Materials
Choosing the materials and design elements of your kitchen can at times be a bit overwhelming. For some clients, their vision has been stirring for some time, and they might have a pretty good idea of what materials and styles will work best for their home space. This, however, is usually the exception. Tools like reference photos and samples are usually the most surefire way to help visualize our design elements in our physical space (the kitchen or bathroom we are working in), as well as see how these elements either compliment, or clash with one another.
Zach is working hard, and doing a great job!
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Sometimes when designing a space from scratch, we actually must start with sketches and computer renderings to give a skeleton structure to an otherwise blank canvas of a building. From here, we can start the process of dressing up the space with our material choices, and start visualizing what is going to work well.
Just like a well composed culinary meal, a well designed space gives thought to the whole, and doesn’t simply throw favorites together. Just because I like chocolate and sweet potatoes, doesn’t mean I would serve you chocolate-covered sweet potatoes. Yuck!
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When selecting materials, we try to keep in mind the client's priorities and the application and function for those materials. These factors will often be durability and strength, budget, function and beauty -- usually in that order. At times, all that is needed for a job is the most inexpensive item, and at other times, it makes more sense to pay for a nice product that will serve many of our purposes better in the long run. A good example of this would be certain kinds of tile. While it may make more sense to buy a ceramic tile from the box store for your kitchen floor, any tile installer worth their salt will inform you that porcelain tile is really needed for foot traffic. Otherwise, you could end up spending a lot more in the long run when you have to replace a lot of cracked tiles! Good research, as well as our experience will serve to protect you from using the wrong material for your project.
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Countertop material and style, cabinet and wall color, lighting fixtures and complimentary backsplash– all these things form a palette of design choices. In the home environment, we must become artists of both the beautiful and the practical.
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"Beauty without practicality is aggravating, and practicality without beauty is dreadfully uninspiring."