It’s interesting how many business owners are so interested in the what I affectionately call the “band-aid approach” to their facilities. It stems from not wanting to spend capital dollars on their space, but what happens is a bunch of haphazard design decisions that become layered on each other, resulting in increased money over time. It’s such a waste.
Interior designers have an ability to see the potential of a space and make recommendations accordingly. Not only is a designer interested in making a space look good, but also function exceptionally well. It’s about making the space work harder and reflecting a brand that the business owner is trying to portray to it’s employees and customers.
Interior design gives an impression of what’s to come, it gives the first impression to a potential employee or customer as they enter the space, and it’s important that the business relationship gets stared off on the right foot.
Interior design has the ability to hide flaws in the building architecture and accentuate what makes the business special. It’s through color, texture and architecture that a designer can make an impact.
Often when a business owner approaches a project, they think about making small improvements to get them by, as opposed to choosing solutions that would have the greatest impact on the environment over time. I recently worked for a client who wanted a demountable wall solution because it would appear as though he spent less money on the space than if he redid an entire wing of the office, each solution costing an equal amount of money. He opted for the band-aid because he was laying people off in the process, however often business owners don’t give as much thought as this client. Business owners should view interior design as another marketing or PR expense that helps to propel the business forward and budget accordingly.