Monday, May 16, 2011

Preparing and Planning a Design Project Part I

Preparing and Planning a Design Project
Plan your Plan
There are many steps to designing a decorating project, if you want very good results. I have done projects with great planning and I got great results. I have done projects I threw together at the last minute and it looked like something the cat drug in. If you put the time and effort into creating something you can be proud of you will be proud of it. Paul “Bear” Bryant said, "It's not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters." Planning and preparation is as important as actually executing the project, if not more so.
Design Book - First you have to get an idea of what you want to accomplish. I like to draw, clip pictures of the elements I want included etc. Some people keep these ides in a sketch book or folder. You need to see what your creation will look like when complete. Sometime we get an idea that in reality just won’t work, but it may give us inspiration to try something different. So we need to put our mental ideas into the real world by sketching just to get an idea of how it will appear. Don’t worry if you can’t draw very well, I can’t either but it helps me put my idea into the “Real World”. I start by collecting pictures of rooms or furniture, etc that are similar and have the same features of what I want to achieve. I clip pictures of individual elements that I want. I collect swatches of color, fabric, paint and wood chips and other elements depending on what kind of project it is.
Budget - Making a budget not only helps ensure that finances don’t get out of hand but that all elements are accounted for to complete the process. Too many projects end up unfinished or delayed because you run out of money.
 Time - Timelines need to be set. They need to be practical and adhered to as much as possible. It’s too easy to get frustrated by a decorating project and unrealistic expectations on the timeframe are one of the biggest frustrations. Eliminate that element by being reasonable while setting up the timeframe and then stick to it.

Priorities – If there are things that just HAVE to be included in the project put them on top of the priorities list, like a certain brand of paint or a certain material. These items may require more money and may be more luxurious than other items. Adjust the budget and the lower ranking items to fall in line with the priorities list.
Next time we will talk about my favorite thing, shopping, sticking to the plan, and having fun.



No comments:

Post a Comment