What's the Big Idea?...

One of the most widely discussed topics around the world today is the tremendous shift in technology that we have seen over the past decade. Although I could go on and on about this topic, I tend to focus on another aspect of this technological shift in our society. What I would like to focus on is how this shift has and will impact the environments that we find ourselves in today.

As I began pondering this topic, I could not help but to think about a habit of someone very close to me: my father! Nearly every time that my father sits down to get a bite to eat, he walks over to the counter and tears a few pieces of napkin off of the roll. Now, at the time that he finishes his meal, he leaves a HUGE stack of napkins on the kitchen table – every time! He does this so often that at the end of the week, my sisters and I are just about able to pull out all of the extras and the sum of them would probably make up an entire roll of napkins. This story probably doesn’t seem to be very relevant at this point, but please allow me to connect the dots for you. After noticing this pattern for about a year, I began brainstorming various ways for my father to continue doing what he was already accommodated do, while also finding a way to minimize the amount of times that someone has to come after him, picking up items that he may have left around the house.

My idea: To install an auto-retractable tray underneath our dining room table that is large/deep enough to store enough napkins, but condense enough to be installed underneath the table.

So, WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA? This situation involves a mixture of enhanced technology with a hint of creative design. The role of an interior decorator is to analyze, assess, and enhance the various spaces that we interact in on a daily basis. As technology shifts, I cannot help but to wonder what this will mean for this industry. As in the story with my father, there are many consumers in the market that are looking for ways to increase the functionality of their living spaces, while also maintain some of the existing patterns that they possess as individuals. My first proposition was not to change the way in which my father operates, but to find an advanced technological solution (which is now available in the marketplace), that will meet the needs of everyone abiding in our home.

As decorators, we must not only observe new trends that are favored among many consumers in the market, but also the ways in which other factors in the economy effect the nature of what we do on a day-to-day basis.