Design House Calls
by designee
~ Rodman & Yaruss Gold Refiners Building 23 W47th St. NYC. N.Y.
~ Symbol Technologies L.I. N.Y. · Mercy Hospital & Franklin General Hospital L.I. N.Y.
~ TWA Saarinen Terminal, Jamaica N.Y. & Flight Scheduling Bldg., St. Louis.
~ Dallek Office Furniture showroom 269 Madison Ave. NYC, N.Y.
~ New York Life & Metropolitan Life Insurance, NYC, N.Y.
Periodically, designee (business name) functioned as a small scale, design / build operation, interior design consultant, and a home improvement contractor. It is a designer’s dream to experience the complete design process from the start / sketch paper to finish / punch list, seeing their creations implemented to completion with such care, maintaining quality control.
Since childhood, Xavier demonstrated a strong desire to improve his work and play areas, including those he shared with his friends. In his mind’s eye he would imagineer his bedroom in all 3 dimensions, and in color, transforming it to meet his desires and needs down to the minutest detail. Actual childhood projects included clubhouses, whether freestanding, in trees, in the woods or secret garage attics. Whatever spaces were available, he sought them out and tried to make the best of it with the limited budget a child’s allowance and returned bottle deposits would provide. Most of the materials were donated or picked up from scavenger hunts throughout the neighborhood. During the winter, it was only natural for him to be challenged on occasion and create an igloo whenever the snowfall allowed it. In high school Xavier was given two awards for outstanding achievement in – Mechanical Drawing, and Architectural Design.
Simplified Design Philosophy
~ Creativity is basically an act of love or generosity, very similar to giving someone a gift, as we spend worthwhile time searching for just the right thing, or creating something special, wrapping it just so to make it even more attractive. So it is with design, where we spend quality time working towards the best solution, providing a pleasing and stimulating environment that functions well. It is a challenge for a designer to accomplish this within their own home, but to be successful with a client’s home, or office, requires much more dedication and determination, learning and appreciating their particular needs and desires.
~ Re-cycling is a necessary and fun challenge.
~ A basic home environment only requires so much for us to live and even be healthy, similar to eating oatmeal everyday; we would survive. But most of us have the ability and freedom to acquire just the right assemblage of materials and accessories providing greater satisfaction, not unlike eating a full course gourmet meal. This is a major factor contributing to the ideal conversion of just a house, into a real home.
~ Aesthetics or beauty of a design is compared to “TASTE,” while its function is like maintaining the proper “NUTRIENTS.”
~ The notion of having Design Police is in some ways attractive to me, because without some restrictions and thoughtful guidelines, the landscape is sadly becoming littered with ugly and dilapidated structures, and some home environments are unhealthy and unsafe, as there are those who are neglecting and taking advantage of their freedom to build and maintain structures in our communities. It is my feeling that even some colors should be banned from exterior use.
~ The amount of money spent to create, re-design or renovate is NOT directly proportional to the quality and success of the final results. Yes, good design is definitely affordable!
