I have just been to visit one of my favourite projects that is nearing completion in Chichester. It’s beautiful and contemporary and I have a massive house crush on it. But the product of this is not so much my input or design prowess but the continuous contribution and involvement of the clients and a contractor that appreciates great design.
I have had clients where they believe that as they are employing an architect that they should just sit back and let them get on with it, not many I am thankful to say, but they are out there and the problem with this is that the design becomes just that, a design.
If you, the client, the homeowner, the end user, if you don’t get onboard at the start of the project, it won’t feel like your home when you move back in. It’s your great input, no matter how big or small it is, that makes each design beautiful and unique. It makes it yours.
If you feel Intimidated by your architect, you shouldn’t. I personally love a good Pinterest board or emails at midnight ( this client knows who he is!) with ideas and suggestions we can thrash out over coffee. It makes my job easier but more importantly it makes it exciting for me and for my clients.
So when I walked around with my client today and she excitedly showed me different things they had added I couldn’t help but be utterly infected by her enthusiasm.
If you dont don’t know where to start, start small. Get an A3 piece of paper, take a couple of magazines and get cutting and sticking. It doesn’t matter if it’s a chaos of vases and windows, it brings life to your project, gives your architect ideas to work with and ultimately its make a house your home. If you can't be trusted with scissors then Pinterest is the best mood board app around, it's a fantastic resource of information from all over the Internet and you will be surprised that you eventually collate the mood board you never knew you could.
If you don't know where to start and you need someone to discuss your project with then feel free to contact me. I provide free initial consultations to all potential clients with no obligation to appoint.