"My design style is not what’s important. The most important thing an interior designer can do is listen to her client and develop a style the client is envisioning. I can work with anyone in the world to develop a new room design online, through Skype.” —Patricia Davis Brown, designer

Patricia Davis Brown's work has garnered numerous national and state awards and been recognized in numerous publications including Florida Architecture, Traditional Homes & Design, Florida Design, Qualified Remodeler Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen and Bath Ideas and The Kids Space Idea Book.

GN: How did you come to develop your style?

Patricia: My design style is not what’s important. The most important thing an interior designer can do is listen to her client and develop a style the client is envisioning. A truly talented designer should be able to interview the client and create the dream room for her customer. I remember interviewing a new client on designing her master suite, and she told me that she wanted it to look like a boudoir, done in red and black. Although it wasn’t my style, it was hers, and I did just what she asked.

GN: Tell us about the last project you worked on.

Patricia: What I loved about my last project were the eco-friendly materials I used, which included a concrete dining room table with laser-cut conch shells embedded in it. The project was a remodel consisting of three rooms that wouldn’t work for the new owners of the house. The rooms were a family room, dining room and a kitchen. This was a couple with three young sons who would eventually be growing up to be three young teenagers with friends.

In evaluating the space, I felt that there were too many rooms in the existing square footage, and because of this, it didn’t flow well. I opened up the space and relocated the family room to the formal living room, because the family said they didn’t live formally and that a family room would work for their lifestyle. I then redesigned an open kitchen/dining room concept that really suited the family’s needs.

The challenge came when the contractor took down the walls and found a support beam hidden there that supported the second floor. It wasn’t in the budget to transfer the load, so I had to come up with a reason why the support beam would be in the middle of the new kitchen. The island was a "U"-shaped cooking center, and I had the flexibility to position it so the column would fall into the knee wall holding up the glass countertop at the seating area. I added another column and centered the cooktop and hood between the two columns, and designed a useful cooking center with a matching shelf and cookbook holder. The solution would never look like a support column, and it actually became a focal point of the design.

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

GN: What advice would you have for homeowners in hiring and managing contractors, whether it be for paint, flooring, handymen or big remodels like custom-made closets?

Patricia: The best advice I could give a homeowner before starting a project would be to get a design put to plan first. A FULL plan of the project consists of a plan view, elevations, lighting design with specifications and details drawn of moldings, etc. I give seminars to the public on "How to Survive a Kitchen or Bath Remodel" and I show them the importance of getting your plans and specifications done first.

My motto is "Fail to plan, plan to fail." A plan will empower the homeowner to put the project out for bid and know the prices she’s getting will have all the materials she wants on the project, leaving nothing out. If you put half a plan out for bid, each bidder is going to look for a way to come in under the other person’s bid, and the person who loses is the homeowner because she’ll be hit with a change order when she brings it to the contractor’s attention. What the contractor will say is that it wasn’t specified, and then the ball is in his court.

One of my online companies is ProfessionalKitchenAndBathPlans.com, and I can work with anyone in the world to develop a new room design online, through Skype.

GN: What elements account for a comfortable home?

Patricia: A comfortable home is a place where you can come to at the end of the day and decompress. It’s a place that fits your taste and gives you peace. It should fit you and your family’s lifestyle.

Dining Before

Dining After

GN: What's your philosophy on creating meaning in the home?

Patricia: I think a home should be organized to fit the family’s needs. If there are children in the home, then there should be a comfortable place for them to do their homework or have fun with their friends. Adults have needs, too, and a home should accommodate them—a soaking tub or a gourmet kitchen for the cook. A well-designed home should create lasting memories for all who live there! Namaste.

Interior designer Patricia Davis Brown, NCIDQ, ASID, CKD, CBD, began her career in the kitchen and bath industry in 1985. In 1992, she founded her own design studio, Patricia Davis Brown Fine Cabinetry, Inc., in Vero Beach, Fla. She specializes in residential and commercial interior design, remodels, lighting design, universal design for the physically impaired and aging, and custom furniture. In 2010, Patricia took her mastery of space planning and design national by launching ProfessionalKitchenAndBathPlans.com and her online store, PDBhomestore.com.

[All images: Patricia Davis Brown]