Read What Suzanne Kasler has to Say:
Interior designer Suzanne Kasler takes the time to chat about creating an at-home lifestyle for her clients. From her Atlanta, Georgia design studio, right next to the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center, the designer unwraps her thinking around this highly personal task.
“Designers today are no longer just interior designers. What we're really trying to do is create a lifestyle for our clients.”
Considerations Kasler cites when consulting on the use of a room include:
- How many people will typically be in any given space?
- Will office work be done in the room on a regular basis?
- Will there be meetings involving phone and Zoom cameras?
- Is the space more inclined towards family time?
These questions and many more help shape the design planning and outlook for any given space.
“As a designer, it’s about addressing upfront how the client is living, and how they want to live in their environment,” says Kasler.
After meeting with the client, Kasler and her team connect with the architects about their list of considerations as well. “As their designer, we need to think through all the different scenarios of what's happening in and with their family.”
Creating a Lifestyle for Your Clients
Guiding the client is always at the top of Kasler’s list of priorities when taking on a project. That involves helping them curate an updated look. Afterall, not every design project results in a full-blown design reboot. Simply moving decorative items to new spots or investing in small projects can do wonders to enliven and resuscitate a space.
“So often, when they come to us and they've decided that they want an updated look, they think they want to get rid of everything,” Kasler muses, “We're really great about counseling them to go through all their beautiful things, sometimes placing them in different places, sometimes changing them out.”
Kasler and her team encourage clients to change their perspective, suggesting ways to update a space by changing lamps, trying a new paint color, getting new draperies, and making other relatively simple decorative design updates. Small changes can yield a fresh, more modern look that synchs with their day-to-day life.
“How do we create a lifestyle that really reflects what our clients are thinking, who they are, how they want to live?”
Ultimately, listening to her clients’ hopes and goals—and blending in her and her team’s creative ideas and suggestions—creates a recipe for success.