Homeowners are the driving force behind their remodeling, building or decorating projects. But sometimes everyone needs a little advice from an expert to make the right decision. Here, six design pros share an “uh-oh” moment they encountered and how they leaned on their experience to persuade an uncertain homeowner to make the best design choice.
1. Visualizing With Digital Tools
Designers: James McNeal and Rob Hull of James McNeal Architecture and Design
Location: Chaska, Minnesota
Project. An open-plan home with connections to outdoor areas and a kitchen designed for entertaining with a scullery.
“Uh-oh” moment. “The clients, when we were well down the road into the design of their home, were questioning if the ceiling heights were the correct scale for the spaces,” designer Rob Hull says. “Which, changing from what the design was at that point would have entailed a fair amount of work, doing new drawings, etc.”
Solution. “We solved the problem by walking through their home in virtual reality, and that gave them the true sense of the scale of the space and the heights of the ceilings,” Hull says. “After walking through the space in VR, they were able to determine that they thought the scale was correct as drawn, and so we were able to keep moving forward.”