03.02.17 Architecture & Details / Bathroom Design / Built In Cabinetry / Cabinetry & Millwork / Events & Happenings / Thoughts on Design

How Hand Renderings Reveal the Story of Your Home

Architecture & Details / Bathroom Design / Built In Cabinetry / Cabinetry & Millwork / Events & Happenings / Thoughts on Design

As an interior designer, seeing the face of a client light up when I show them hand renderings of the room or space Sally and I are working on with them is one of my greatest pleasures. At some point, they will look up and ask, “How do you do that?” Better yet, “Can I keep this?” These are precious moments in the life of an interior designer.

Hand renderings facilitate the process of discovery between designer and client. They help reveal the story of their home.

I am also asked, “Why hand rendering as opposed to a CAD (computer aided design) drawing?” It’s a good question. In the face of technology, why do I continue drawing by hand? Because a CAD rendering can never convey the Gestalt of a space.

I could tell you about my trials and tribulations learning CAD – but I won’t – other than to say that striking the keys on a keyboard and seeing a “line/ image” on a computer screen that has no scale interferes with how I think as I work through a design and its associated challenges and opportunities. Each keystroke interrupts the muse.

I love the sound a pencil or marker makes as it scooches across a piece of paper. I know exactly how long the line is that I just drew. I know the intention of that line and what it is trying to express, as I track a detail around a room in my mind, making sure it will work at every twist and turn or up and down.

I sketch to think. I sketch to capture and explore an idea. I sketch to communicate. I sketch to have a conversation with myself about an idea – to explore, develop and describe a concept. I sketch to capture the essence of an idea.

I’ve created this video for your enjoyment. Watch me while I hand render and color two kitchens, live, while beautiful classical music plays in the background.

When I sketch, I am able to connect with the feel or look of a home that a client has asked us to express. Sketching is a fast and easy way to explore possibilities and options at my desk or during a meeting with a client. I use them to explore the relationship of various elements in a room as they relate one to the other. I am often looking at pattern, proportion, rhythm, scale or style. Sometimes it’s one of these elements. Sometimes, it’s all of them. It is a critical part in the process of working with a client, as we collectively discover the narrative and story of their home.