Where Function Meets Style

We love opinions. At Debowsky Design Group, we enjoy nothing more than engaging in a conversation about design possibilities. We talk a lot about timeless style, and consider function to be just as important as form.

Of course, there are instances when turning big visions into design realities can hit a roadblock, which is when our expertise really comes into play. Here are a few recent cases highlighting how we problem solve to deliver the best possible results while also adhering to timelines, budgets and, well, the restrictions that a space can bring about:

1. Who doesn’t want an outdoor oasis?

Imagine a lush green space complete with pizza oven, a beer tap, table for ten, an oversized TV that doubles as a movie screen, and an island with a farmhouse sink and dishwasher below, plus a waterfall flowing in the background. We can even design it so your outdoor cooking space is shaded during early evening dinners al fresco by the pool.

But in Miami, this outdoor lifestyle comes with a few hurdles. Between building a sturdy enough structure to withstand the next big tropical storm and functional enough to keep you and your guests cool even with the grill blazing, there tends to be a moment when we have to help decide which aspects are most important for you to have the space of your dreams while not going over your budget.

We worked hand-in-hand with a client to select the key points of what really defined “outdoor living” for his family. When it came down to it, attaching that extra sink and outdoor fridge wasn’t as important as having a covered lounge area with a giant ceiling fan steps away from an updated pool.

2. “This place is perfect; we just need to raise the ceiling.”

It sounds like an easy request, doesn’t it? After all, we’re just talking about a foot or two, right?

Probably not. In actuality, we’re probably talking about a true raising-the-roof situation, because on the other side of that pesky low ceiling in 99% of Florida homes is the truss that holds up the entire house.

Is the expense worth the vertical space? That’s certainly a factor when our clients find themselves deciding on a property. For a client, when it came to choosing between two homes to purchase, one had a ceiling of only 8 feet height. The cost of raising the ceiling far outweighed the difference in purchase price from the second home that the family was looking at.

At Debowsky Design Group, we can help with the numbers as well as the peripheral details related to city codes and compliance. This will help you make a more informed decision before you purchase a home so that you can decide precisely how and where you want to renovate your space.

3. Ahh, the open concept floor plan.

Just a few weeks ago, we started a project with a client who was yearning for that big open floor plan. She asked us to not only open up her kitchen, but also create a big porch space for her home. During the consultation, we talked about the benefits of that new addition to the front of her home, which would not only increase square footage but would also add tremendous curb appeal to her property. And, we told her that opening up her kitchen would involve much more than simply knocking out a wall; we’d have to add a massive 20-foot steel beam to hold up her house in place of that load-bearing wall, which would also add around $15,000 to the cost of the project.

As we talked about in an earlier post, not everything is as simple as Chip & JoJo make it seem when it comes to knocking down walls and opening spaces. Sometimes, opening a space can lay a big dent in your costs, not to mention your living situation during renovation.

In the end, we created an option that both allowed for a cool kitchen expansion while making small changes to the front of the house that made a big impact. This kept the renovation within the boundaries of our client’s timeline (summertime while kids were at camp!) and even stayed a bit under budget.