Sunday, March 2, 2008

Seminar series: Planning the Ideal Kitchen

One of the benefits that attracted me to moving Idealspace Design out of my home last year was the benefit of being able to hold seminars and workshops from a proper office - something I certainly could not do from my home office. After ten months, this coming Saturday (March 8th) will finally see the first seminar held: Planning the Ideal Kitchen. Additional times/dates will be scheduled too.

Planning the Ideal Kitchen isn't your typical free one-hour seminar covering only the most basic of design principals and a lot about current trends and fads; the focus is on function and practicality. Topics ranging from layout to lighting and even to hardware will be discussed leaving attendees with a whole new way of looking at the planning of their kitchen. Many homeowners face the same concerns when planning a kitchen renovation, and I designed this seminar specifically to address those repeated concerns, then elaborated until I had enough material compiled to offer a well-rounded and informative seminar. Of course the benefits of the hands-on involvement of an interior designer can't be replaced by a 1-hour seminar, but homeowners will gain confidence in their understanding of the considerations of a kitchen redesign project.

I am planning similar seminars for the planning of washrooms and home-offices as well to take place over the upcoming months. Although the preparation time is significant and the seminars are being offered for free, there is no better way for an interior designer to interact with homeowners in groups. Just as the designer can provide invaluable advice and information to clients, the clients can provide equally invaluable feedback to the designer.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

New Year's Day

The start of a new year is a very symbolic time for most people. I for one believe that how a new year starts is a good indication of what will follow over the next 12 months. Hoping there is truth in that, I will take it as a good sign that the first article I submitted to Homes & Land Montreal to Mont-Tremblant magazine will soon be published. I have committed myself to one article every four weeks, and I am looking forward to having a stronger reading audience than what my articles sometimes see on my website.

Speaking of
Idealspace Design's website... I thought it would be cool to bring in the new year with a new site. So I redid the whole thing and uploaded it yesterday. There are some major glitches to be ironed out as most of my photos (or is it all of my photos?) are invisible to the www. They look good on my computer, though -- but that doesn't help. Hopefully I can bribe someone who isn't technologically challenged to resolve this today -- just what I'm sure he wants to be doing on New Years Day! But his help will be so appreciated -- you know who you are: thank you in advance!

The new year at Idealspace Design is off to a good start with a very interesting multi-unit residential project in the negotiations stage; if all goes well all the paperwork should be signed, sealed, and delivered, so to speak, within a week. Another possible new project has me thinking how important it is that past clients know how grateful I am to their word-of-mouth referrals. No advertising could ever be as effective as the spoken words of a happy client. To the woman who misses her bathtub when she travels: a big thank you!

Writing a proposal for a design project on the 1st day of the new year might sound really dull to some, but I see it as a look at what's to come. So it is with great pleasure that I end this post to go do just that.

Here's hoping that 2008 will be filled with health, happiness, love and prosperity for everyone.