As a builder, every time I pick up a hammer,
I realize something that I got wrong as a designer...
By day, I spend my time as a designer and design-educator dreaming up new ways to solve visual problems with a bit of beauty or interest. However, early-on in my career, I took a strong liking to the craft of production... on the journey, I've picked up a few new monikers: builder, maker, craftsman (or the latest: "super-detail-oriented-customer"). Between cabinetry designs, bath renovations, door installs and now audio builds, I'm keeping myself busy.
This has given a unique perspective on how to get stuff done that looks great and works well. I has also dispelled the idea that "good design" isn't about uniqueness, but has as much to do with what can be produced — and repeated if necessary... and last a long time. This spans the gamut from material choices to installation techniques... and along the way, I've learned a few things. Here are three tips that might come in handy when planning a project:
[Over the years, my boots have seen a lot of muck, but each time I step in it, I learn something new.]
1: It might look great in the catalog, but...
[tip: Ask lots of questions]
Added to the above is photographer as well — things can certainly be made to look good in pictures, but how they feel in your hand and look in person are very different things. It's important to ask questions early in the process.
This came up most recently with an inquiry about outdoor cabinetry. For instance, "veneer" and "laminate" in cabinetry are two very different things — one is primarily used to describe a natural wood covering (wood) while the latter is reserved for a man-made covering (plastic). The outdoor cabinets planned for a landscape project look great in pictures (and are very likely great in person), but this particular brand is available only online, so everything is dependent on marketing imagery or online reviews. When I began to ask more specific questions, the agents were quite helpful, but the details were still a bit foggy. In this case, I feel confident enough to order — and return if necessary — but there's a big gap between what I know will show up and what I hope will show up. Hope is not a strategy, but the questions I asked helped to instill at least a bit of confidence.
[New Age Products makes some great looking outdoor cabinets. Will they look as good in person? When they show up, I'll take pictures and report back.]
2: Sure, it's available...
[tip: Plan for the long term]
You might be able to get it, but can you get more when you really need it? I learned this in a recent bath renovation. The client had chosen VCT as her flooring choice — a common replacement for the original VAT. In the typical patterns (the marbled look), there are two major manufacturers: Armstrong and Mannington... Armstrong is available all-day from a dozen different local sources and Mannington (if you can ID the pattern) is special order from the East Coast with a 2 week lead time. Sadly, the entire house was clad with a Mannington color in a no-longer-made pattern and we were 12 tiles short for the bathroom. In the end, we switched to a porcelain tile (a better fit for a bathroom anyway), but the job was delayed months while a decision was sorted and the real question revealed itself: Is Mannington 55101-ish really that better or different than Armstrong's Imperial Texture 51910? Doing some research beforehand would reveal that for whatever slight difference, you sacrifice repeatability and long-term flexibility. When planning a project, you don't have to pick the "off the shelf" renovator special at the big-box, but be very wary of picking something that it truly one-of-a-kind.
[In the end, a good-looking off-the shelf tile was a much better choice for the bathroom]
3: In order to succeed, fail first...
[tip: Test, prototype... and test some more].
We installed a deck in cumaru — an insanely dense tropical wood. In many ways, it's a great choice, but even when following manufacturer's recommendations, the kiln-dried wood swelled on the first rain and buckled the deck. After we removed that, we went in search of a replacement. We found Calibamboo and did some research. Like the first point, this was an online-only item and even then, I knew that questions and research would not be enough. We ordered a unit of boards and I proceeded to do test after test after test with it. From shims, to bathroom shelving, I wanted to know how the material performed and what its weaknesses were before we installed another deck. It was a worthwhile experiment because no online review would yield that it's strength was compression and UV resistance, but it was terrible at shear and it would crumble like MDF is not prepped properly, . If we had installed it with the recommended "clips" the result would not be nearly as sturdy as our preferred method, top-screws.
[Test after test — from stand-off blocks and spacers to house-lifts and prototype decks — we put Calibamboo through the wringer.]
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