There is a simple exercise I use to break down a renovation and I ask all my workshop participants to do this at the beginning of their planning process. It’s called “Clarify Your Design Intent.” We do this early because it helps us wrap our head around the entirety of the renovation.
Plus it does wonders to calm the nerves of my workshop participants. It calms their nerves because for the first time, they can see the whole project in front of them. They couldn’t see it before because they just didn’t know, and that not knowing what to expect was stressful. After completing this exercise, they know what to expect.
This is what most folks struggle with when it comes to their home renovation.
There’s just so much they don’t know about their home, how it’s built, what it’s made of. As I walk them through the process of clarifying their design intent, they begin to see the parts that make the whole. And the cool thing is, they still don’t know all the myriad pieces of how it will fit or what it will look like, but they know something important: how it will happen.
When you know how the renovation will happen, your design gets grounded in reality. From there, you can hone your ideas to fully realize what you want for your living space.
So today, I offer you this exercise — Clarifying Your Design Intent— for you to try. All you need is something to write with and to write on. If you find yourself wondering if an item should be in one category or another, don’t worry. Just make your best guess.
The usefulness of this exercise is that it lays out the the steps and the order of things. It is what recipes are to Thanksgiving dinner. Recipes are not the whole meal, but they tell you the ingredients and how to put it together. Make sense?
Let’s try it! Start with step 1.
WRITE DOWN THE DESIGN PROBLEMS IN NEED OF A SOLUTION
This tells you more specifically what you are designing for. See the examples below. TIP: go to the room(s) you will work with. List everything that comes to mind: big and small. It’s ok to be general. You’ll get more specific as you go.
In this example list, I am speculating on a hypothetical kitchen renovation. This is a typical list many clients I’ve worked with would add here:
I need more counter space
I need more space for all my spices/ teas/ hot sauces
The broken faucet needs to go
I think we need a new fridge
Wish I had a better place for this mixer
Maybe I can upgrade the stove
Do something about the floor
The walls need paint
Wish I had better lighting in here
Wish I had better ventilation in here
Wish I had more outlets in here
Wine fridge!
Keep going, your list can be much much longer and more detailed.
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