#GreenFitForAQueen: Meaningful Design Brings Glamour to the Kitchen

Aug 30, 2021 | Renovation and Remodeling, Residential, updates

After moving into a newly built 3,400 square foot home in Metro Detroit, Tamira C. knew she wanted to bring glamour and intention to the center of her home. As a successful lawyer and entrepreneur, she wanted to create a kitchen where she could enjoy the bookends of her day and a space where family memories could be made.

Tamira met Rachel Nelson, Founder and Principal Designer at RL Concetti, during their time together in a business program. The more Tamira learned about Rachel and RL Concetti, she began to understand the value that the studio could offer through their uniquely strategic interior design process. By the end of the program, Tamira was set on having RL Concetti turn her lusterless kitchen into a cheery, share-worthy celebration.

“Rachel helped me understand how important strategic interior design was to the success of a space,” said Tamira. “My standards are very high, and I knew RL Concetti would be the ones to help me achieve the kitchen my family deserved.”

Discovering Your Personal Design Aesthetic & Home Flow

Utilizing their phased approach to design, RL Concetti began Tamira’s kitchen redesign project with an exercise in discovery. Like any well-designed new construction home, the kitchen came with modern architecture, fixtures, and appliances that worked well for Tamira’s family. The biggest thing that was missing was a sense of character.

Together with Senior Interior Designer Jackie Schweiger, Rachel began to explore ways to make the space more meaningful without a complete overhaul. They brainstormed opportunities to enhance the existing cabinetry and countertops, and ultimately achieve the glamorous transformation Tamira was hoping for.

“It’s important to us, both environmentally and socially, to explore design solutions where we don’t have to scrap everything,” said Rachel. “It’s a great feeling when we can help our clients save time and budget by enhancing what they already have.”

Together, Rachel and Jackie helped Tamira explore her family’s real-life goals, discussing how they wanted to engage with and feel in the space. From there, Rachel and Jackie were able to help Tamira land on a unique visual aesthetic for her space.

“Tamira wanted her kitchen to be light and bright. She did not want to shy away from the drama. To her, this meant high contrast in color and materials, including luxurious metals and high-quality fixtures,” said Rachel. “Together we determined the architecture and appliances were working. Our job was to enhance the quality of what the space had to offer with strategic interior design solutions.”

Visualizing Strategic Interior Design Solutions in 3D

During the next phase of RL Concetti’s design process, a clear picture of the new kitchen began to materialize. After a thorough field measuring of the space, down to measuring the door frames and documenting every electrical outlet, Jackie was able to virtually build the design project with 3D renderings. This allowed Tamira to see the plan in true-to-life form, and be confident in each part of the design before making final selections.

Transform Existing Fixtures with High-value Design Solutions

The kitchen’s refresh started with the complete makeover of the cabinets. RL Concetti sourced a general contractor to extend the fixtures to the ceiling and add soffits, crown molding, and a new coat of paint. Incorporating layers of additional design features is a great way to add perceived value to existing cabinetry.

After the carpentry work was completed, it was time to add spark with decorative touches. While the existing appliances were state-of-the-art, the stove lacked personality. Jackie helped source an ornamental range hood that brought a gorgeous gold focal point into the room. Strong metallic lines were also reflected in the bar stools, creating visual cohesion. Jackie also sourced the perfect tile to elevate the space that surrounded the cooking and sink areas with subtle luxury.

Creating a Functional Space that Works for You

By understanding how the family uses the space, RL Concetti designed a custom breakfast nook to support their needs. Jackie re-envisioned the functionality of the dining area as a place for both family dinners and work.

“While the layout of the kitchen was working, the layout of the dining area was causing a lot of pain points,” said Jackie. “We had to reimagine how the existing architecture could support better functionality. By leveraging the bay window as a seating area, we were able to open up the space for the family to gather for meals or help with work.”

By creating a custom bench within the bay window area, RL Concetti was able to achieve a comfortable seating area that didn’t impede on the room’s flow. An outdated ‘kitchen desk’ area was updated with custom shelves to house basket storage, offering both function and visual texture instead of clutter. A gorgeous accent light above the dining table added the high glamour Tamira loved, and the gorgeous shade of green wall paint helped bring the two newly designed spaces together.

“So often people start designing without a motivator,” said Rachel. “When we take the time to understand the inner workings of the space, we can achieve meaningful spaces that not only look gorgeous but that also makes your day-to-day life better.”

This kitchen redesign is a testament to the fact that investing in interior design doesn’t mean you have to start from scratch. Strategic design decisions can leverage a home’s architecture, breathe new life into existing pieces, increase the home’s value, all while creating a transformative space that solves both aesthetic and functional pain points.

Ready to design a meaningful space?

RL Concetti is here to help you envision a home that emboldens your style and enhances your every day.

Let’s see what kind of magic we can do together!

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Hi Sam! We’re excited to catch up with you today. Let’s start with: How does a strong brand identity impact your mental health as a small business owner?

Sam: It gives me so much mental peace and saves a ton of time when trying to create new graphics. I love that I have so much more clarity and confidence knowing that my brand is speaking to my values and the feelings I want to convey when new clients are finding me. It’s so easy to see different templates in Canva and choose a different style every time and now I don’t have to worry about that!

We’re so happy we could help provide that clarity and confidence. How do you see your new brand impacting the success of your business and the experience your clients have?

Sam: Besides having more confidence to share my digital assets and grow a bigger online presence, it gives my clients a cohesive experience and taste of what they will feel like working with me even before they book a service or join a program. Plus, a clearer brand identity will be helpful for attracting more aligned collaborations.

Why should small businesses invest in branding?

Sam: Because it is a part of your business! Brand is not something just for big corporations. No matter the size of your business it’s that step beyond what you sell that creates connection with your customers and long-time raving fans.

Rachel, we’d love to start this conversation off with the same question we asked Sam – how does a strong brand identity impact your mental health as a small business owner?

Rachel: Wow! I love this question! We all want to feel seen and heard and the same goes for our business. A strong brand identity captures your brand persona and translates it into verbal and visual expressions. So often as a business owner, we are so caught up in the passion for industry, and speak in jargon that we often can’t see the trees through the forest. It all feels so important to us that we need to work with a brand partner who can reflect back to us what they are hearing. It is a soulful experience. Having gone through a rebrand for Concetti it means everything. And having worked with many small business owners on their brand, it’s a very powerful experience. To sit there and hear and see your brand come to life, the things you’ve been trying to say, the messages you’ve been trying to get across, the feeling you want people to feel, to see it come together in front of your eyes is incredible! Remember your brand is an extension of YOU!

How has investing in a wellness coach impacted your mental health as a business owner?

Rachel: Your business is an extension of yourself because it is your vision and your passion. So anything you are doing for yourself is going to show up in the business. I would say the biggest impact it has had is the ability to regulate my nervous system. It is so easy to slip into fight and flight mode when you are making big decisions daily. Building an awareness around what my body is feeling has empowered me to regulate my nervous system. Feeling the rush of emotions, letting it pass and then making a decision from a grounded place, instead of a reactive one, is a game changer.

How does it impact your team?

Rachel: Having Sam work with the team has been a dream come true. The fact is we spend so much of our lives working, so to have it be a place where we can be our full selves is important to me. Having come from many years of being in the performing arts, teamwork is ingrained in my DNA. I love when a group of people can come together to achieve great things. One of the things that I realized through working with Sam was that I was still treating life like I was preparing for world championships that never came. I am so grateful and proud of my work ethic and realized that it is equally important to pause and reflect on successes as a team and set intentions for the next quarter to create camaraderie and focus. No one wants to feel like there’s an endless to do list that never gets done, you will burn out. Sam works with the team on a quarterly basis where we either have a VIP day or a Concetti retreat. It is something the team looks forward to. And I love hearing how the work we do together is positively impacting their personal lives as well.

How does this culture approach allow your team to better serve your clients and other small businesses in the community?

Rachel: I think we’ve all heard the saying you can’t pour from an empty cup. It all starts with taking care of yourself first, taking care of the team, so we can show up fully for our clients and other professional partners. We talk a lot about having an empathetic journey, everyone’s experiences valid. And it is our responsibility to be self reflective and how we are showing up, doing what we say we’re going to do, and not stop until we’re proud of the work we’re doing. Because when we can all be ourselves, more good goes out into the world. It is a ripple effect that can surely be felt.

Ready to feel more aligned and less overwhelmed in your business? Let’s create a brand that supports your goals and your mental well-being—schedule a call with our team to get started.

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