Refreshing Collaboration Between Architect and Interior Designer

Irwin Weiner ASID - Whoa! I was delighted when I found a video that documented a close and respectful collaboration between a group of architects and an interior designer. So often the two design forces have a tendency to clash and fight for turf, much to the client's consternation and dismay. I would encourage every homeowner who's seriously considering working with both sets of design professionals to watch this video to see how a house planning process should be done, either the redesign of an existing structure or creating something brand new.

I've had some training in architecture, and that's helped me respect and integrate construction and building phase planning into all my client design work; it also helps me speak the language of architecture with a client's architectural team so we can quickly get on the same page. Oftentimes architects aren't thinking, however, of the interior space that a client's family must experience every day ... and this can sometimes boil down to planning enough wall space to accommodate a client's art collection or incorporating windows overlooking an important view which we interior designers want to closely integrate into the design scheme. I extend a professional tip of the hat to UK interior designer Christina Fallah and the architects at Hampson, Williams and Kimble for having the courage to document their planning process, empathizing with the client, but at the end, realizing that the client's own degree of involvement - from hands off to micro-managing - will greatly determine the end results.
 

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From Olympic Games Emblem to Furniture Design

Irwin Weiner ASID - The following video caught my eye today, and I had to share it with you. A versatile wardrobe or multi-tasking bedroom armoire sporting a Charlie Chaplin sliding panel door opens and closes, revealing hidden storage secrets. I was fascinated by the design, entranced by the designer's interest in iconic entertainment figures. While this piece looks like it might be better suited for the decor in an Eastern bloc hotel room versus a bedroom in your home, I really liked the "foreignness" of the design, the retro-contemporary feel, and the utility of the piece. 

And much to my surprise, it turns out that the designer, Vladimir Arsentyev, earlier designed the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games emblem (see top). We're cut off in the West from many Russian and former Soviet bloc design; this video made me more sensitive to the fact that we're really in need of digging deeper into other cultures, designers, and aesthetics.

The rest of the world doesn't decorate from Crate & Barrel ... well, maybe from IKEA. But I'm all for having our homes becoming

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