November 8, 2013
A day at Casey Design/Planning Group Inc.
A day in the life of an interior designer is very hectic and crammed with multiple duties and responsibilities. As a designer, Theresa Casey ends up wearing many different hats. That is to say she plays many roles for her clients in her day-to-day working life. She can be a space planner, a floral designer, a photo-shoot stylist, a personal shopper and so much more. She is always moving, always going and always thinking about the clients and their projects. These are just a few of the hats she wears:
Drawings. It should be no surprise that as a designer Theresa has to continuously channel her inner artist and bring her creative ideas and designs to life by putting pen to paper and proofing CAD drawings. However, there are many different purposes to the drawings. She may review and create design concepts for a client’s space. Or she works on drawings for contractors in order to relay the design ideas she and her clients have developed. She also works directly with suppliers to design and produce custom pieces.
Site Visits. Once plans have been drawn and construction begins, Theresa makes a point of frequently stopping by the sites to ensure that everything is going to plan. That means she is checking to ensure that the client’s drawings are being adhered to, as well as answering any questions the general contractors may have. And much like her digital tools, Theresa has a troubleshoot button too. When any issue arises on site, Theresa is there to creatively solve them.
Decal Installs. As you can tell, Theresa is very hands on in everything she does from start to finish, and everything in between. This, for example, might include a decal wall installation. With the help of her intermediate designer, Kari Serrao, Theresa laid out the design of a tree decal for a client’s nursery - a very detail-oriented but ultimately satisfying process.
Model Houses. The ultimate time-consuming process is that of building a new home from scratch, and Theresa works through every phase to see it to completion. Model making usually begins with massing concepts and building forms to conceptualize the structure and begin space planning. Senior designer, James Janz, ably helps her wear this hat.
Sourcing. While shopping sounds like more fun than many of her other duties, it is not a task that Theresa takes lightly. She always diligently searches Designer’s Walk and other design venues for the furniture, lighting, fabric etc. that will suit her clients’ needs. She ensures that anything bought will not only match the client’s styles, but also their budgets and overall design concepts. All the different aspects that go into every purchase make this a challenging task. Last week, for example, Theresa explored the Primavera showroom hunting for the perfect striped fabric for a client’s nursery to match the existing furniture, wall colour and newly installed tree decal.
It is very interesting to watch Theresa work, as she is always taking on something new and exciting. I always wonder what hat she’ll put on next!