Design Tip #2:
Inspiration is Everywhere
You don’t need to travel the world to find design inspiration. You have it nearby — in a flooring pattern at Starbucks, a wallpaper design, in the colors of local stone.
 We find a lot of value in traveling to historic places and seeing how previous generations of people built outdoor areas, how they used stone and natural materials, and how they used pattern and decoration. In our previous newsletter, we told how ingenious the Greeks, ancient Turks, and Egyptians were in their use of stone for practical and decorative use. Seeing these things in person gives you the opportunity to understand how and why they did what they did: “Oh, this is how they do that!”
Inspiration is Nearby
But you don’t need to go this far. You can find examples, ideas and inspiration anywhere — examples you can apply directly to patterns in hardscape and use of materials, such as ...
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Construction Notebook:
A New Angle on Pavers
Use borders, patterns and contrasts for inspiring and practical landscape design solutions.
 We search for patterns because they inspire us to try something different in our designs. Research tells us that babies might see patterns better than adults (we see them subconsciously), but we all are affected by pattern. Interesting patterns capture our attention and lead our eyes where the designer wants them to go. Uninteresting patterns don’t hold us; we look elsewhere.
In your designs, which would you rather have?
Bring on the Border
One strong pattern element we use often is a border around the main areas. Typically, we use a contrasting color or two. It’s the same pattern you see time and again, around rugs, in paneling, in flooring, from ancient times to today. It’s popular because it’s interesting and it works, as you can see in the images that accompany the full article.
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Meet a Design/Build Revolutionary: Richard Hartman
Profile: Richard Hartman, President & Partner with his sister, Robin Hartman, The Plant People Landscaping Inc., Fort Worth, TX
Employees: 10 to 15
Mix: 65% Design/Build, 35% Landscape Maintenance
Years in Landscape Business: 20
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What's New at the Kinman Institute
Poll: Design & Construction Techniques Class?
We need your opinion! We’re are thinking of offering a new course for next winter’s classes focused exclusively on design and construction ideas, calculations, and techniques. This would cover various hardscape and landscape elements.
Are you interested? We’d like to hear what you think. Please share your thoughts at:
• Website: www.kinmaninstitute.com
• Email: cynthia@kinmaninstitute.com
• Phone: 614-764-8733(TREE) |
Past Articles
Check out these articles from previous issues of Design Build Revolution.
• Challenge Yourself to Design Better
• The Value of Networking, and Why We Should Network with ‘True’ Peers
• Travel Inspires Us All
• Buy my bushes, please!
• What You Don’t Know Can Help You
• How to Lead Your Business Through Uncertain Times
• Get Paid for Design
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