Function-First Interior Design

Beautiful spaces work because we design for real people and real routines, not just a perfect-looking room. We break down how function-first thinking leads to smarter layouts, better materials, and a home that still feels elevated even when life gets messy.
• Designing for the people living in the home instead of designing for the room
• Using deep client questions to guide layout, seating comfort, and material choices
• Planning around real life habits like shoes at the door, kids’ sports gear, and homework zones
• Designing for hosting and the flow of holidays, game nights, and post-dinner gathering
• Choosing performance fabrics and slipcovers that make “risky” looks like white sofas practical
• Anticipating problems early through sight lines, wear and tear, and longevity planning
If this conversation changed the way that you think about function and design, subscribe!

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
The most beautiful spaces don't just look good,

(00:03):
they work well too.
Today I want to talk aboutdesigning around something that
most designers don't talk about,and that is focusing on function
first.
First and foremost, when you aredesigning a space, you need to

(00:25):
think about designing for thepeople that are living in it,
not just for the room.
What do I mean by that?
Well, there are so manydecisions that go into a design
process that you need to bemindful of.
When we meet with our designclients, it's this like intense
conversational questionnairesort of process because we want
to get to know them soincredibly intimately.

(00:46):
I want to know is your husbandsix foot seven?
Because if he is, we need tothink about that for the sake of
chairs and cushions and seating,or he's gonna be miserable and
uncomfortable in the livingroom.
We want to know how many petsyou have, what kind of pets you
have, and even the littledetails of like what color fur
do they have.
Because if you have a black doglike I do, that is not gonna

(01:07):
bode well on a perfectlybeautiful white sofa that has
certain fabrics that's gonnastick like Velcro.
These are the little detailsthat we truly want to think
about when we're designing for aspace.
And every one of your answersdictates the type of material we
use, how we lay things out, theframe of what we're doing, and
those details are really whatmatter.
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Next, we want to design aroundreal life, not your ideal life.
Now it's great to say I want toteach my children and my family
to always take their shoes offat the front door, and I want to

(01:50):
make sure that we live in thiscertain perfect way.
But rather than trying toaccomplish all of that before
your new furniture arrives, I'drather we design around how
you're living today in astrategic sort of way so that it
functions well for you.
So we want to dive into thingslike do your kids play soccer?
And sometimes those soccercleats end up in the living
room, then we need to be mindfulabout the rug and the wear and

(02:10):
tear that's gonna take place onthat rug so that it can handle
it.
We love to know little detailslike if you do have children and
they do their homework, are theydoing it up in their bedrooms?
Are they doing it on the kitchentable?
Are they doing it on the kitchenisland?
All of these little decisionsmatter.
And then when it comes tohosting, that's another big
important factor when we'redesigning a home.
So do you host Thanksgiving orChristmas?

(02:33):
How many people are you tryingto cram into your dining room?
And then what do they do afterthe meal is done?
Where are they congregating andsitting?
Are you hosting game night onThursday nights?
How many couples are coming tothat game night?
All of these details matterbecause we want the
functionality not just for yourMonday through Friday, but for
those special events andactivities that create the
memories that are actually inyour home.

(02:54):
Let me share a real life exampleof this with you.
I worked with a client a coupleyears ago, and she had three
children.
Two of them were boys that werein soccer and active, and they
had just gotten a new, beautifuldog covered in this long,
gorgeous hair.
And she said to me, Alisa, Iwant white sofas that has always
been my dream.
And most people look at that andgo, hey, you have animals, you

(03:16):
have children.
That means no white sofas.
But the reality is there arebeautiful performance fabrics
and white sofa solutions thatcan exist that are durable and
practical.
And so we found these gorgeouswhite slip-covered sofas for her
home, put them all in place,designed the entire space, and
then, like we do with all of ourclients, we did this big HGTV

(03:37):
reveal.
And so they walked in the frontdoor, they arrived, they saw
everything, they gasped, theywere excited, and the most
terrifying event for thedesigner happened.
She opened the door and the dogcame running in.
It was raining outside, his pawswere covered in mud, and the
first thing the dog did was jumpon the slipcover sofa.
And I will tell you, I know themetrics around that sofa say

(04:00):
it's supposed to work, butthere's nothing more terrifying
than seeing this gorgeous whitesofa stepped on by a dog within
seconds of them coming home.
The homeowner gasped, we went tothe sofa to go look, and
literally the little brown pawswere on the white sofa and we
wiped them right off.
And it was that moment where yourealize this is why it's so

(04:21):
important to actually designaround a function and not this
ideal life where your dog isnever gonna jump on the sofa.
And finally, it's our job tothink through the details before
a problem actually exists.
We want to anticipate your trueneeds.
So we're thinking about thingslike sight lines.
If you're sitting in a certainposition in the living room,
what are you looking at?
Is that what you should belooking at?

(04:41):
Is that the view that you wantto be able to see?
We think about the details ofwear and tear and longevity.
Are there pieces of furniturewhere maybe it does make sense
to have something that isn't asdurable, but it is beautiful and
it's fun and it's funky, and soit's okay to let it go in three
to four years when it getsdestroyed?
Or maybe there are pieces wherethey need to withstand the test

(05:01):
of time because they're gorgeousinvestment pieces and it needs
to withstand that wear and tear.
All of these little details gointo the design process.
And I think what I find to be sointeresting is oftentimes when
people think about hiring aninterior designer, they go, I
want them to make my homepretty.
But pretty is our secondpriority.
First and foremost, our home andyour home needs to function for

(05:23):
you and the way that your familylives.
And so making sure that you arethinking through the details and
the nuances of how you trulylive to dictate and determine
the furniture solutions, thedesigns, the colors, the
aesthetics that you want in yourhome, that's what leads to
beautiful design.
Thanks for spending the timewith me today.
If this conversation changed theway that you think about
function and design, subscribe.

(05:45):
We want to share moreinformational videos that are
gonna help you in your designjourney.
Thanks for listening.
This is In Good Space.