I present my clients with beautiful hand rendered perspective drawings or computer animated 3-D walkthroughs of their new space, at their own eye level (not kidding), but I still hear, “I just can’t visualize that”. These are the people who are great with numbers, which I envy, but not so great with visualization. However, these are also the people who need a designer like me. Yay!
Anyway, back to the magic of painter’s tape…out of desperation comes inspiration. I had a client and she needed a room layout fast…like, yesterday. We had no choice but to fly by the seat of our pants. And, that is when I discovered the mystical magical
properties of the blue tape. We laid out an entire basement remodel complete with a built in banquette, a half wall with a planter, a pie-shaped reading cove with built in bookshelves, and custom desks for all three of her children. Tape was all over the floor and walls. I also jotted notes directly on the floor and on the walls with a Sharpie. Do I recommend this approach? No (for a multitude of reasons), but it works in a pinch.
Painter’s tape is now a staple in my bag of tricks. When designing, I don’t leave home without it. In fact, I use it at home ALL THE TIME. When the painter’s tape comes out, my husband cringes. He’s a numbers guy. I can visualize; the size of a new Tibetan area rug, the number of etageres that will fit in my dining room, a new framed photo collection of the kids, the footprint of a new piece of furniture, a custom tufted headboard, the area of the wall that absolutely must be removed, the height of new light fixtures…you get the idea. The only thing he is visualizing is $ flying out of his wallet while he ponders the word etagere and wonders why we need so many of them.
Here is the magic part; it will save you money. Painter’s tape minimizes the chance that your $15,000 area rug that you waited 9 months to get will be the wrong size, or the furniture that was such a great deal does not, in fact, fit. Now, your great deal is in the garage awaiting a Craig’s list pick up. It’s also a great communication tool for contractors. You can communicate “install the light fixture HERE” to the electrician without ever having to say anything, because we all know how that can get muddled. With a big blue visual, the chances of that light fixture actually being installed exactly where you wanted it to be are much much better.
There will always be a place for rendered perspective drawings and 3-D animation walk throughs. But, sometimes the best visualization and communication tool is as simple as a magic $3 roll of blue tape.
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