It All Begins at The Front Door

While we typically focus on interiors, a home’s exterior should never be neglected.
In fact, whenever possible one should complement – even enhance – the
other. And this frequently entails starting at the front door.

Often either the exterior or interior of a home is inherited, and there may
be limited opportunity to create cohesiveness. Yet regardless of the
scope of work, an interior design project should still be approached
holistically – with the exterior under careful consideration. If you are
fortunate enough to custom create a home from the ground up, you have a
unique opportunity to ensure that both the exterior and interior work
together.

An Italian Villa on Linda Island in Newport Beach, California

Many of our clients, friends and followers are familiar with our work as
interior designers. However we create “conceptual design” home exteriors
as well, and are often called upon to act as a consultant to our
client’s chosen architects.

Kootenai Estates in Big Fork, Montana - Exterior Rear View from Lake

When we do act as both the conceptual and
interior designer for a project, we prepare the exterior elevations,
exterior finish specifications and roof plans, and then either work with
our longtime architect, John Kunz, A.I.A., or align with a local
architect.

In such cases, we typically start at the front door – for total
continuity. At present, 50% of our projects are those in which we design
the complete project from outside in, or conversely from inside out.
This method certainly has its advantages, as we can work to seamlessly
integrate the interior and exterior – and make sure they enhance one
another.

Looking from the Inside of a Home, to the Outside

The concept of embracing the exterior as part of a home’s interior design
also holds true to the landscaping. An interior design plan should not
be restricted to what is inside the home, but should also take into
consideration what is seen through its windows.