You finally bought that restaurant or signed the lease on the retail space to launch your successful online enterprise into a brick and mortar establishment. Congratulations! The next step of designing your retail space to fully express your brand is crucial. You can try to do it alone, but hiring an interior designer will make your space pop with a unique and professional look while also saving you money. However, as with any consultation it is good to come prepared so you don’t fumble in the dark indecisively. Your interior designer can work the best for you when you know what you want, transforming your ideas into refined perfection.
Magazines
Do not underestimate the inspirational power of design magazines in print. There is power in feeling the paper between your fingers as you peruse the different concepts presented. Dog-ear the pages with the color schemes that you adore, or combine two environments that you believe would go harmoniously together. Something as accessible as Better Homes and Gardens is easy to grab on your way out of the grocery store and can give you some ‘food for thought’ beyond what you bought for dinner that night. Or, check out some fine examples of luxury design at LuxeSource to get your imagination going. Magazines are excellent materials to bring to a consultation with your designer because they require no log-in to access and are readily accessible.
Pinterest reigns as queen of digital inspiration, hosting ideas from seasoned designers and novices with natural talent. You are going to get a wider variety of designs due to the unpredictable level of expertise abound. This factor however makes Pinterest designs part grass-roots with a hungry creative edge that is unique to the online community. The unfiltered creativity of Pinterest’s ideas makes sifting through countless images an adventure. Finding that one design that pops out at you is worth the search: pin it and bring it to your future consultation!
Tour successful retail spaces
Sometimes it is a good idea to stretch your legs and tour some successful retail spaces to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Take a short drive to the mall or dine at a trendy restaurant. Ask yourself, “What do I like about this place? What works?” Jot down the notes and bring them to your designer. Do you like the bright lights of Forever21 and the bold displays of hot items that lure you in to the front of the store? Or, does the perfume-filled air and shadowy ambiance of Hollister immerse you in another world? Does theApple Store’s simplicity and basic layout appeal to the kind of product you want to showcase, or do you prefer the retail hiking trail IKEA takes its customers on that finishes with the reward of Swedish meatballs? Bring all your thoughts and likes to your designer’s table and he or she can professionally integrate your preferences into your personal brand.
For whatever concepts you want to apply to your future business, you can be confident that a professional interior designer will be able to take your ideas and breathe life into them. Remember that a designer can work much more efficiently with clients who are prepared with even a few ideas. Ready to start you own design journey? Contact us to partner with us today and we can take you through the whole design process.