Recently, I was asked the following question:
“How did you become an interior designer, after you got into medicine, did you graduate from the law school, and then for 10 years you were in a financial company?”
Formulated so, the question put me on my mind for a few moments, the reality being quite different: the passion for drawing, colors and the harmonization of things in a space, even if it was the doll house, have been manifested since childhood. Throughout my life, my native skills have been helpful to me in every design or renovation that I have had to accomplish for my own personal, home or firm, or for the benefit of my family and friends.
Hence, until it has turned into a passion in the craft, there have been some years in which I have followed some courses and learned from the experience of working on bigger yards, along with specialists from different fields. The years spent as an associate in my own company have helped me become a pragmatic, applied person who knows how to set achievable targets within plausible deadlines and to carry out projects, regardless of the obstacles encountered on the route. In other words, during this time, I managed to acquire managerial skills that, along with native, artistic, have turned into real strengths in the intricate and surprise of yards and interior design.
Why did I want to go with this passion of mine to a “next level” and turn it into a business? That’s another story :)))
Maybe it’s just a dream, maybe it’s going to come true one day, but I hope that through all my work and those who believe in this dream people get to understand that interior design, decoration, financial management and project are not exclusive services but reach everyone.Moreover, they are almost vital to those who have limited budgets, without the possibility of extra where needed. Here, too, I refer to all this advice, which interior design specialists can offer to those interested, so that a project can be completed in the allocated budget, in functional and aesthetic harmony. Under the name of “interior design” we have embraced a very wide and varied palette of multiple specialty services: interior architecture, furniture design, interior decoration, budget management or work steps, finishing products recommendation or teams of suppliers related services and, last but not least, healthy housing advice, which, in my view, encompasses everything I have mentioned before, plus the care for the needs of everyone who will enjoy the space.
Home is about your loved ones. Home is about giving.
I think the dream is about it, how to live nicely and enjoy our home with all our dear ones. Because at the end of the day, that’s all that matters, to get home to your family and relax with them.Without worrying about debt due to overflowing budgeting budgets, no stress that the furniture you invested in so much is in jeopardy when the little one wants to draw or the color you want on the walls causes the partner to real nightmares. Home is where the whole family feels comfortable and safe. Home is about your loved ones. Their joy becomes your joy. Home is about giving. And, looking at things, arranging our homes is, above all, a process of self-knowledge, prioritization and concessions made for the common good and harmony of living in the family.
Another piece of dream is to bring design to our everyday world, to turn it into a normal life of beautiful, lived beautiful. And even to remove it from the inaccessible mental area of artistic ideas and visions, hard or not at all practicable in the concrete area or with a functional left in the artistic element. When I was courageous (or maybe it was only a moment of utter insanity, I’m still moving between these two extremes) to lay the foundations of a design firm to think of as a business and not as an association of two architects designers who work together, I wanted to bring this aesthetic discipline into the pragmatic world, where people need clear, concrete services with budgeting, in terms and needs, more than the artistic act itself. It may seem sad at a first glance, but I have chosen to see the full side of the glass and consider that this is a good starting point in bringing the artistic side to our everyday life. Even if most of the requirements our customers require for services are of a technical nature, often in accordance with their vision and desires, not always the most inspired, the fact that they have recourse to a specialized firm they provide professional counseling and recommendations designed to ensure the harmonization of the chromaticity and the materials used, in other words, the design line. In order to be as close to clients as they really need, designers need to understand the priorities and urgency of each project, or learn the importance of timing and budgeting. They also have to guide the whole creative process towards implementing less pain for the beneficiaries, helping them to simplify the stages and processes, make easier decisions seemingly impossible, and prioritize their wishes the needs of all who will use the space or the possibilities.
What does the interior design mean to me? Management of functional beauty.
It took me a while before I can answer my first and then I can formulate a vision to share with the other members of the team. Elucidation of the mystery came in the day when a friend told me that he had searched for the etymological root of the word ” design ” and was surprised to discover that it meant “to designate “.
When designing, indeed, we designate which colors will cheer a room or what textures it will wear.We choose from countless finishing materials or pieces of furniture, we make decisions, we make strategies, in other words, it is a task similar to a manager. Beautiful manager, but not every kind of nice, but functional, practical and to ease the life of the beneficiary. This is my vision of design and layout, how I contributed to every project and site I’ve been through. This is the approach of our team of architects and interior designers who want to be in touch with the real needs of all those who have to go through a home renovation, a commercial space or just give a room to a children’s room. For each project, for every space and its beneficiary, we adapt our services and find the best approaches to meet each other’s needs.
For me, design means freedom and flexibility in all actions, but also order and discipline to reach the moment of ultimate joy. It means balance and harmony, respect and seriousness, joy and love of life.
But, above all, the design is about and for people.
Text: Ioana Lupu, interior designer