Design Your Own Adventure
If design is a journey, how can it be a great adventure, not an ordeal?
Design is a little like travel; there are many ways to take a trip. What's right for you?
At DeForest Architects, we have a love for travel, a passion for design, and a weakness for overextending metaphors. So buckle up. So to speak.
If you are most concerned with getting to a destination or seeing certain sights as quickly as possible, a packaged bus tour or cruise may be the right choice. In design terms, the equivalent might be to buy stock plans. There is nothing wrong with this approach. It offers many fewer options but requires less time and effort. It also yields a different, less-personalized and less-meaningful experience.
At the other end of the spectrum--if you crave adrenaline and are willing to take the risk--you might choose to parachute into an exotic location like the Medina in Marrakech. Then what? What sights do you see first? How do you know the history, the context of what you are seeing? How do you make your own itinerary versus following the same guidebook itinerary as everybody else? Make the most of limited time? Make it a richer experience? Engage with the locals?
You hire a guide.
The parallel design ‘journey’ would be a strictly DIY remodel project. There are a million ideas and images on the internet these days. We all know a lot about houses and how we live. Why not just wing it without expert advice?
The answer is that the stakes are high...and there a lot of ways to get lost! Without context and experience, it is all too easy for budgets and schedules to get out of hand quickly. More importantly, being a complete beginner at design or visiting a foreign locale can be extremely stressful. You may spend most of your time on logistics and miss learning more about design and ultimately, yourself.
So how do you plan a design adventure that strikes a balance between these extremes, one that provides the personal and creative discovery of the design process without the harrowing side effects?
You may want to hire an architect.
Like experienced tour guides, we’ve learned the importance of
Asking good questions and listening carefully to the answers
Understanding what matters to clients at a fundamental level
Tailoring each design journey to fit them
Providing tools, skills, and vocabulary to participate fully
Keeping an eye on the big picture while
Embracing opportunities along the way
At the same time, we know that the personal and financial stakes are high. We were new to this once and remember what it felt like to be disoriented and stressed out. Toward that end, we take care to provide a roadmap for the project including
A list of initial goals from the concrete (x thousand square feet, y bedrooms and z bathrooms) to the sublime (simplify life, connect with nature, bring family together)
A timeline outlining the phases of the design process, showing key milestones such as budget checks and permit submittals
A projection of what the project will cost and how it will be updated as it progresses
In upcoming posts, we’ll be sharing some of the adventures behind the finished projects you see on our website. In the meantime, just give us a call if you’d like to discuss a project, share a trip, or overextend a metaphor.