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Janet, besides your style or characteristics in design, what
do you feel sets your firm apart from others in
the business?
JB: I have always believed in educating clients. My philosophy
is education in design perpetuates good design. I make it my
firm’s practice to inform our clients why something should
be done or shouldn’t be done. You will never hear me say, “Because
I say so.” You will quite often hear me say, “we
are going to do this because . . .” I feel that the choices
or rather options we present to our clients deserve a corresponding
explanation as to why we selected them for presentation in the
first place so that it is our clients who are making the ultimate
choice and in turn selecting something that will reflect their
personality and uniqueness.
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"Janet...Wow are we WOWed!!!
Your design has us buzzing. the home layout is nothing short
of brillant.
Your creativity and keen understanding of our needs have
delivered some remarkable results... C. Rubin, Prescott, AZ |
What advice would
you give someone who was contemplating designing their own
home?
JB: My knee jerk reaction is to say “don’t”.
It is much like self medicating or being your own lawyer. Even
if you have some past experience or possess an innate flair for
design you would still benefit from consulting with a professional
interior designer even if it is for only small portions of your
project. Other than that, the most important piece of advice
that I can pass along is that if you insist on doing the project
yourself without the benefit of a design consultation from time
to time, then you must be “armed” with the answers
and decisions when your contractor asks you questions otherwise
your builder will more than likely end up designing your home.
It
is rare in this day and age to meet a residential builder who
has never made a design decision or who has not influenced
some aspect of the design of their client’s home.
Are
you saying that a builder should not help their client make decisions?
JB: No, but what I am stating is that homeowners should take
the initiative to seek the right help from the appropriate professional.
For those who want to design their own home I would ask you the
following question: Why would you trust many of the decisions
of your home to the hands of someone who is trained and licensed
to build and has more than likely gained their design knowledge
thru on the job training?
Don’t misunderstand me; I am
not suggesting that there are not talented and quite frankly
qualified design builders
out there. My advice to home owners and potential home owners
is to do some investigating and interview several experienced
professionals to find out how they can help you with the design
and creation of your home [or remodel] whether it is an architect,
interior designer or decorator who will work as a team with you
and your builder.
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Photo: John Ellis |
