The Space to Design
Take a minute to look around you. Doesn’t everything seem to be moving faster than ever? When you drive to San Antonio, the city’s edge is closer than ever, it was only yesterday that Boerne seemed like it was far away from the big city. Now, it’s engulfed. Things are growing at high speed all around us, and it’s happening everywhere across the state of Texas. The demand for homes in the Hill Country continues to outpace our expectations and while we are so excited to be doing the work, it makes us stop and wonder, “How fast can you push the skill of great design?”
The inherent speed of creativity
There seems to exist a conflict: between the desire for instant gratification and the need for thoughtful process. Creative “work” requires the careful management of the two priorities, which has only become more challenging in the face of a culture who expects hot coffee within three seconds of ordering it. But let us consider that the fastest coffee might have a different taste and effect from the painstakingly roasted and pour-over excellence of a craft coffee house, which took quite a few more minutes to make. See, our knee jerk expectation has become this idea that speed belongs everywhere and in everything, and yet we know and honor the need to work to produce something spectacular sometimes, and the truth is that it doesn’t happen quickly. A spec home development and a custom ranch property operate on totally different priorities and processes because the outcomes are entirely opposite.
Observation-Taking time to know you
It’s on our website, on many of our social posts, and it’s deeply infused on our process. We think it’s really important to get to know the people we are designing with and for, in fact, it’s something that’s incredibly unique in our approach. But we’ve spent enough digital ink on it in the past, so for now, let’s just summarize it this way: Taking time to know and observe someone or something is anything but quick. It takes conversations, and multiple touchpoints within the context of time. Trust is essential here, and we all know that it grows about as fast as a tree, not a mushroom.
Big Picture Thinking
Here we really center down on the skill of a designer. It’s our biggest gift to the process and something that really sets us apart from the more reactively positioned role of a decorator. It’s why we get to have a licensed credential behind our name like NCIDQ. Our ability to see the big picture, to comprehend the end-result, to draw it out on paper, that’s something special. We are the imaginative keepers of the vision, and in our imagination we are able to take ourselves through a space and comprehend how it will function and how it will feel, before there is even sheetrock installed. Every decision that gets made has the potential to influence that vision, and we feel that it’s up to us to always be testing modifications and changes against the plan. Which leads us to the practice of iteration.
Iterations
This, we think, is where the desire to go quickly can be most damaging to the creative work of an interior designer. We are not used to buying our coffee, taking a sip and sending it back to the barista every time, yet that is what’s required in a process like this. So many people can get uncomfortable with the back-and-forth, thinking that the process has “failed” just because it wasn’t perfect right out of the gate. But we know that nothing can be perfect on the first try, and besides, this is where the design becomes personal, intimate, a reflection of the person who’s home we are designing. Every client begins to feel “this is my home” as they give and receive feedback with us. In no way is speed the goal, this is about excellence through refinement, together.
Factors that can be influential
As a disclaimer, don’t think that we aren’t able to design quickly within the confines of our process. It’s just not going to be the priority that knocks excellence off the top pedestal. There are elements that influence the pace of our interior design process, small catalysts that really influence how quickly we can do the creative work.
Creative space is one of them. When we are in an environment that feeds our creativity, the flow of solutions seems to be uninhibited. Relaxed and beautiful spaces, with the resources we need at-hand allow us to be more restful while we work. That’s why we’re building an office for ourselves!
Good processes and excellent communication have a major hand to play as well. When we sit for weeks on feedback from a client or vendor, it really breaks our focus and it takes time to regain momentum. If we eliminate the need to keep re-doing busy-work, we can keep a constant and steady approach to designing & iterating.
Finally, there’s the healthy relational space we need to create. Co-creators are the key to inspiration! We love getting a few of the team’s minds in the room, maybe add a client or a vendor, and then the creative designer sparks begin to ignite wonderful ideas. Unnecessary tension can really devastate this catalytic collaboration, so we think it’s important to make sure that our relationships stay healthy, because knowing you isn't just for coming up with design ideas you'll like, it's the beginning of a real relationship. It’s amazing what an energized group can accomplish in a short amount of time when everyone is feeling loved, respected and inspired.
So, do you want to design “fast”?
It’s possible to produce excellent work quickly, but there is a limit, and when you start to let decisions slip for the sake of speed, you should ask, “is that the legacy I want to leave behind in this work?” Or, is it worth it to adjust the factors, optimize within the process, but then admit that speed is not the sole priority? For us, quality and beauty should always be first and if a gorgeous and unique home gets finished a few months later than everyone originally expected, what does that matter in the grand scheme of a lifetime? Quality is timeless.
*These writings are a collaborative effort between Slaughter Design Studio, and Ben Rodgers Pivotol. We do the designing and thinking, they capture it in words and “essence” so we can share it with you!