What is wrong with ‘good’?

Is “Good” good enough?  Why would we at Deb Reinhart Interior Design Group say ‘good ‘ is not good enough for our interior design clients?  Is doing a ‘Good ‘ job –an example of quality work?  Is providing ‘good’ client service – appropriate?

If our team asks our vendors for a ‘good’ client installation-a ‘good product or a ‘good’ delivery, how will these key parts of an installation perform?  Is the statement  ‘it looks good’  a compliment?

This week I heard a succinct quote which sums up the standards here at Deb Reinhart Interior Design Group.

“Good is the enemy of great”-David Foster (record producer & leader in the music industry)

6 words pack a lot of power.

Many of our clients wonder when we pause , frown and shake our heads-at a point in the design process and say “we can do better”.

If a design ingredient  is  likable-that is much different than exceptional.

If a trades person does a good job—what than did he or she NOT do for a great job?

We have never met – nor will we—but I thank you David Foster, for defining our business approach-so succinctly

Good is the enemy of great—and what a ‘great’ philosophy.

This coming week (August 12th – 21st) at The Golden Triangle a clearance sidewalk sale offers Asian antiques, re-purposed wood products and European flee-market finds.

You are welcome to go to this fun event on your own.   If you should want a interior designers critical eye – we still have appointments open at this time.  To book an appointment please email deb@debreinhart.com or call (847) 256. 9510.

For more information on this event please visit www.goldentriangle.biz.

]]> http://www.debreinhart.com/blog/the-golden-triangle-sidewalk-sale/feed/ 0 http://www.debreinhart.com/blog/streeterville-town-home-drapery-installation/ http://www.debreinhart.com/blog/streeterville-town-home-drapery-installation/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:44:46 +0000 admin http://www.debreinhart.com/?p=1107 The Streeterville town home is featured in our blog again. Pictured on this video is the installation of drapery panels in the great room. While the treatment looks simple, it actually took a fair amount of thought. The owner liked his view – and mandated none of the windows be blocked. A critical limitation is the built in cabinet flanking the fireplace, did not allow  for draperies to be placed on this side of the window.  Having stated the criteria (the owners preferences and the limiting built-in), we definitely felt draperies would complete the presence of these tall stately windows.

Our solution was tailored to the architecture, which is to say-we fabricated a cascaded panel asymmetrically on each side of the window. The rod was a hammered metal which was congruent to the ethnic flavor of the space.

Beyond Children’s Rooms this idea can be applied in home offices, workspaces, hobby rooms, mud rooms, kitchen information areas or children’s rooms. This dry erase paint can be applied to walls or furniture.

The details for the dry erase paint are below.  If anyone has used this product or does purchase this, we would love to hear about the creative applications.

In the event you prefer water based erasable magic markers-we would be happy to send a fresh set to you!

Interior design is FUN!

From a Design Obstacle to a Design Element!

Idea Paint

IdeaPaint is a dry-erase whiteboard paint that can be applied almost anywhere to create interactive, collaborative spaces. Paint entire conference rooms from floor to ceiling. Transform curved or angled walls into cool, useful work areas. Or turn tables, desks and cubicles into mini whiteboards.

IdeaPaint is incredibly cost effective versus traditional whiteboards and outperforms the leading dry-erase options. It’s also the most environmentally responsible commercial dry erase surface on the market.

IdeaPaint is available in two products that are ideal for work environments. IdeaPaint PRO, a solvent-based urethane coating and IdeaPaint CRE-8, a water-borne paint.

BUY IdeaPaint Online!

You need more reasons?

- Best of NeoCon & Metropolitan Home Design 100
- Interior Design Magazine’s Green Star Award
- Erases effortlessly
- No cracking, peeling, staining or yellowing
- Warranty-guaranteed

Benjamin Moore is teaming with Dwell magazine in a truly effective demonstration FOR HOW color influences a room. The vignatettes are so fun; the editors of Dwell showcased the same rooms with completely different colors. Pink walls instead of olive green? Charcoal instead of white? How about placing royal blue with sunshine yellow?

http://www.dwellstudio.com/benjamin-moore?utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailprtnr&utm_content=bmpaint&utm_campaign=bmpaint071510

Technology can assist a personal decision for color of walls check out this link for Sherman Williams. You can upload your own room photo and apply paint colors virtually.    http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself/paint_colors/visualizer/

Although tools like this are helpful, there is no substitute for placing color in your space in different light (cloudy, sunny-day and night) will all influence what your eye will see.

We recommend creating samples on 2 opposing walls in your space and then live with it for a few days. Keep the formula on the paint can and number it on the wall.View the wall samples at different times of the day

At Deb Reinhart Interior Design Group, our designers will interview clients to find what their color comfort is in various rooms. After personal comfort light is key.

City Beach House - Master Bedroom

Lake Shore Drive Condo - Master bedroom

We show for example 2 bedrooms: soft blue worked in 1 space, while vivid orange transformed another bedroom. The orange can cocoon a room for one person yet shout or disturb another.

We invite you to share your paint stories, questions or comments.

After building the custom ceiling the footprint of this living room became significantly larger.  We re-upholstering the existing sectional with a bold indoor/outdoor velour red fabric (which is very durable against pets, stains & wear).  The sectional was then arranging it in a unconventional way so that the furniture plan takes advantage of this expanded space.

Accessories & artifacts collected from around the world are now displayed on the focal point of this space, which is the custom build-out of the fireplace & shelving unit.

We are including before , in-process and after photos to show the interior design process of this living room

Living Room: Before

Living Room: Before

Living Room: In Process - re-arranging furniture

Living Room: In Process - re-arranging furniture (before re-upholstery of sofa)

Living Room: After -Sectional re-upholstered & custom shelving accessorized

Living Room: After - Re-arranging furniture can make a footprint larger

Living Room: After - Artifacts Displayed on Shelving

The island was completely rebuilt to give the homeowner more storage and better use of the island.  The hood from the cook top was moved so it is no longer visible. In it’s placed 2 Asian panels where placed inside of the custom built-out ceiling along with layered lighting to add function and one of a kind charm to this space.

New stone was placed on the kitchen counters & a waterfall stone design was added to the island. A new mosaic back splash  replaced the old large tile this gives “face-lift” to the entire space without requiring a lot of labor.

Please view the before & after pictures of this amazing kitchen transformation.

Kitchen: Before Remodel

Kitchen: After

Kitchen: After - Asian Panels Inset in Dropped Ceiling

Please check back soon and we will include photos of other areas of this excited project!

Photos also show the second focal point of the great room which highlights the wall unit surrounding the existing fireplace.  There is a sense of composition with the new ceiling and the wall unit design.

Interior design can alter architectural features significantly.

In Process: Great Room Construction

In Process: Great Room Ceiling

In Process: Construction crew discussing ceiling install

Please check back soon for our next featured area of this project.

Design Challenge;

Transform the home to enhance the architecture and reflect the owner, a professional man who is widely traveled and has impeccable taste.

While all interior design is driven by the architecture, the sheer volume created by 13 foot ceilings on a compact floor space needed disciplined solutions. Our directive included a sense of minimalism-quality design features and refined appointments. We used the clients love of color to our advantage and infuse the unit with contrasting color and minimal pattern

Starting point:
In this series blogs, we are including the main floor remodeling which has both the great room and kitchen in adjoining spaces.

These pictures are before we did any construction or demo.

Before: Living room with existing furniture.

Before: Living room looking into kitchen & dining room.

Before: Kitchen

As always, we welcome your comments, questions & input.  Please check back as we focus on specific installation areas of the exciting project!