Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Kitchens on a Budget???

OK, so I was tasked recently with a story for The Commercial Appeal on kitchen design, and in these days of economic hardship, people don't want to read about jillion-dollar fancy cabinets, higher than high-end natural stone countertops, etc., etc. So the story subject was "5 Things You Can Do to Update Your Kitchen Without Breaking the Bank."

Not an easy topic, for sure. Even INexpensive kitchen renovations are expensive, and the best way to update your kitchen on a budget is to PLAN properly. If you have an outdated kitchen (like mine), the worst thing you can do is take a piecemeal approach. The article digs into this by way of my fantastic, expert sources (thanks Karen Kassen, Mike Donovan, Leah Fors) who pointed out things the rest of us aren't likely to think of. A few bits of their insight:


  • Cabinet refacing seems like a great idea on the surface because it's cheaper than replacing. BUT it's still expensive, and if you aren't 100% happy with the configuration and storage space of your current cabinets, you will spend a lot of money to STILL not be 100% happy.

  • Newer appliances don't necessarily fit into spaces left by older cabinetry, and retrofitting can be expensive and a real pain.

  • Seemingly small, innocent projects like replacing flooring can be troublesome later on if you "tile in" your old appliances or cabinetry - you'll just have to rip that new floor right out to make way for the other new stuff. Same goes with replacing countertops. If you later decide to replace cabinetry, sink or appliances, you'll be ripping those new counterops back out. Basically, starting a kitchen renovation is like opening Pandora's Box. Better to go into it with a plan and save up to do everything at once.

  • Working with a professional can save you money, not necessarily cost you more. When you hire a pro, check her credentials. Look for certifications (i.e., NKBA) and ask to see references or a portfolio. And remember: It's easy to screw up a kitchen renovation on your own. Seriously.

And on the topic of refinishing. I didn't delve into this in the story because opinions are so widely diverse. Some people say you should never refinish or paint an existing set of cabinets. Others say as long as you take the right approach (which generally means hiring a pro), you can get a good look. Personally, I think it depends on your house and your needs whether refinishing will work for you. Again, refinishing isn't a good option if you're not happy with the layout or storage space of your cabinetry. And DIY refinishing isn't a good option unless you're willing to put in the research, time and effort to do it right. It's a LONG, COMPLICATED process to do it right, meaning to get a professional-quality finish that looks good and wears well. If you don't know what you're doing - trust me - it will show. Don't mean to be rude, but it's true.


OK, 'nuff said. Here's a link to the full story: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/nov/13/kitchen-do-over/

Monday, October 26, 2009

In-House Artist

Note to self: Never post a blog entry promising you're going to blog more often. For some reason, it seems to put an opposing force in motion....


At any rate, I'm here now. And I'm so proud of my co-worker Kim Hamric, who's spending her spare time (when she's not at the gym or playing in the Memphis Kickball League) slaving over canvases in her kitchen. Her abstract works are experiments in color and texture, and she's producing them at an impressive rate. I love the palette she's working with: bright lime greens, robin's egg blues and orangey-reds.

It's hard to convey the texture and dimension of the paintings in a photo, but I asked her to send me a pic so I could share. This is a series she did on three 8" X 10" box canvases. Anybody? Anybody? Let me know what you think.


Monday, August 24, 2009

Back in Blogging Mode

Man, it has been too long since I've done a blog post. I need a feature like the "nudge" button on twitter to light a fire under my behind to get me to blog, apparently. Truth is, I've just been really, really busy in all facets of my life - work, freelance writing, home, church, travel (the pic at left offers an example of what I've been up to - it's at Serendipity 3 in NYC). So I haven't had time for anything extra.


However, this morning has been inspiring. One of my co-workers brought in a pamphlet for the 2009 ASID Design Conference in Nashville, and the CEU session topics spawned interesting discussions about how to better market our business in this economic climate. Taking advantage of the Internet is a crucial in today's world - hence the importance of blogging. I will definitely do better with maintaining this site on a weekly, if not daily, basis. I also started a twitter account for my firm - follow us at http://twitter.com/vrippee, username vrippee!

I'll be taking similar advantage of facebook soon. I use these sites personally - our firm should be using them, as well. It makes good business sense to take advantage of these great (and free!) resources to get our brand out there in these days of strained pocketbooks and intense online competition.

Monday, July 13, 2009

To Market

It has been a crazy, busy couple of weeks. Over the weekend, I went with a small crew of co-workers to Atlanta for the AmericasMart home, rug and gift market that's going on right now. More than 7 million square feet of showroom space, and man, did we have a blast! We found some new sources and spent time touring some of the sources we already use to see new products and to generally touch, sit on, handle and otherwise ogle the products we specify for clients. There is nothing like a high-rise building filled with showroom after showroom of gorgeous, high-style furniture and accessories!


While there, we stayed at the W Midtown hotel, and all I can say is W-O-W! So chic that I recommend that if you're going to check into one, dress up before you arrive. The lobby is like stepping into a party with an exclusive guest list - music pumping, lights flashing, guests stepping out of niiice cars and drinks flowing at the bar. The rooms are as chic as the lobby, and the whole place has this high-tech, very NOW kind of feel. It was phenomenal. Good times!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The New World of Design

I've been thinking a lot about the changing nature of the interior design profession. So many forces have been acting upon the field of design in recent years that are completely changing the way designers do business. I've read, for example, that interior design is increasingly moving away from a product- and sales-based business model to more of a service-based business model. When someone hires a designer, she's hiring an expert, and what she's paying for is that expertise. Traditionally, that expertise also comes with follow-through, meaning the designer not only tells the client how to accomplish her design goals, but also carries them out. This involves the sale of goods along with services.

I don't think that will ever completely change - I hope not - but the myriad of well-designed, reasonably priced objects out there available for public purchase (meaning not just "to the trade") means that designers have to become more flexible about the types of products we source, the places we get them and the price tags that accompany them.

Until the Internet became the axis our lives revolve around, it was pretty difficult for the average homeowner to find and buy high-style furnishings and fabrics outside the realm of what was offered at local retailers - without a designer, at least. But whoa, is it a different world now. Through online shopping, consumers can find everything from European wallcoverings to Turkish rugs to Italian leather sofas at retailers from across the country and around the world who are willing to ship to any destination. Not to mention the fact that comparison pricing has never been easier. So how do designers compete in a marketplace like that? It's a difficult question to answer.

There are still plenty of sources that sell furnishings and home products through the trade only, and there are plenty of homeowners who appreciate and expect the level of service and innovation in design these sources offer. But to be able to offer clients a great service at a reasonable value, designers must also be able to compete within the greater marketplace when it comes to offering a mix of higher- and lower-end products. Figuring out the best ways to approach that situation is a major concern for me now as I'm establishing my own career in design.



Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Why Hire a Designer? (Part One)

OK, this is a topic I've wanted to write about since before this blog ever came to fruition. There are so many misconceptions out there about what it means to work with a designer, and I'm going to attempt - in a multipart series that I'll revisit time and again - to clear them up. So here is entry No. 1 of many.


Misconception #1: A designer is not in my budget.

Maybe so. But if you're planning to spend money on your space - in other words, plotting a renovation/redecorating/home improvement project of any type - consulting a professional designer could actually save you money rather than cost you more. How? For one, a designer can help you avoid expensive mistakes. I've seen so many people - including myself pre-design school - make purchases for their homes that didn't work out the way they envisioned them. They bought a sofa that was a few inches too long for the room, leaving no space for a side table. Or they bought that luscious purple velvet chaise they thought was sooooo cute in the store and found that it looked garish in their family room. Or they painted their bedroom wall what they thought was the perfect shade of gold, only to find that the cool light of the north-facing room turned it canary. You see my point? In all these scenarios, a designer's guidance could have saved the day - and saved the client money or time or both.

But designers can help in more ways than preventing costly mistakes. One of the biggest benefits of consulting a designer - even if you simply pay for a few hours of advice - is that a designer will look at the big picture and help you design your space according to a plan. It's amazing how much buyer's remorse can be prevented when each purchase made for your home - even if there's a year between purchases - fills in one piece of the preconceived larger puzzle. There's no switching gears in the middle of the unfinished project. No buying furniture in the wrong color/size/style.

Your best bet when starting a design project is to look at the space/room/house as a whole, plan it out according to your personal taste and style, and fill in the puzzle pieces one by one as time and money allows. What a designer brings to the table in this scenario is specialized knowledge about how the elements and principles of design work together to create a harmonious whole. A designer will help you find pieces that work with the scale of your space in styles/shapes/colors that work with each other. A designer will plan your space by creating a scale drawing and furniture plan that will ensure that the space will function - and this word is key - in a way that fits your lifestyle and makes your life easier rather than more stressful and frustrating. A designer will ensure that rooms and spaces in your home flow easily from one to the other by use of line, rhythm, color, texture, scale and so on.

And last but not least, a designer opens you up to a whole new world of resources to help you make your space the best it can be. You know all those products in your favorite magazines followed by the words "to the trade?" Hello? Trade! Right here! Designers can help you get exactly what you want. And if it doesn't exist, we can design it and have it made for you. Yes, you get what you pay for, and yes, a lot of what designers do can get expensive. But, at my firm (Virginia Rippee & Associates) at least, we work with clients whose budgets fall into every range - and we treat them all the same, whether they hire us to do a top-to-bottom design of a 5,000-square-foot house or to space plan a one-bedroom condo.

 
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