Bad Design Costs the Same as Good Design

What makes a design good or bad? Often, the one thing that sets apart good design is having a plan. What else makes a good design?

Good design and bad design cost the same

Have you ever thought about that statement? We see it all the time – just like in this post. A brand new kitchen–no money spared–and it was still badly designed.  Ugly costs the same as pretty.

The key to good design is by making informed decisions from START to FINISH. Because every finish you choose is a colour decision first.

Bad design usually happens with inexperience. You don’t know what you don’t know. And that’s when you just keep choosing the same colour for everything. Or, you make your kitchen a collection of all your wants and wishes, and install them without a designer or without a design plan. And a design plan simply helps you consider the everything – the whole, or the sum of all the details.

Good design is a game of balancing contrast and coordinating colour. When you get these right, you’re most of the way to beautiful. And it’s really hard to do without a plan. 

Bad design also happens when you start asking the wrong questions, like this:

❌ Will ______ paint colour or flooring make this room look smaller?

❌ Should we install _______ because it looks warmer?

❌ Should we install _______ because it’s bigger or smaller? 

Good design happens, NOT when you have ALL the answers to ALL the questions, but when you know the most important questions to ask. That’s when you’ll get the answer to the question:

✅ Why is this flooring choice better than that one?

→ You’ll discover which questions you need to ask in my two-day Specify Colour with Confidence Workshop.

Adding windows & creating contrast in my upstairs kitchen

Here’s our media room and how it looked on the day we took possession of this house. Truly I call this room our entertainment room instead of a media room because it also came with a full size kitchen. 

Since it is on the second floor, the views from this room are so beautiful. 

Here’s a look (below) at the adjacent kitchen on the day we took possession. See where the two mirrors are in the kitchen area? There’s one on the left beside the cabinets and then one on the right.

We have windows there now. They were installed last week. Actually we installed 4 new windows in this house. One in our primary bathroom and another in Terreeia’s office – both on the first floor. My project manager/bestie Jan Romanuk said when they built the house, they used up all their window allotment in the sunroom and simply didn’t apply to add more windows.

Before

Let’s talk about bad design. There are several things I don’t like about this upstairs kitchen design that we inherited. Most glaringly, it breaks one of the top rules for good design: CONTRAST

There is zero colour or tonal contrast in the finishes. The floors are brown, the cabinets are espresso, the backsplash is brown, the counter stools are espresso and the countertops are almost black. This gives the eye no interest to land on and no relief from all that BROWN.

Bringing in more light is key, but I needed to make several other changes to turn this badly designed kitchen into good design.

Lack of contrast is an unfortunate design fail that happens with kitchens all the time. Most recently you’ve likely seen scads of all-black and all-grey kitchens and bathrooms with almost no white or cream to break things up.

→ How to handle contrast is covered great detail in my two-day Specify Colour with Confidence Workshop.

Good kitchen design = considering EVERYTHING

Every day I receive messages from followers who ask if they can JUST get help with their countertops, or their flooring, or their cabinet colour. But we stopped selling single selection eDesign packages like that a few years ago. . . Because it didn’t work.

Here’s why: If you aren’t sure about how to pull your room together with this finish or that one, you won’t know if you are really asking the RIGHT question. Chances are, advice on the one element you are purchasing help for, will not alone create a good design.

And you don’t know what you don’t know, right?

So, a cheaper consultation on just one element doesn’t allow me to help you design a beautiful and timeless kitchen the way I really want to. Because it’s the combination of the whole that needs consideration. Focussing on one element in isolation is not the kind of help that will actually make you happy with your kitchen or bathroom.

Much like an IKEA bargain can fall short on good design (if you don’t have the right hack): Read the rest of this post here. 

Knowing how to fix bad design choices in the MOST cost effective way is something I am constantly sharing here on the blog.  We take a deep dive into the BEST WAYS to spend your money (or your client’s money) in the right places in the two-day workshop as well.

Because knowing what tweaks will create the most impact is a seriously magical skill.

We also go deep into the process of how to successfully combine various finishes and colours by testing and comparing them EFFECTIVELY so that you’re never again just crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

→ Learn how to move forward with the right colour decisions NOW so that you have a long-term design for LATER in my two-day Specify Colour with Confidence Workshop.

Upstairs kitchen updates

Here’s what my upstairs kitchen looks like now without a backsplash or a hood fan (still coming). We removed all the uppers to make it feel less like a kitchen and more like a casual bar area. The refrigerator was replaced with a pull-out fridge and we added a butcher block countertop because we didn’t have access to any more of this granite.

The counter stools were leftover from my last kitchen. You can still buy them here. I should warn you, they are not the most comfortable counter stools in the world but they sure look good.

Sources: Pendant Light | Counter Stools

It looks like a completely different space right? My engineered flooring looks so much warmer and more timeless because re-stained it in Provincial. 

You’ll also notice I drywalled over the recessed lighting. I will have a surface mount light over the sink and lighting along the upper shelving that will most likely be installed on the left side of the windows.

And can we talk about how fabulous these new windows are?

Now that we mirrored the window above the sink on the right it feels like one big window (of course, the wall still needs to be painted).

And the window in the kitchen dining area on the right truly elevates the vibe in this room. It’s so much brighter and happier already.

I have paused the renovation here because I want to focus on other areas of the house right now. I still need to complete the furnishings plan for this room. And I may consider replacing the dark countertops, or I might keep them. They look much better with the soft blue cabinet colour. I still need a backsplash tile, upper shelving and a decorative hood fan. #staytuned

What makes a good design?

It’s common to think that GOOD design is all about filling an empty box with interesting colours, finishes and furnishings. It’s kind of like those popular game-like design apps.

But the truth is, the majority of the time, GOOD design is about knowing how best to work with that you’ve got. It’s about knowing the right questions to ask. And that’s what sets an expert apart. 

→ Discover how to look at the big picture to make the right colour and decorating choices for your home – but also the confidence that comes with understanding what’s missing or wrong and how to make it better in my two-day Specify Colour with Confidence Workshop.

Early-bird rate ends soon!

Begin your journey towards becoming a True Colour Expert in my two-day workshop this Spring. I promise, you will discover a whole new way of seeing colour – and there will be so many things you can no longer UNSEE. 

But it’s also so much more. You’ll learn how to solve REAL-LIFE colour and design challenges. I will guide you through hands-on activities with real room exercises to help train your eye. 

Plus, you’ll gain a clear understanding of timeless design principles and how that gives you more freedom to express yourself through styling and decorating – with my BEST styling tips.

Who is Specify Colour with Confidence for? This real-time workshop is for homeowners, design professionals, and colour enthusiasts who want a solid process for making colour and decorating decisions from start to finish – that works for ANY project.

Seats are filling up fast, so don’t wait to sign up! My early-bird rate ends February, 28! Enroll now.

I can’t wait to MEET YOU this Spring! 💛

Related posts:

The True Story of the First True Colour Expert

Another Creative Who Traded in Their Old Job for a Design Career

Two Magic Questions Every Decorator Should Know