Design to the Max

The Design Center of Washington houses 400,000 square feet of wholesale residential, commercial and building products showrooms.

We all have our sources of inspiration we go to when decorating or redesigning our homes. If you want something done with the dining room and kitchen, but you just don't know what, you could hire a design consultant. Maybe you want to build a breakfast nook in your kitchen so you'd like to find an architect who has some ideas without busting out a wall. Or the bedroom just does not feel right and you can't seem to move around easily. Better call a space planner.

But these people are not gods in and of themselves – although it sure seems like it sometimes. So where do they go to for motivation? Who do they call?

The inspiration of all inspiration is the Washington Design Center in D.C. Seven floors are filled with ideas, new creations, the latest trends, and the best expert advice money can buy. There is about 400,000 square feet of space with over 60 wholesale residential, commercial and building products showrooms. The Design Center is dedicated to providing the finest in home and commercial furnishings for trade professionals.

Your designer can find just what's right for you in more than 60 showrooms from names like Morris & Company, Remains Lighting, Beacon Hill and J. Lambeth & Company. Offering top industry brands, manufacturer resources, and services for design professionals, the Design Center is the largest single resource and destination for the design industry.

A retail level that is comprised of kitchen, bath and building design center showrooms is open to the public six days a week, while other showrooms are open only to design professionals and their clients.

Most designers seem to create around what the client is trying to express. “It's all about the psychology of people and how they feel about a room,” said Jonas Carnemark, principal of Carnemark Systems & Design, Inc., who spoke at a recent Design Center seminar. “Think about what really makes you happy when you come down the stairs in the morning. Then focus on that.”

"Think about what really makes you happy when you come down the stairs in the morning. Then focus on that."

The kitchen has always been a main focus of the home whether or not you like cooking. “Most people use their dining rooms maybe once or twice a year,” said Carnemark. Since most homeowners spend the majority of their time in the kitchen, one architect designed a breakfast nook at one side of a family’s kitchen, complete with its own stove and and refrigerator for breakfast purposes because their old kitchen island tended to be an obstacle for the busy family.

Not every designer is right for every client, so The Design Center has “Dial-a-Designer” which has designers on call, and the Designer Index which features over 75 giant portfolios of area designers, architects, landscape architects, commercial space planners and decorators. The consumer can research different design philosophies and choose who is right for the job.

– L.A. Eaton
Contributing Writer