How to Live in a Shoe-box: 12 ways to maximise space in your self-contained room.

Image source: www.creativejewishmom.com

The demand for one-room apartments in on the rise in big cities (especially in Lagos) where single people migrate; in one’s and two’s; trying to find better opportunities. However, this has not triggered a significant growth in the development of studio apartments or purpose-built one-room apartments; usually what is available for lease are semi-detached boy’s quarter units or converted maids’ rooms. Another trending alternative is to share 2-bed or 3-bed apartments with friends or other random room-seekers.

After successfully renting a self-contained room, you are then burdened with the task of making that small space work for you efficiently. In it, you live- entertain guests, do laundry, sleep, dine, study, dress-up and in some cases; cook and work.

I particularly like the idea of making small spaces work. I admire minimalistic designs. I enjoy playing with furniture. I always look forward to tackling the challenge of achieving functionality in living spaces despite many constraints.

Here are some simple, affordable ways to achieve small, functional spaces.

What you kinda become after 6 years in Architecture school...

Hi guys, so Architects like to obsess (or appear to obsess) over their environment. We  observe, measure, infer, analyse spaces and do some criticism...even subconsciously; especially when we are in new places. I once lived in a hostel where everyone of my classmates that ever came visiting had the same thing to say about the staircase...how irregular the risers were. Lol.

I particularly enjoy walking down the road with two colleagues of mine after work everyday; we sometimes make small talk about buildings along the road; the one that appears haunted; one that looks Mediterranean... or maybe one that has just been given a facelift.

I think its fun though; we probably cannot help it because we live in the product of our thinking. I think the case- studies that we had to do while in school also helped us to learn how to learn from existing buildings.

The Business of Interior Design... 7 steps to starting out

After you have gone through a formal training and you are certified, you can either choose to work with an interior design firm or start out on your own.

Below are the steps required for starting out

1.  Determine your own niche and area of specialization

The field of interior design is quite wide; you could specialize in one or more of the following; residential interior design, commercial interior design of retail spaces, corporate spaces, institutional spaces, recreational or exhibition spaces. This could be determined by the kind of training you had, your flair or your business prospects.

2. Draft a business plan

Every business should begin with a documented plan for success. You should make it as simple as you can. Feel free to search for, and use available templates online which are suited to your business model.

The Business of Interior Design... 2 things you should know before starting out

The interior design business is a highly rewarding one; it is not capital intensive and has no gender/ age constraints. It is quite a fulfilling career because it involves an expression of your flairs and artistic skills. It is also a wide field, allowing for specializations. To succeed, you will need talent/skills and passion.

Before starting out in the business,

1.       You need some formal training

It is necessary that you have a flair for making spaces look good, but you need more than that before going into the business. You need some intensive training on the technicalities of interior design which may be overlooked by an interior decorator. You will need to understand spatial analysis, planning, design psychology, acoustics, lighting etc. You have to understand what interior designers really do. 

A worthwhile training should help you become confident, increase your credibility in the job market and help you understand how to make a business of your passion.

2.       Adopt the lifestyle of an Interior Designer

What is implied here is to start adding those qualities and soft skills to yourself that will help you excel in your chosen career.

Interior Designers... what they really do.

An interior designer is someone who applies the art and science of understanding people’s behaviour in the process of tailoring spaces to achieve users’ satisfaction.

An Interior Designer is not an Interior decorator; but he could also function in the capacity of a decorator. An Interior designer is more concerned with spatial analysis, planning of the layout of spaces and the pragmatic utility of those spaces while an Interior decorator is about making existing spaces more beautiful; using soft furnishing and other adorning elements.

Architect: 7 Ways to Meet New Clients

Consider the rigorous and thorough training Architecture students have to go through; the process of getting an accreditation from the NIA to start or to continue to run an Architecture department; and then; the time and efforts required for the graduate Architect to get registered by ARCON for professional practice. Hereafter, you can’t deny how rewarding it is to get the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ when you introduce yourself as an Architect.

However, just like any other outfit, the core of a successful Architecture practice still revolves around some buying and selling (i.e. intellectual value is exchanged for monetary or in some cases, recognition reward). Competitions and tenders have to be boldly attempted; proposals drawn up and excellent presentations carried out; drawings completed, stamped and gladly delivered. In the end, cheques would be gladly received and deposited and when you return to the office, more jobs had better be waiting so that business can continue.

So, while making sure that the professional code of conduct is strictly adhered to; here are some tips you can consider in enlarging and maintaining a client-base, either on behalf of your organisation or in your private practice.

Architecture vs. Arts- 5 differences between Architects and Artists

Before I finally picked up my pen to write about this, I did some reading and I found out that this topic is quite an intellectual debate on some other Architecture blogs. I found some perceptions and opinions very intriguing too.

 I remember being in a History class where my favourite professor gave us reasons why Architecture is different from Fine Arts and I will be making references to that lecture.

To create a basis for comparison, I will liken a building to a product; an artwork (well... a building is not an artwork; I am even sometimes tempted to describe a building as a living entity… I might tell you why in a future article).

•  ·         An Architect creates artworks that have pragmatic utility.

The three pillars of Architecture are Function, Structure and Aesthetics.  Function is very basic; it makes Architecture. It defines how much, how high, how tall, even how beautiful. If a building were to be a piece of sculpture, then functionality is the tool in the hands of the creative Architect.