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Kitchen Design: “Full steam ahead!”
 Before I started design school, I struggled with the “What should I do with the rest of my life?” question since I graduated from high school. I needed something that would always challenge me and allow me to grow and learn. When you begin design school, you realize that there are just as many avenues to go down within the design field itself as there are other careers. In my first year, my Furniture Design class went on a field trip to a custom cabinetry showroom and my light finally went on! I knew at that moment that I was born to be wild – er, uh, I mean – I was born to specialize in Kitchen & Bath Design.
Previously working in the restaurant industry for 17 years afforded me the opportunity to truly understand the intimacy of our communion with food. I love to bake (Dessert Diva – website coming soon!) and cook for others and based on my weight gain over the last few years, I guess I like to eat it too! Don’t stand between a woman and her cheesecake….and mashed potatoes….and bread smothered with butter….you get the idea!
All kidding aside, Kitchen design is a perfect union of my restaurant experience, mad organizational skills and love of everything that is or involves food! My passion allows me to bring energy to each client’s project and maintain the level of excitement and commitment that is required for completion. My appreciation of function and efficiency drives my design. I understand the personality of a kitchen and how it should relate in regards to storage, food preparation, circulation, aesthetics, and most importantly, its occupants. Every cook and family is individual, so versatility is a key component to successfully designing a space for others. After all, it is your kitchen and it needs to work for how you function in the space!
BATH DESIGN: "The other end." (Insert laughter here)
 We all have needs. The most basic of these are the physiological needs to breathe, sleep, and satisfy hunger, thirst, and sex. And then there’s the other end. I know, gross. Bathrooms are an incredibly intimate and private space. As primarily functional spaces, bathrooms also require special attention to detail in regards to appropriate clearances, safety and code issues, and aging in place considerations. While there are typically fewer material and fixture decisions to make in bathroom design, many of today’s clients want their bathrooms to be an oasis where they can relax and escape the hectic pace of their lives. Features such as steam showers, oversized showers with therapeutic shower heads, chromatherapy whirlpool tubs, radiant heat, towel warmers, ample storage and TV’s have become the norm. Space permitting, your bathroom can be your own personal spa!
SPACE PLANNING: "It’s my PANTRY and I’ll cry if I want to!"
 Have you ever walked into a room and it just felt OFF and you weren’t sure why? It may have lacked balance, emphasis, or the scale of furniture was inappropriate for the space. In regards to non-utilitarian rooms, simply repositioning furniture for a better flow, adding artwork, or creating a focal point may do the trick. You’d be amazed at how minor changes to the positioning of items you already own can transform your space into a more comfortable and harmonized room. Feng Shui is for real, my friends! Look for an article in Diva’s Dish in the near future.
In more functional areas such as kitchens, bathrooms, or laundry rooms, the flaws can range from cosmetic to structural. The frustration of ill-designed active spaces can cause you to avoid spending time in those areas while the thought of the expense to repair or update can cause you to avoid fixing the problem in the first place! The errors in these areas are more expensive to correct, but worth the investment. If you are considering reselling your home, you will receive a large percentage in return on an investment in your kitchen or bathroom. Check with Lisa Brown with Coldwell Banker Legacy for more information at http://www.littlepinkhouse.biz/. If you are staying put for awhile, it would be a good idea to get an estimate on the work that needs to done to see when it will be feasible for you move forward with that long-awaited project. It’s your home…enjoy it!
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: "Type A personalities unite!"
 As a teenager, I used to measure the distance of the plants and figurines on my desk in my room. Uptight you say? Early signs of OCD? No, I just like to be well organized. At one of my first jobs out of high school, my co-workers would regularly dump out my desk supplies all over my work surface. Ok, it WAS funny!
Managing a project successfully requires focused attention to details, commitment, flexibility, and patience. In a Kitchen remodel, for example, scheduling contracted workers and the delivery and installation of products will make or break the project’s defined time constraints. Being without your Kitchen for 6-8 weeks is more stressful than the dollar signs floating around in your head. Successful project management will maintain a fluid pace towards job completion. I realize how much you have on your plate (no pun intended!)…after you’ve picked out materials, let Design Diva handle all the details for you.
DRAFTING / CAD / PLANS: "Make sure you always have a Plan B."
 Manual drafting is one of the first courses a student takes in a design program and required before advancing to CAD (computer-aided drafting). Drawing classes were intimidating to me, since my skills as an artist were limited to stick figures and sad-looking monkey faces I learned in elementary school. Surprisingly, manual drafting was not at all difficult for me and I quite enjoy the therapeutic escape it offers and the human quality it presents to clients. However, contemporary times demand CAD capabilities for its precision and flexibility to quickly and efficiently modify design plans and share files. But, we all know computers sometimes have a mind of their own and so often crash right before your 5pm deadline. No worries…..have pencil, scale and vellum - will travel!
COLOR & LIGHTING CONSULTATION: "And the Diva says, “Let there be light”…and color!"
 Are you looking for a quick and cost-effective way to transform the interior of your home? Look no further than a can of paint. Now, don’t be scared! Color is your friend. Adding color to your walls, ceiling, trim or floors changes the appearance of the space, including the perception of its size. But did you know that color also creates an “emotional temperature” in a space (Design Diva Article #2) and affects your psychological response to an interior?
I believe that color selection and lighting specification go hand in hand. When selecting color, it is necessary to consider what feeling you want to evoke in a space, what natural lighting is available, and what applied lighting will be utilized. Color won’t matter if there isn’t any light. Lighting is most effective in layers: general or ambient lighting, accent lighting for drama or effect, directional lighting for artwork or task areas, and decorative lighting as a focal point.
Also consider different painting techniques or a faux finish that creates a textural quality and adds dimension to your walls and surfaces. Faux finishes are distinctly highlighted in a properly lighted interior. Faux finisher Tara Rex, of The Artistic Canuck, creates amazingly beautiful finishes to enhance your space. Check out her website gallery at www.theartisticcanuck.com.
MATERIALS SPECIFICATION: "Fashion 101: You can’t wear those shoes with that dress!"
 During my Interior Design program, I was called the “Fabric Queen” due to my fearless conquest of mixing and matching textiles for presentation boards. Specifying materials was the “fun” part of each project. But looks aren’t everything! Understanding the aesthetic relationship of materials is paramount to a cohesive union. This “expectant level of quality,” as coined by my previous employer, refers to the appropriate relation of materials to one another. In a successful Kitchen design, the purchase of a higher end appliance package dictates that the same distinction in quality is given to the cabinetry selection. Nothing screams ‘red-headed step-child’ like the visually stuttered appearance of premier granite tops with your mother’s hand-me-down pea-green refrigerator.
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