It all starts with a conversation

A guiding hand transforming your home

I have been working in design for a long time. I have worked on several continents, in different climates, on varying scales and budgets and for very different clients, with unique lives and likes and dislikes. I understand, more than ever, that our role is one of guidance. Experience, skills, creativity and, ultimately, listening are at the service of our clients to reach a desired outcome that is not just structural, functional or aesthetic. Interior architecture and design are truly about transforming your life, through the transformation we bring to your space. It is about aligning your values, current circumstances and aspirations with the features and possibilities of your home, despite, or along with, its challenges and limitations. Over the years, I have found that the clients who most benefit are those who recognise that they have reached a milestone, are undergoing a transition or significant life change. This calls for transformation: something new, different, fresh and freeing. In the past year alone, we have worked on defining properties following a relocation, a divorce or a loss, before the arrival of a baby or after the kids had left.

It could be about rediscovering a space you have been seeing for years and cannot see anymore, for its familiarity, warts and all. Or about redefining an old space to suit a new life, because you are so aware of its pain points, its frustrating limitations, its immutable challenges and it is time to move on. It can also, of course, be about defining a new space to suit that new life or new phase – because you are ready.

Irrespective of which scenario is yours, there are key steps that we follow to reach the desired outcome of a joyful, functional and stylish home. They all start with a conversation. Of course, the minute I walk into a space, I can identify points that could benefit from some focus and attention, in my opinion, but I am not you and it is not my space. So, first and foremost, we walk around (or look at plans and photos, if consulting remotely) and ask questions – lots of them. We listen to the answers and to what is said - and what is not said, implied, just bubbling at the surface, screaming for attention. Ones that you are not sure you can, should or are allowed to say, because you would be asking for too much, it wouldn’t be reasonable, it isn’t really necessary – but it would be nice to have… This lets us into your life, your loves and your hates, your pet peeves and your “These conversations weaknesses. Do you cook a lot? Do are about you – your you entertain a lot? Do you love lifestyle, your values reading in bed? Do you exercise when everyone is still asleep? Do you work and aspirations. What all hours yet want to feel connected makes you tick, dream, to the rest of the household smile and breathe activities? Do you want to practise your putting or play an instrument more freely?” or opera super loud? And what else?

And who else? And when and how?

Allowing us to identify pain points together, we outline specific scenarios that drive you crazy, make your life miserable or just not as comfortable, efficient or simple as it could be. To restore practical aspects of circulation or storage in the space – to put the laundry or groceries away, or the admin files, or the kids’ arts and crafts ‘stuff’ when not in use. To add to what is missing, in terms of lighting options, durable materials or flexible solutions to add versatility to a space – so it can be bright and functional, or moody and cosy: a gym, an office, a gourmet kitchen...

We can then also reveal focal points that got lost in translation, over time, misuse or plain busyness. It can be beautiful features that have given over to daily life, were never installed for lack of time or confidence in how or where. It can be about your home’s strengths and weaknesses – something to underline and shine light on or something on the contrary to camouflage, minimise, repurpose so it doesn’t take over and spoil comfort, space or flow. These conversations are about you – your lifestyle, your values and aspirations. What makes you tick, dream, smile and breathe more freely? The guidance process is the road map that allows us, together, to manage your expectations and make all of the above a reality. A gradual unveiling of many compromises you have accepted, or put up with – perhaps because there was no time, no budget, no urgency, no certainty as to where to start, not enough confidence to empower you to make it happen. Ultimately, it is what gives you permission to live your best life, to be your best self, within your best space.

MARIE-NOELLE SWIDERSKI, Galuchat Design www.galuchatdesign.com

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