Functionality is one of the most important aspects of a well-executed, thoughtful interior design. Not only is a professional designer responsible for creating a space that looks beautiful, they need to create a livable, purposeful space as well. In fact, many clients reach out to designers with functionality at the forefront of the request.
During design consultations with new clients, you’ll often hear sentiments such as, “I wish we spent more time together as a family in the living room,” or, “I want to start cooking at home more.” While these desires might seem more personal than aesthetic, it’s incredible how significant an impact an interior design update can truly have on the way we interact within a room.
One of the trickiest tasks you might find yourself faced with is designing a sleek, beautiful home environment- that’s family friendly for little ones too. It can be incredibly hard to keep a modern family home looking stylish and beautiful when there are cleaning supplies, snacks and toys floating around in the mix. As a well-trained interior designer, finding a happy medium in which the home can look stunning but the kids can still play and feel cozy is a super fun way to put your decorating skills to the test.
One of the most important terms worth remembering throughout projects like this- multipurpose. Let’s take a mock client for example- a married couple with a toddler, living in an NYC 2-bedroom apartment. They feel like what used to be their own personal oasis for comfort, workday functionality and productivity is lately drowning in piles of toys and baby gear. What used to be a fantastic home-office is now a nursery. They want to spend more time on their own personal projects in the home, but aren’t quite sure where they’d fit themselves in. Multipurpose is key here.
While that second bedroom may no longer be up for grabs, a super-functional workspace is pretty easy to integrate in most living room spaces. Not only that, for parents of young children, working in the family area is often preferable- they can watch the kids while finishing up a project without having to bounce from room to room. All you’ll need to do here is dedicate an unused corner of the room, then fill it with compact office furniture- a simple desk and stool should be sufficient, maybe some simple storage beneath the desk.
Beyond that, always be on the lookout for flexible, overlooked spaces within the home that could easily be transformed into something new and special. Especially in smaller family apartments- random corners or large hallway spaces could be easily transformed into cozy reading nooks such as this one.
The more creative your clients are willing to get with multipurpose space updates, the more possibilities you’ll have.
