Intelligent Design

Intelligent Design - First in a Series

Sharon, here, is a writer as well as landscape designer. Though we don't usually post the profiles she writes, this one was particularly apt; being about an interior decorating firms design process which is similar to our own. (Full, but uncompensated, disclosure; she actually bought a couch here several years ago, too and realy likes their style!)

Our blog will soon be featuring a series on the importance of good design in many aspects of life including artists, furniture companies and marketing professionals. Check out the article here to learn how one firm approaches the process and stay tuned for more.

Published in Suburban Life Magazine, January 2011: http://www.suburbanlifemagazine.com/articles/?articleid=244

Intelligent Design
Design Home Interiors adds light and life to any living space


by Sharon A. Shaw

When the holiday festivities wind to a close, Americans often make resolutions to improve themselves. It’s also the perfect time of year to reevaluate and breathe new life into one’s home, according to interior designer Mark Little.



Along with Jeff Hirschoff and Karin Leaver, Little owns and operates Design Home Interiors in Montgomeryville. Although their location boasts a 5,500-square-foot showroom featuring furniture and accessory products from more than 40 manufacturers, Little is quick to point out that theirs is not “just a furniture store”; Design Home Interiors also offers full-service interior decorating services.



“We can help a customer who needs a lamp, to one who needs to decorate a full room,” says Little. “It all depends on what they are looking for.”



Design Home Interiors offers several levels of service including full design, through which a decorator would visit a customer’s home. There, staffers would assist in carefully choosing details such as materials for a kitchen renovation or paint colors for a new living room, for example.



“Too many times people begin a project themselves and then are unhappy with the results or tire of the process,” says Hirschoff. “Wouldn’t they rather spend that time enjoying their home with family and friends instead? By working with a designer, their time is better spent.”



Designers can also help save money and remove frustration from the process, according to Little: “People need to consider scale. Too many times they buy a piece because they like how it looks on the showroom floor but then get it home and find it is too large to fit through their door or looks out of proportion with the room.”



In other area furniture stores, people are afraid of being “pounced on by a salesman,” according to Hirschoff. But upon entering Design Home Interiors they are warmly welcomed and made to feel at home. Furthermore, the staff seeks to have a conversation where they can listen to each customer’s individual needs in order to determine the best services for them.



“We offer so much more than what you see in the showroom, and that is why the interview is so important,” he says. “We perform an analysis of their needs and determine what services they will benefit from, much like a doctor asks questions to determine a diagnosis.”



All about the ‘Reveal’

For customers who require more in-depth service, a designer will meet with them and their family members to ask questions about the space—who uses it and how. The owners also suggest people bring photos and measurements of the room they wish to design, along with any pictures of what they do and don’t like.



Design Home Interiors offers uniquely customizable pieces from leading manufacturers such as Century, C.R. Laine, Harden and Sherrill, including bookcases, bar units and upholstered items. When choosing a sofa, for example, the options may include more than 6,000 fabric samples, trim details and wood finishes, along with a variety of configurations, arm styles, cushion firmness and depths.



But customers shouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the range of options; the designers offer their best suggestions in a presentation the owners liken to Home & Garden Television’s Designers’ Challenge. “It’s all about the big reveal,” Little says. “The ‘wow factor’ a client gets when they see it all at once helps to bring the design together.” After making any necessary choice adjustments, the installation plan is set in motion—either all at once or in a multiphase approach.



Design Home Interiors offers products mostly from family-owned companies that manufacture their pieces in the United States, about which the owners feel strongly. In addition to offering high quality, these manufacturers also offer a level of customization that is “impossible to get from overseas,” Little says. He adds that although items of higher quality might cost more, they also offer valuable benefits such as longevity, which ultimately saves money.



Many of Design Home Interiors’ clients utilize the staff’s remodeling or redecorating services. Some of these clients are often downsizing but opt for higher-quality materials. Design Home Interiors also helps these customers incorporate existing pieces into a design, either by placing items in the space, updating them with new upholstery or refinishing touches.



Homeowners today spend more time at home so they are seeking multifunctional rooms with combined uses that allow them to be with family. Examples include a home office hidden in the family room with a table that opens to create a workspace or an easily movable table that can be pushed aside to accommodate a gaming system. Entertaining at home is also popular with clients who choose to create comfortable expanded seating areas using versatile pieces such as ottomans.



Design for Life

Hirschoff describes Design Home Interiors’ overall style as eclectic: “We mix contemporary and traditional styles, infusing a traditional style with contemporary materials to create a transitional piece. It is about using a style customers may be comfortable with in a new way.”



In addition to visiting the store there are several ways to interact with Design Home Interiors, whose work is featured in two designer show houses in the area. The Designer Show House in Cape May, N.J., will run from June to December at the Southern Mansion Bed and Breakfast. The Bucks County Designer House and Gardens at Old Glory Farm runs for the month of May. Details will be available on the Design Home website, DesignHomeInteriors.org, which also features a portfolio and other useful information (including an invitation to follow the firm on Facebook). Just as their store offers more than their competitors, Hirschoff and Little strive to provide useful content on their website, such as design tips, trends and photographs cataloging in-progress design projects.



“What sets us apart,” says Hirschoff, “is that we want to help our clients through their decorating dilemmas to create a space that is tailored to how they live.”



Design Home Interiors
668 Bethlehem Pike, Montgomeryville
215-361-9100
DesignHomeInteriors.org



Sharon A. Shaw is a freelance writer from Doylestown.

Warm Winter Wishes

(manufacturers stock photo)

Our latest project has begun, since it includes a wood-burning fireplace I thought this would be a good opportunity to offer a little introduction on the benefits of an outdoor fireplace.

Home is Where the Hearth is

For thousands of years our ancestors have gathered around fires. They offer warmth, ambiance and a great place to toast marshmallows! A fireplace is the modern interpretation of that tradition and it continues to draw people together.

Indoors or out, a fireplace is not a stand-alone structure, but a part of the overall design and so it is best to incorporate the fireplace with other features to create a comfortable room. It is easy to design a hearth into an outdoor living space. A crackling fire is a romantic element when seen from the hot tub or pool and adds a festive social gathering place for outdoor dining or seating areas. A fireplace built into an outdoor kitchen can be used to add flavor to foods while creating a focal point for family and guests to enjoy. Lighting a fire will take the chill off of a late night and extend the use of the outdoor spaces longer into the season. Think about views of the hearth from both inside the house and out in the yard when choosing a location. A fireplace is a strong visual element even when not in use. It can be used to create privacy and block unwanted views.

A fireplace can be designed to compliment a wide variety of home architecture and decorating styles. Veneer materials such as stucco, tile or stone can be selected to match to any home. Embellishment including fireplace surrounds, mantles and chimney pots all allow for beautiful personalization. There are also many accessories that can be built into a fireplace such as storage, lights, seating walls and cooking appliances like pizza ovens and rotisseries.

The fuel source being used will dictate the construction method of a fireplace. Wood and gas are the most common sources. Wood gives a distinctive flavor to foods whether grilling meats or roasting marshmallows. Gas can be lit with the push of a button and turned off quickly when the evening is over. Since there is no smoke, a gas fireplace can be designed with little or no chimney and easily incorporated into a previously constructed space. An existing gas line can even be used to supply the fuel.

With a variety of styles, veneers, and wood burning or gas options, a fireplace can be the focal point of any outdoor living room.

New Year, New Projects - 2011

Welcome to 2011! A new year is always an opportunity to start fresh. Personally winter is usually our off-season and a nice chance to catch up on all of the organization and relaxation we have put off all year. Unfortunately some of that includes taxes and office paperwork, sometimes plowing - but also reading interesting articles, books, sorting through photos for ideas and inspiration, taking continuing education classes and putting our creativity into crafts. It is also a time to begin marketing for spring, organizing the upcoming Bucks Beautiful Garden and Home Fair, plan our vegetable garden and that of the community garden that Sharon works with.

This year we also begin with some excitement, two projects designed at the end of 2010 that have been waiting for better weather which seems to have finally returned; a front foundation planting for a beautiful newly built home in the Saucon Valley and a patio with an outdoor fireplace and seating walls in Bucks County. What's this? You didn't know we could build and plant in the middle of winter? Well, it really all depends on the conditions. Don't get us wrong, no one is working in a blizzard like the one we had after Christmas, but once the base is prepared for a project there is nothing else to preclude us from working in the colder months.

Many years the seasonal temperatures for this area hover right around 40 with little snow accumulation and we can work all season. (Other years...we may not get that luxury.) In cold weather some extra measures are required though. In addition to long underwear and gloves for themselves, there are additives the mason can use with mortar to assure adequate curing. Heated ground blankets, protective tents and warmed water also allow construction to go on all winter. A landscape contractor in Maine once told Sharon that most of their work is performed in the winter because it is a resort area and the homeowners don't want their vacations spoiled by construction! The benefit of this is that come spring, these folks will be enjoying their landscapes while others are just beginning the process.


If you are considering a landscape project we strongly encourage you to contact us this winter. Even if your installation cannot be completed before the spring, you will be well ahead of all those people who wait until the first few nice days of April to even begin thinking about it. The landscape design process takes time - permits and material orders can take even more time. We are already putting jobs on our schedule for the spring. Every year there will be people who call wanting a patio in time for their picnic, graduation or wedding and we have to tell them it cannot be done - at least not done well. Sure there will always be some guy out there who no one else hired that will skip the permits and build with whatever is available, but you don't really want that patio to be in your family photos.


Instead, give us a call now, while it is still early! Go to the Our Approach section of our web-site which offers a description of the design process. Our Process included helpful steps for getting ideas, preparing for a consultation and even offers a form that you can print and fill out to be sure that all aspects are considered. Find inspiration in Our Portfolio, Blog or through the links in the Resources section. We also have numerous books, magazines, photos and samples to help design the landscape of your wildest dreams - and your more practical budget.

In the meantime, check back for photos and updates on our two newest jobs as they are installed and remember that despite what it looks like outside - spring will be here before you know it...but hopefully not before I get caught up!