KATE LOWNEY
Objects
Activity 1
Choose two different objects from your home.
Examine each one, try it out, handle it, look at it and consider its functional and aesthetic qualities.
Make brief notes of your observations and decide whether or not you think it’s a successful design.
Water Glass
- Simple design
- Thin, clear glass
- Lovely to touch, handle and drink from
- Easy to clean and store
- Looks elegant
Portable Light
- Sleek, modern and simple design
- Rechargeable, however, short battery life
- Portable and easy to use on the go
- A movable arm to carry or hang on the wall
- Aesthetically, it looks great on my shelf
- Small and easy-to-use button for on / off
- Sustainable and made from metal- Easy to clean
Client Brief
Activity 2
Imagine yourself as the client and start to develop your own brief for the room you’ve chosen to design on this course.
Function
-
Who will be using the room? This room is intended to be a toy-free space, but to be enjoyed by adults and children
-
What will they be using the room for? A family living room that evolves as the children grow. Primarily for relaxing and reading the paper, a book, stories to the kids, and listening to music. No TV and digital distractions
-
How many people need to be accommodated? Will this number use the room occasionally or all the time? Two adults and two children, as well as guests at times
-
How many times during the day will the room be in use? During the day? In the evening? At night? All three? A room to enjoy throughout the day, as it's south facing, it will get great morning light for slow weekends, and evening chill time.
-
How will the room relate to other rooms and spaces? How and why will people move to and from adjacent spaces? With open doors to the kids snug as well as the hallway, this room is free to flow through but also close off
Aesthetics
-
What is the style preference: contemporary, historic, traditional? Modern
-
Does the client have a preferred design period? Mid-century
-
Does the client prefer minimalist or maximalist? Minamilist
-
Colour palette? Neutral tones, lots of natural materials
-
Upholstery and textilles? Hand-made items using organic materials, linens and wools
Sensory appeal
-
What is the client’s aspirational atmosphere for the room? To create a calming and inviting space where someone wants to relax and feel at home
-
Ask your client to choose a couple of words to describe this atmosphere, which will be an invaluable trigger for you to design the concept and the mood. Light-filled & calming
Concept of Mood
Activity 3
Before embarking upon the design of a space and making decisions on the geometry of the planning and the decorative element, it is important to think about the underlying concept or atmosphere of the room. Really think about what you want the room to "say" and choose 3 words, which convey this atmosphere or vibe. The concept is your key stone, a point of reference, which you will refer back to when making any decisions about the planning or decorative scheme, and you will be continually asking yourself if your decisions are in good response to the 3 words.
Light
Artisanal
Calm
Session 2
Activity 1
This is a good time to complete Activity One: Scenarios
Think about two activities that will take place in the room that you are designing, and note down what furniture and other equipment you’ll need to carry them out comfortably.
Make a list of the furniture and equipment pertinent to the activities to be carried out in your own space and supplement the list with the basic measurements of each item. Also consider and measure the space between and around each piece of furniture, necessary for unobstructed circulation.
Scenario 1:
Reading a story to my kids on the sofa
Equipment needed:
A comfy sofa to lounge and cuddle in; no other distractions i.e. TV, kids toys; a reading light, so a side, wall or floor light; a bookshelf in easy reach filled with inspiring children's books; the radio or soft background music that isn't distracting
Scenario 2:
Reading a favourite magazine with a morning coffee
Equipment needed:
A comfy armchair, upholstered in a soft material such as linen; an easy to reach side table to place my coffee; a coffee table or other table to store the magazine after use; some gentle background music i.e. the radio; access to natural light for reading so close to the window
Activity 4
Refer back to your concept board and, taking inspiration from the images and the words, source inspirational images of interiors with a similar atmosphere.
Session 3
Activity 1
Your room in detail
Examine your room in detail, making notes of its features and condition.
The living room of our new house is going to undergo a complete overhaul, with new electrics, replastering of the walls, new flooring, and replacement of the doors. In its current state, the room is:
-
Ceiling: Painted white with no structural or decorative details, but at least there is no artex, which is usually very common in 1960/70s homes! There is just one light fitting in the middle of the room.
-
Walls: Flat and plain with one part wallpapered, and small skirting boards, which are usual in this era's houses.
-
Floor: Five-finger parquet flooring, which I like when it is sanded and polished. However, as we want underfloor heating downstairs to increase the energy efficiency and get rid of the radiator, we will be removing the floor and looking for something that will be more cohesive with the overall design of the house.
-
Windows: As per this era, there is one very large window, which is facing the road; however, the front garden is green and of good size with a fence to offer privacy from passersby. We are looking to replace this window with something more modern, and as we want to render the outside of the house, we have the option to change the window style and size slightly. The window is south-facing and so will get lots of light in the morning.
-
Doors: The door leading into the living room from the hallway (entrance hall) is plain and white - again, we are looking to replace this. There is the double doors at the back of the room leading into the dining area, they have ripple glass, and I love the style and want to preserve these by sanding and painting. They let light flow through the house and keep the back, which is north-facing, slightly lighter.
Supplement your notes on the above with the photos, which you have taken, and post your work in your own Channel, found in Teams.
Session 4
Activity One: Windows
Assess the role and impact of the windows in your room by considering the following questions:
-
Are the views from your windows attractive? Consider the view from different positions in your room when seated and when standing. You may want to highlight the view or disguise or limit any views that you find unattractive.
-
The living room is at the front of the house, and so the view is leading out into the driveway, front garden and onto the main road. Not the most attractive sight, however, enhancing the front garden with lots of greenery will definitely help.
-
The double doors at the rear of the living room lead out onto the dining room and onto the back garden. With the doors open you will be able to look through to the back garden which will offer a far nicer perspective.
-
Currently the front window is massive, at nearly 3m wide, but we do want to change this to modern rectangular floor to ceiling. window that only measures about 1m wide. We are also currently working with an architect and there is the possibility to extend out the front of the house, so I am thinking about how this might block some of the nautral light in this room, as I want to maximise the amount of light the room and rest of the house gets through the double doors at the back of the living room.
-
-
What direction do your windows face? Observe where the sun rises and sets in relation to your windows. The sun always rises in the east and sets in the west, which will enable you to work out the orientation.
-
The window is south-facing, and so the room will get lots of light in the morning and less in the evening.
-
Because the position of the doors at the back of the living room the morning sun and light should hopefully flow through the whole house. And then be more of a snug in the evening.
-
-
How much natural light and sunlight will your room have during the day and into the evening? Consider how this might change over the year? For example, a tree in full leaf may block the light in the summer but if it loses its leaves in the winter, it may allow more low-level light into a room.
-
It could feel quite cold in the evenings, which I am trying to think about with which flooring to use.
-
-
How much light if any enters the room from an adjacent room or hallway?
-
Light will come in through the door to the right of the window, this is from the hallway and front of the house. There is and will be glass panels in theh front door, which will let light into the room as well.
-
Also light will flood in from the back of the room and the double glass doors leading on from the back of the house, which is north facing and so a little darker.
-
All of the above will impact upon the suitability of the room for the intended purpose, for example, some people like to have early morning sun shining into their bedroom, while others don’t. Or you may need to provide shade from the afternoon sun in order to carry out some of the activities you have in mind to take place in the room.
Activity Two: Pathways
Make a list all the activities that will take place in your room and for each one, consider not only the FF&E necessary to perform each but also the pathways between each activity:
- Move through from the front entrance of the house to the living room and pass through to the dining/kitchen area at the rear of the house via the double doors at the back of the living room, and vice versa.
- Move from the bookshelf to the sofa/chair
- Move from the coffee table to the sofa/chair
- Open and close the window and blinds
- Making sure the furniture
Conflicts/cross circulation:
- Kids running through the space as it will be used as a cut through to the rear of the house, even though there is a hallway, I can see that everyone will be using this space at different times of the day and prefer to cut through the living room rather than the hallway.
- Think about the flooring used if it is used as a cut-through from outside to inside.
- It is intended as the quiet area of the home and where people can relax from digital noise; therefore, keeping the possibility to close the doors is key
Activity Three: Priorities
Look at the brief you’ve been developing and review it in the light of what you’ve learned, consider your priorities:
-
What are the most important activities? Relaxing and unwinding on the sofa in a quiet space, be it reading, listening to music or doing nothing with a cup of coffee.
-
What do you most want to achieve in the room? To create a safe and comfortable space to relax the mind, and at the same time, offer some inspirational reading.
-
What are your preferences in terms of atmosphere? Calm and relaxing with low lighting and lots of natural light flowing through.
Consult again with any other people who will be using the room as they too might have changed their mind about their requirements and preferences.
Refine your brief, and structure it to include ‘Priorities’. Consider the merits of any revisions and then post your finalised brief in your own Channel, found in Teams.
Moodboard
Session 5
Activity 1
Note down the words, which you chose when designing your concept board, reflect upon them and then write a list of the corresponding geometry to express the words. For example:
Light
Artisanal
Calm
Geometry:
Open, spacious, minimalist,
Well proportioned, symmetrical, quality over quantity, craftsmanship
Soft patterns, everything has a place or home within the room
Works Well:
Large windows or open doorways for light to flow through
Less is more on decor
Wood details
Organic fabrics
Works Less Well:
Bright or dark colours
Lots of patterns