We-Design-Day: Project Start-Up (programming & planning)

My son is five. We co-sleep. He has a "room" - it's the 6'x10' nursery I prepared for him before he was born. It's bright. light and airy and he's only ever slept in the space for a handful of hours since his birth.

The crib only fit in one way (as it's pictured) and to the left (out of the shot) is his dresser. There isn't room for anything else and there isn't a closet in the space. It won't fit a regular bed and has (more or less) become a 'crap storage area' and dressing room for the young sir since we gave away his crib some 3 years ago.

We are readying to move him into his own room - not this room but the 8'x10' room that's beside it. I've tossed around the idea of taking the wall down between the two but my husband is against it - so at this point, the nursery will become his "play room" and the 8'x10' room will become his bedroom.

My design style is 'real design for real people' - I adhere to what I know and I approach every project I undertake pretty methodically. My day job doesn't always allow me the luxury or the ability to program and plan the way I know, thankfully, in most cases, the planning department does this for me but I always (always) need to understand the problem I'm solving, other wise, I don't feel prepared to do my job.

Design Tip: Knowing the question and the answer before you start can be the key to a successful project.

When starting a project, I tend to revert to my process. I've worked on all kinds of projects with all kinds of budgets but my starting point is usually the same. I need to learn about and fully understand the problem (or goal) I'm trying to solve. Doing this allows me to define the answer and work on a solution. Understanding the question helps me evaluate, plan and start planning the solution. I can define the parameters and start scope development. Knowing the goal also helps me make changes "on the fly" too - sometimes, on paper, what looks great and functional, isn't and I need to be able to fully know the goal so I can make changes and adjustment where needed.

In the case of the new "big boy" bedroom, my goal is a flexible, adaptable bedroom space that will grow with my son and his life. There are also challenges - it's a small room, it is our 'spare' room where out of town guests stay and it has two exterior walls.

This week, I'm going to use my "interview sheet" to help me work out some details. It will help bring the goal into focus, allow me to evaluate, get my son's input and give me a 'working document' to launch into more detailed programming with.

Thanks for reading, as always, let me know if you have any questions!