Berlin Designs, Inc. Blog: Design Rituals

... a passionate revelation of my design rituals ...
a passionate account from a South Florida award-wining interior designer who is blessed to celebrate her 20th year anniversary of designing "interiors that lift your spirit™"
Welcome! The search is finally over. That perfect marriage of understanding without words:one look, one image, a breathtaking view... Someone who will know how to interpret her client's wishes by listening to all the unsaid words, seeing the cues, perceiving the feelings with a simple gaze.
I am the lucky designer who will get to go into the personal spaces in your life, your office or home. That place you call your own, where you can be you. Your surroundings matter to me, my passion is to let the best of you shine through the space you occupy. No antiseptic rooms, catalog photo-shoot ready, rather the elegant comfort of a back porch at sunset is the feeling I want in the interior of your private spaces. The sink-down comfort of being in your OWN space.
Let your smile shine as you enjoy learning about my passion for design. Then, you will see why we say: experience Interiors that lift your spirit™.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

The Horizon

Kitchen ventilation hood company Zephyr had a large presence at KBIS this year, in large part due to their collaboration with designer Robert Brunner. The former Pentagram notable and current head of Ammunition was the creative force behind the Arc Collection, Zephyr’s new high-performance range hoods. Each of the 10 Arc models feature the new Clean Air option, a setting that automatically circulates several times a day to prevent stale air and foul odors.

The Horizon (above) is available in black, white, or red glass that can be custom etched according to customers’ individual tastes. Don't let the low-profile fool you, even though it only extends 10 inches from the wall, the compact motor behind that unfettered facade packs up to 1,000 CFMs.

Thermosensitive Experience

The Mississippi-based design team of Erin Hayne and Nuno Gonçalves Ferreira is behind the Swamp Collection, a series of heat-sensitive stools and lounges that integrate materials that allow the surface to change color temporarily in response to body heat or ambient heat. Far from being a gimmicky fad option, the collection is a class act that encourages users to interact with objects in order to enjoy tactile experiences. Visual Reference Studio’s new collection includes Touch wall panels for public spaces and the Please Touch pillows that offer a smaller scale thermo-sensitive option. Reverse new color ways are also available, so that there is also the option of seeing the red material change to violet.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Staying up to date with CEU's

Keeping up with trends and design practices can be and is, indeed a full-time job. On the one hand you must take the CEU's to keep you license in 'current' status, thus a chore. On the other having the choices of what to attend not only keeps you informed but let's you hone in and tap into resources you did not have before. I have been approached in several occasions regarding my interest in becoming an expert witness in several design-related cases. While I must admit that attending any courtroom for whatever the reason is about as appealing as getting a root canal, the CEU I attended this evening on 'becoming an expert witness' has opened my eyes in fearing not the process but actually finding it quite educational in nature. I have provided affidavits before and even referred colleagues for their experience, yet, now I further understand that my experience is what I bring to the table. Being able to listen, learn and offer an impartial, unbiased opinion on subjects that I am passionate about, and so versed in that it comes natural, is one more way I can further my value to the profession.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Book Signing at Book&Books in BalHarbour

David Shepherd, mentor, business guru, friend and now author of page-turner 'Resurrecting Randi' available through amazon.com, joined us this past weekend as we hosted in his honor a 'very Latin happy-hour book-signing event'. David had an opportunity to read a few pages from his novel and afterwards autographed quite a few books for guests and friends. Now his National book tour continues as he heads through Texas and ends in his hometown Austin.

Please pick up a copy, you will 'not be able to put it down'. David Oshinski, Pullitzer Prize Winner (author of the terrific book, 'Polio')
said he had picked up Resurrecting Randi while on a plane.

"To put it mildly--as they say--I couldn't put it down. It's a beautifully written book with terrific characters. I was swept away by the narrative and found myself trying to figure out what was coming next. You are a truly remarkable story-teller; this book deserves best-seller status."

Call it tech-toy pride.

Must-see TV. Upfront and center as the new focal point in the main room.

Never mind that many designers will cringe at the sight of exposed sets in living rooms, especially those prominently displayed. That opinion is so widely held among designers that some don't even like seeing TVs in plain sight even in more casual family rooms. But slim, sleek, flat-panel screens are changing our interior landscapes. This is particularly true for young people. They are very electronic in their thought processes, so the design for the main room's focal point is shifting. "I have a penthouse that is soft, modern and sleek. The fireplace isn't fussy. And the TV is so contemporary, it's almost like another piece of art," says Davis, a real estate broker.

Some designers find themselves resisting client pressure to show off the TV. "Not in a formal living room," Washington designer Lori Graham says. "I am a purist in that regard." She is putting a set in one living room grudgingly, she says, quickly adding, "It was a loft-like space whose style is much more modern and eclectic." Even there the TV is mounted in a grid of shelving.

"I will not ever put one over a fireplace," declares D.C. designer Susan Vallon. "It is a traditionally warm gathering place and focal point, and you are negating the whole thing by putting a TV there. I would rather have people drywall over the fireplace and remove it as a center of attention."

Rather than being so dramatic as to drywall over a major architectural feature we understand the need of our clients to want the option of occasional entertainment when they would enjoy a TV in their living room and above their fireplace. Be it New Years and your guests want to see the ball drop or the yearly football/Thanksgiving dinner... Finding 'designer-acceptable' solutions is more challenging than trying to swim against flow.