great but I have talked many clients out of trays gone crazy..in every bedroom, multi layered trays that overwhelm the floor plan and trays like one of these that are not properly scaled.
Totally unnecessary and why spend the money? Spend it on dealing with your hood transition instead! For pete’s sake!
Scale all wrong. So is sofa but that is another post. Remember these are all over 500k. No Habitat for Humanity homes here. This simply does not work and looks like a mistake not a design detail.
What do you call this architectural element? And what realtor thought this was a good angle to show the kitchen? File this under “just plain weird”
Ok, so the arch…is….going where? Anyone got a protractor? I may have to use this again for peeve 4 next week…really bad trim transitions!
So what do you think? Are some of these design details just overlooked? Or do people not look above their line of sight when designing a space?
Can we take the simplicity design concept too far?
Aug 16th
Ok, so really I know that many of my blog-o-buddies may cry foul here but I simply do not think this is good design. Not now, not ever.
I keep thinking there surely is a guy strapped to a chair underneath these hanging “pendants” waiting for Igor to finish him off with the nipple clamps…. “good design” or dramatic attempt at “we have no money but lots of style”?
a bit better but still am not buying it…do like the bulb though…if it were inside something
the “finish” of this is much better but hey, it is still just a lightbulb hanging in space
I like much of Ingo Maurer’s work. Missed the boat here though…reminds me of high school and visits to Spencer’s Gifts
Now, I do like the conceptual idea of these lights…but come on folks, they need a shade! Try these on for size!
This is interesting for the right space. Images from Remodelista
Like it! But pricey at 630.00 Image from Remodelista
Here are a couple of alternatives from Arteriors that I think work with a simplicity in design approach.
Way less expensive of an option that the similiar one above
The Franklin from Arteriors. This is probably my favorite look of this genre and will be using it in a powder bath soon. Pix will follow!
So what are your thoughts on this trend in lighting? The bulbs are pretty cool I will admit. I have several of these lights with the glass globes in my shop at the moment but the light they give off is not great so bear that in mind when doing the lighting plan if you are choosing this type of fixture! Please comment!
~~~~~~~~~Cheryl
Lighting choices….Is it me??
May 23rd
I was inspired to write this quick blog post from a Facebook Friend who has a great blog: Strange Closets that features weekly home tours, cool design shops in Chicago area and interviews with designers and artists. ( Why they have not interviewed MOI yet is simply not fathomable!) It is a great blog and I enjoy perusing it for cool stuff. And of course, I love Chicago.
Ok, so this pix is posted this morning on FB:
This um, er…light is designed by Jason Miller ( 7 years ago by the way but is now being sold on Design Within Reach) who says it is “nature made better”. Jason, darling…with all due respect….can we let nature just be nature??? And not some grotesque interpretation of it?
Now, I (because I am kind of odd and maybe a bit kinky) see other things in this ummmm lamp. Do you?
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Can you imagine turning this ON every day? Torture.
Can you imagine turning this ON every day? Torture.
I guess my design aesthetic is not as highly evolved as some….but I do like contemporary decor and love classically modern lines. But, is this it? Slap 270.00 down and it too can be “within your reach”?? Really?
Reminds me of what we discussed at one of our design meetings a few weeks ago…a chair came in that the fabric was not what we expected….and it is growing on me now but at the time, someone at my studio said….”Hell slap a high price on it and someone will come in and buy it”! We all laughed…but, maybe it is true.
What do you think about this sort of design look? And do you think I am kinky for seeing it in a …different light?
KBIS Highlights:Safety Tub is safe example of “Not”!
May 11th
Really, and some people thought this was cool? And actually voted it as a “peoples choice” award?
Who, may I ask, are these people voting?? Put the money for your kid in a 401k and save for college. Do not buy this silly contraption for a tub! I am appalled that anyone would even “think” about it! A mere $2200 will get you this “enclosure” so junior does not get lost in the big tub. Remember bath rings? What is wrong with that? A lot cheaper too.
I am embarassed for anyone who voted for this invention.
You can read more about this lovely, um, bathtub at my friend, Paul Anater\’s Blog \”Kitchen and Residential Design\”
