After finding an exceptionally talented interior designer, I contacted her personally and got her to answer some questions for me. Diann Sill is the interior designer of planning, executing, and translating taste into fine quality interior design solutions.
I asked her about how she got the position and why her? She said that she was chosen because she’s apart of the team, which includes everyone from the builder to the architect, interior designer and all of their crew. The process started last year at the end of September and beginning of October, till the end of the rope July 10, 2008 to be completely ready for the opening show July 26,2008.
“To show the general public a completed, professional, higher end product” were some of the reasons she decided to take on the task. She also wanted to bring the quality of the Denver Design Center to public view, promoting business, and bringing talents of the DDC to the public’s attention. Diann saw the “re-emergence of French style design” and contemplated how to bring this vision to live and showcase the products and talents of the DDC, and then she implemented her genius aptitude with elegant grandeur.
The 2008 Parade of Homes at Solterra in Lakewood is a collaboration of “eight extraordinary custom homes inspired by the hill towns of Europe and crafted by some of the region's finest custom home crafters, architects, landscape architects and interior designer
s.” (www.http://www.paradeofhomesdenver.com/index.htm)The builder inspires each of the homes they are amenable for. The design of the interior is based on the architecture of the building and implemented by the interior designer. The influence of the home was based on the designated theme “Provence” which is a French Provencal; two-story home represents French country design with ambiance of additions made over the years.
Some of the obstacles she came across were the deadline, budget and availability of products. The project was to be done in about five or six months which in reality would take approximately two years. The budget is the limitation of products and theme was the parochial of the availability of the products. The availability of the product is the key of creating the desired atmosphere and to establish the experience aspired from a home design.
10 comments:
Its interesting to hear about this type of design. Interior design is different than communication or visual design but as with any creative practice, the lines blur. Creating visual flow with colors, hierarchy etc are all things that both environment or spacial designers as well as visual communication designers deal with when creating.
Wafa, nice approach! I think you should stay in contact with these people, as this particular topic has a heavy association with yer thesis project. Good luck!
You took an interesting approach to this project. I enjoyed reading about the process and project limitations of interior design. Its interesting to see how similar the process and limitations are to those of other types of design.
That is an interesting project. I personally think that interior design has many challenges in many different ways.
Yes changing the colors on your wall is not that complicated, but the challenge really is to communicate through the objects like furniture that create and communicate the desired feelings.
Especially by looking at the room and figuring out how to utilize the space correctly is a challenge of its own.
The layout of your case study was a little "blocky." Six short paragraphs with no distinctive hierarchy. There was no distinction between your questions and the designers responses/comments. It would have been nice to see a bit of her work (photos, clickable links). The photo at the top of the case study looks a bit like a stock photo, almost generic. I would have liked to see a stronger connection between the imagery and the designer.
The overall content was intriguing. Interior design is often over looked by other designers (I blame those soccer mom's moonlighting as Interior Designers), as a less than credible field, however this case study brought upon a new insight.
Design is everywhere including in homes. I was told developers spend lots of money having their model homes "designed to sell." Real Estate agents often hire home 'stagers' to stage a home on sale to sell fast and competitively. This said I've been to lots of home parades and they all begin to look the same...an Italian renaissance look or a French provincial feel. My question is what about Diann Sill's design stood out as unique? Did she shop for her decor at the same places as the other designers? How was her vision unique in this overused Architectural Digest aesthetic? How did she apply new green standards to her design or was that even considered? Are there decor items available that are recycled, from sustainable areas, carbon conscious? Has she heard of low or no VOC paints?
I ask these questions not as criticism but as a way to distinguish between mediocrity and true innovation as a designer. I battle with these questions in relation to my work all the time. Am I pushing the envelope or sitting comfortably in mediocrity?
The truth, in this case, may not set me free:)
I love the interior design approach to this project, I think most people would steer more towards digital arts and it's nice to see a different type of design. I really love her designs, definintely a type of art in itself. Great job!
Nicely done. I'm pretty lost when it comes to interior design so I have a good deal of respect for anyone who does it. This sounds like a pretty daunting task that your designer has accomplished. Nice approach.
Interior design, I agree, can go hand and hand with graphic design. all the same principals apply. You have made a good contact and here illustration is amazing.
I also like how you selected a different realm of design. But I'm not seeing the pro-bono connection. Yes, the interior designers contribute the work but it seems to be essentially free advertising for them since about 100,000 "soccer moms" among others, attend the Parade. I agree with Renee - I used to work for a high end furniture retailer and it was amazing how many people who claimed to have "an eye for design" applied for professional interior design positions.
I did read on the Parade's website that the some of the monetary proceeds of the Parade go towards the HBA's does charitable projects.
Perhaps there is an opportunity for you to do some design for Diann since there are very few photos of her work on the Denver Design Center's website.
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