Questions
What people ask before the first walkthrough
Eight honest answers about how a room gets planned here. If your question is not among them, ask it directly and Carolyn Jeanne will answer it herself.
01What actually happens in a room planning session?
We measure every wall, opening and obstruction and draw the room to scale. Then we map circulation: the paths people really take through the space, where things get set down, where the room gets blocked. Finally we check scale, testing on paper whether the pieces you have or want fit with clearance to use them. You leave with a drawn plan and a clear statement of what the room can hold.
02Does this work if I rent?
Yes, and renters are exactly who the planning-first method suits. Nothing we decide depends on structural work: layouts, palettes that live in textiles and paint you can restore, and lamp-based lighting layers instead of rewiring. The plan belongs to you and travels to the next place, which is more than most furniture does.
03How far do you travel for a walkthrough?
The studio is in Loveland, and most projects are in Loveland, Fort Collins and the northern Front Range, where we can stand in the room with you. Further away, planning and palette work proceeds from your measurements and photographs, with a video walkthrough in place of the visit and samples posted to you so they can still be judged in the room's own light.
04What do I keep at the end of a project?
Drawings and decisions, in writing: scaled floor plans, circulation maps, the connected color palette, material and finish samples, the lighting layer plan, focal-point studies, storage planning and, for larger projects, the room-by-room sequence. They are yours to hand to any tradesperson, or to work from yourself.
05Why do samples have to be reviewed in the room?
Because Front Range light is strong, dry and changeable. A swatch that looks calm in a store at noon can look pink at four in the afternoon and grey under a lamp at nine at night. We hold samples against your floor, trim and each other, in the room, at the hours the room is used, and only then does the palette become final.
06What does a lighting plan contain?
Three layers, mapped to real evenings. Ambient light for the room as a whole, task light for each activity that needs it, reading, cooking, working, and accent light for the focal point and the corners worth softening. The plan shows where each layer sits, what it lights, and where switches and outlets need to be, so an electrician can build from it or you can place lamps to it.
07Can we start with one room and do the rest later?
That is the normal order. A single room is planned completely first, and its decisions are recorded so later rooms can pick up the same palette and material family. If you know several rooms are coming, whole-home direction sets the sequence at the start, so the room finished in spring still agrees with the one finished in autumn.
08How do we begin?
Send a message describing the room, what happens in it and what keeps going wrong. Carolyn Jeanne answers within one business day, Monday to Friday, and the first conversation is about your question, not about signing anything. If planning is not what the room needs, she will say that too.
Still undecided? Describe the room and we will tell you honestly what it needs first.
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