client relationships
This project started with an unexpected phone call. The clients, who live in Iowa much of the year but have a second home on the water's edge in Tampa Bay, had spotted a Wall Street Journal article in which a photograph of a swimming pool with a "floating" fire pit had been included. They loved the look and figured they could use it to dress up the poolscape that had come with their Florida retreat - if only they could find a local company to do it! Looking through the text, she spotted a reference to the fact that we at Ryan Hughes|Design|Build had designed and competed the project that
It may not happen as often as I'd like, but every once in a while a project comes along unexpectedly and turns out to be just fantastic. In this case, I was referred by a pool builder I didn't know to a home designer/builder I didn't know, either. The pool builder had found me via the Internet after the designer/builder had let him know that she was interested in finding a talented pool designer who could help carry her residential projects to a new level. He'd liked what he'd seen on my web
As a matter of habit and long practice, my design process for an outdoor environment begins the moment I arrive on site, starting with an assessment of the property's physical qualities. Indeed, before I let structures, features and visual details start dancing in my head, I focus on grading, drainage and basic spatial relationships. In my experience, this overview of the practicalities will help drive the design - and allow the aesthetic decisions to flow smoothly into view at the appropriate time. In the case of the project that's been under discussion through this string of four articles, for example, my early assessment of
As I mentioned a couple months back, we've been remodeling, and the end is in sight. After a delay of some weeks caused by issues with kitchen cabinets (one tall unit came in the wrong color, two small ones were damaged in cross-country transit), we appear to be on the home stretch and could even be done within a few weeks - which may be enough time for me to internalize a valuable
'The notion that we should do all we can to exceed client expectations,' wrote Brian Van Bower to open his August 2009 Aqua Culture column, 'is one we hear trumpeted in almost every inspirational business seminar and in nearly every keynote speech during trade shows. 'There are very good reasons for
Most successful designers have a bit of show business in them. Whether you play the sophisticated artiste or radiate a quiet competence, it's all about making a connection with a client who is asking you to participate in a significant project, whatever your personality or approach. I've always wondered how those at the extremes of the personal-style spectrum find work, but the fact of the matter is that all of us, designers and clients alike, are individuals who respond in different ways to different triggers - and I know for a fact that the way I work isn't for everyone simply based on the fact that we don't win every contract we pursue. For all that, however, we at Lorax Design Group (Overland Park, Kans.) have developed our own pattern and have found that it works for us often enough to
