When we begin a new project, our clients often ask “What can we do to communicate what we like?” In the olden days of yore, we’d ask for pictures ripped from magazines that illustrated things that caught their eye. Nowadays, this is typically organized through a high-tech-tear-sheet collector called Pinterest. On more than one occasion, clients have told me they’d been collecting these images for years. Once they decided to phone up an architect, they’d go through the images only to find we had designed most of them. I guess they’d never actually read the accompanying articles (sorry, magazine writers).

So what do we do with this seemingly haphazard assemblage of images? How are they used? We thoughtfully scan through them, not necessarily to copy, but to artfully ascertain feeling. Collected photos often act as a visual soundtrack of what’s previously plucked our new client’s heartstrings. Once we capture that ineffable emotion, we can begin to weave their home.

Often these images act as inspiration for rooms other than what they actually illustrate. This picture was given to me by a client who said “I adore this gardening conservatory and want something that feels like this somewhere in my house.” Without missing a beat, I suggested we use this room to inspire the least obvious counterpart – the new kitchen and family room. After all, how many people have an all-glass kitchen? A less imaginative mind would immediately utter “But where will all my storage go?” Never one to throw function in the way of beauty, this particular client received my words with absolute joy.

Here are the inspired results of the completed conservatory kitchen and keeping room.

You can see more of this project in the May issue of Traditional Home magazine.

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