Is creative freedom a myth?
Photos by Boaz Meiri: Moraga, California Kitchen Remodel, Design by Jackie Lopey
Where do creative interior design ideas come from?
Some of my best ideas have come from creative constraints rather than creative freedom.
It's like a sandbox. The sand itself is a supremely flexible building material, but the sides of the sandbox are fixed, providing needed tension. Being in a sandbox alone is no fun. I like to play with other creative people. They inspire me to be bold, push me to reach further, and then draw me back when I've ventured too far.
I like to play with other creative people. They inspire me to be bold, push me to reach further, and then draw me back when I've ventured too far.
A well-crafted question works the same way. My client Danielle interviewed several designers before starting her kitchen remodel. All said that there was no way to fit a large island in her new kitchen. "Could I do it?" she asked.
The implied challenge and the unsolved puzzle proved irresistible to my creative mind. I tried many different space plans, and, ultimately, designed a kitchen with a big, beautiful island. There's a picture of it below, and it's the cover image for this post.
That's how interior design works. Walls and budgets are literal constraints, while style and taste are metaphorical constraints. The trick is to transform what we at first see as limitations into creative fuel.
