Where is the reality in a reality design show?

So have you been watching HGTV and wondering if thats what interior design really is? watched an episode of a fluffy make over and asked if thats how easy it really is? watched home decorating shows and thought you have it in you to be one of those designers? Probably so, and so did I, until I enrolled in design school and got an insight, now I can say "Damn they forgot to show the most important part of the project...the design process!"
The design that was created to be fully functional for the intended purpose of its use, All the construction documents drawn, all the details done, the code requirements researched, the human factors studied, the models built, the light studies done, the reason for selecting the materials used, do they adhere to code or not?
Thought an Elf came and did all that when we were all asleep?
Interior Design is more than what its portrayed to be. There is a blurred line between Interior designers and Interior decorators, and reality design tv shows blur that line more.
Out of the whole design process they film the end of an almost completed project, but in reality that was what took the least amount of time to come together. The Design process is time consuming, its the process that makes the project functional, being functional means all the code requirements are met, the right materials are selected, and human interaction within the environment has been taken into consideration.
So next time you watch HGTV remember that Elfs dont exist but Interior designers do, with the vision of protecting the health, safety and welfare of the occupants of the given space.

Designing for the differently- abled

People are living longer and expecting a higher quality of life. Over a typical lifespan people can develop a range of physical disabilities which are no longer perceived as a barrier to having a good quality of life.

The americans with disabilities act (ADA) aren’t just a set of rules used to satisfy code requirements. The ADA, since enacted has changed millions of lives, empowering people with disabilities and giving them a shot at the American dream. The act, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990, changed the way we build buildings, plan parking lots and lay out intersections, slowly morphing urban infrastructure into more friendly terrain.

In 1989, it was legal under federal law for a movie theater to deny admission to a paralyzed person or for a laundry to deny service to someone deaf or blind and for disabled people to have to use a back door to get into a restaurant, or to be cloistered together at sporting events.

Can you see this happening to people around you today?? Think about yourself in a wheelchair unable to do just about anything without a helping hand, how much easier would your life be if things were made to fit you, and not you to trying to fit the things around you.

People with disabilities need to be catered to, as a designer I feel the need to please all the different kinds of people that will be utilizing the space I design, including people who are differently-abled.

So how are designers able to help this community??? In a lot of ways

-        Designers are able to provide an interior structure that helps people in wheelchairs maneuver their way around without difficulty - This includes having doorways and openings wide enough to accommodate the width of a wheelchair

-        Having Ramps where needed so the space is fully accessible to those on wheelchairs – utilizing ADA guidelines for Ramp specifications to elevated spaces within the environment.

-        Including brail and audio materials in allocated spaces allowing deaf and blind people to easily find their way around the space – Having Brail signage at elevators and important nodes within the path of travel labeling the spaces for people who are unable to see.

-        spec’ing out flooring materials that allow for a wheelchair to glide through the space with no resistance – If the material of choice is carpet then carpet Pile should be considered.

-        Including different textures and materiality in relation to the different domains within the area – having a different material in the path of travel allowing the change in the material to dictate the transition made in the space.

The List can go on and on proving that not only are designers helping change the accessibility barriers for people with disabilities, we are changing their lives, changing the way they feel in the environment they choose to surround themselves with, and changing the way they maneuver themselves in a given space. In my opinion this should become the Norm of design, we as humans have defects, lets embrace this fact as a community, as a whole, as a world.