REFINE STUDIOS DESIGN PILLAR: DURABILITY
Week by week we’ve been taking you all through the design pillars here at Refine Studios. We use these pillars as the basis for curating our client’s designs to fit their needs for their space!
YOUR ENVIRONMENT MATTERS: DURABILITY
Week by week we’ve been taking you all through the design pillars here at Refine Studios. We use these pillars as the basis for curating our client’s designs to fit their needs for their space! No two clients are the same and everything from the people, flow, sound, lighting, and much more impact a space. Using these ten pillars as the guidelines really ensures that we are transforming a house into a home for our clients so that they’ll be excited to walk in the door. Today we’re sharing all about our durability design pillar.
Once our install is complete and the client moves in, we want to leave them with a quality design that can stand up to their everyday life. We never want to leave our clients with buyer’s remorse, so today we are talking all things durability.
One of the hardest parts about design can be finding the balance between the budget and durability. We spend a lot of time at the initial stages finding out how you use your home and who spends time there. That helps us get a better idea of where we need to focus on durability. For example, pets or kiddos make a big difference when it comes to flooring because they will likely need to be a bit more durable to withstand more use.
In the first rounds of material selections, we want to make sure the most used rooms have durable cabinets, countertops, plumbing fixtures and floors. We also discuss preferences on quality doors, windows and even paint sheens to stand up to everyday use.
When we move onto furniture plans, we take another look at your budget and priorities. We realize that sometimes budget requires sacrifice in some areas, so we are strategic in making sure the most-used furniture items and fabrics are able to stand up to the challenge and are easy to clean. Whenever possible, we order samples- this helps both our client and our team make sure what we are suggesting is worth the splurge. One more tip- read reviews! On more than one occasion we have backed out on a selection that we really loved the look of because the reviews were questionable.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT HOW OUR TEAM PRIORITIZES DURABILITY, EVEN IF IT’S ON A BUDGET
Charity Scott | Owner + Designer:
Up until a few years ago, durability wasn’t high on my priority list. However now that we have a toddler and another little one on the way, durability is a must. We recently remodeled our kitchen and all of my design decisions were focused on durability. Designing with durability in mind will help us to enjoy our new kitchen without the constant worry of something getting ruined. With durable materials you can let your kids be kids and still have a well maintained home.
Casey | Project Manager:
Durability is a must-have in our home. We have three young children who love to have friends and cousins over plus a dog! It’s important that we can enjoy and really live in our home, so I don’t have anything too precious simply because I don’t want to be constantly on edge over keeping things nice. I like to choose products and materials that can handle all the monster trucks and applesauce spills, but are soft, comfortable and of course are fun to look at!
Jada | Interior Detailer:
My fiance and I recently moved into our first shared home out of college. We were needing a lot of pieces on a budget. I didn’t want to waste our money on cheap furniture that wouldn’t last, I wanted to splurge on a few things we could use for years to come. We focused most of our budget on our most used furniture like the couch, bed frame and dining chairs. Pro tip: we searched second hand for accent pieces like lamps and side tables (still quality but a smarter purchase!)
Kaitlynn | Design Assistant:
I never want to buy something that will limit the way that I get to use it. I recently bought a cheap couch and i love it but- it’s already pilling and i’m nervous to even sit on it, I wish that I would have done some more research on it rather than just buying it because it looked nice. In the future, I know to spend my money on durable furniture and not just pretty furniture.
