The Sketch-Up/Hand Rendered Hybrid

I just submitted dwgs to a text on Interior Design Presentation (her 5th edition)…will share it with you when it all comes together over the next year, so it got me thinking about my process, which is different for every design situation. This DR is a good example, and one I use often for final presentations; start with a 3D rendering with a view photo imposed in the background (import your AutoCAD dwg to save time, and use an actual site photo), print 2 copies, then overlay a piece of trace or rag paper to create a line drawing, render with architectural markers, and cut the view out from the spare print, and paste it into the finished rendering.

 

1. print 2 copies of your SketchUp model

2. create a line drawing

3. apply colour, texture and shadow

4. cut and paste your view

Here Comes the Sun…

A splash of citrus colours and local lush greens in this Vancouver Island space, has me thinking lustfully for some sunnier weather. We just had a small taste over the last couple of days.

It’s been a busy couple of months…photographing projects, rendering commissions, e-design projects, a couple of bathroom renos, and packing up my house to sell and move…but I have felt disconnected from my blog family…

Hope sunnier times in your life are here, or just around the corner :)

Best, Michelle

Colouring Book – Sky Lounge Colour Rendering

 

A white aerie with references to nature’s floor…wood and trees brought up to the 34th floor Sky Lounge…I think some well deserved time with the ladies hanging out on the sky beds or wing chairs is due. Whites and neutrals are difficult to render, but with layering tonal grays, adding texture with fine liners and practicing restraint with the pens, the idea of a high gloss floor and white upholstery comes through.

Colouring Book – Sky Lounge

 

Design and Computer Rendering by Michelle Morelan

Another “Colouring Book” post…use this as an underlay to create your own interior rendering.

It’s a lounge on the 34th floor with a accessible green roof. I have designed the aerie with the concept of merging the earth and sky, taking bits of both and lending them to each other…that’s how I’ve chosen my finishes which I will render into the drawing, but chose your own concept if you like, and try rendering this perspective in fineliners and markers. I would love to see your finished drawing…I’ll post mind soon.

Watercolour or Marker?

Watercolour, Michelle Morelan 2006

Catherine asked me via email if I have ever tried watercolour…I admit, yes, but it’s not something I feel I '”get”…I feel more comfortable with the control of markers and the texture you can create (below). For presentations I think watercolour fits lots of concepts nicely, but doesn’t offer the intensity of colour that markers do…just the point I would guess. I encourage experimentation with all mediums :) Thanks for ready my blog Catherine…have fun!

Architectural Markers, Chalk, Fineliners, Michelle Morelan, 2006

Check-In

 

Renderings don’t always have to be structured…as a matter of fact, the client is happiest when they feel they can still change the design, and a finished rendering may say…”here…it’s done, and you have no say”… plus, they don’t want to think they are paying you for hours at the drafting table during the schematic phase of design. So loosen up :)

Design and Rendering by Michelle Morelan Design

www.michellemorelandesign.com

Vancouver Loft - new pictures

 

stump table by John Ross is 40% off right now, and urchin box - Heather Ross

chair – Kozai, Vancouver

photograph and concrete planter – Heather Ross

  It’s definitely time for a website upgrade, so yesterday my very gracious loft client let us in for the day to photograph the work I did for her last year…I have another client’s space to shoot the end of next month, and look forward to a new website sometime this year. Seems no matter how qualified you are, the pretty shots bring in the clients, hence the investment.

Can’t wait to share more of this space with you…and thanks to Heather of Heather Ross in House who let me borrow a few accessories for styling, and took some wonderful professional photos (these are just captures)…do stop by and visit Heather…she is at Granville and 6th (on 6th) here in Vancouver. You will not only see how talented she is, but also professional and kind, it’s a rare mix.

Best, Michelle

Small Case Study: Genevieve and David

Projects of Past…Ucluth Lodge and Spa

I was going through old files, and came across these early SketchUp model renderings from my final year of college. It is an adaptive re-use project of a local fish plant, from working plant to a boat in eco-resort. If you are a student of interior design, and read my blog, please know that this is the most freedom you may ever have, as budget and time issues (not dynamic ones, at least) are not working against you- so push it and have fun. I learned SketchUp in a month; it’s that intuitive.

My favourite part of the project was the sunken glass tide line room where you could watch the tide deposit shell life. The rooms are in the old cold storage building, and the spa was the shrimp room…so much fun. The sushi bar was called Kimoto’s after a local Japanese founding family. I thought it had a real Cannery Row meets Long Beach Lodge feel.

*note, the middle dwg is a process dwg

Renovation for a Young Family

This recent renovation project has been exciting…a young family, a new open family room space, outdoor deck and entry are the formula for casual living. A built in banquette and new patio doors, a new fireplace facade, millwork and flooring throughout are all part of a recipe for this family’s lifestyle.

Design, Rendering and Planning by www.michellemorelandesign.com

Design without Drawing?

I had a discussion with a design professional the other day. He was saying that he overheard a seminar of designers talking about the act of drawing and how it’s attached to the design process. One designer in the crowd said that they don’t draw, and never have, and didn’t see the importance of it. The rest of the room disagreed, and lumped the skill of drawing directly to the process of design.

I personally, don’t know many designers that can sell a concept to a client without some type of drawing as part of the presentation. It’s a designer’s chance to look at the details, work out standard dims to address budget issues, and check proportion. I depend on my hand, experience and intuition, which comes from putting pen to paper.

When you hire a designer, please appreciate all of the hours that go into lining things up perfectly, into appropriate specifications of FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment), and perspective drawings that show you how the surfaces will work together.

So, I would say WHAT? Design without drawing? How did you arrive at the design plan? How do you get your client to sign off…and where is the joy in the process? I have just seen too many filler panels between bathroom vanities and bathtubs to be convinced otherwise. Work it out on paper first.

Design and Renderings by Michelle Morelan Design, 2008

Her Bath, His Bath

Her bath features the Cartwright vanity from Restoration Hardware…His bath has hints of Craftsman, but they look like they belong in the same house…

Design and Renderings by www.michellemorelandesign.com

 

Best, Michelle

View with a Room

 

 

A room with an amazing view and floor to ceiling windows is a dream of mine..and this one was a lesson in proportion and restraint. With the family dog taking his chances!

Which rendering appeals to you the most? My intention was to insert a view, and wasn’t as happy with it as I thought; sometimes a simple line and a bump can give the gesture of landscape, and not become the focal point. Not that I would complain about this view!

Design and Rendering by Michelle Morelan

e-design available through michellemorelandesign.com

Interior Design and a Deep Sleep

 

I like to walk in and see the bed when I enter a room. It’s a security thing, I guess…plus I don’t like having my head on the same wall as the door…and I have to be able to see out the window and the door. Pretty picky…but without this vantage point, I can’t sleep. Do you have any design/sleep habits?

Design and rendering by Michelle Morelan

e-design available through Michelle Morelan Design; did you know that every e-design project includes a rendering like this?

 

Best, Michelle

How to Get Your Client to Sign-Off

 

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words. A client who wants to go a bit more modern without giving up her classic pieces couldn’t picture what I meant by “mixing it up a bit”, so I took a few hours to do these couple of drawings for her…sure enough, we are going ahead with the custom pair of nightstands and TV credenza for the MBR.  Talking with your hands can only take you so far.

Also, the toilet has been moved to create a symmetrical hallway to the bathroom, and a bathroom vanity area. The client thought it would make the room feel to small (still trying to convince her on that one). I would go for room that works before size in a minute. But, like I always say, I don’t have to live there.

Interior Design, Furniture Design and Renderings by Michelle Morelan, 2010

 

Best, Michelle

Outdoor Dining- West Coast Style

 

I’ve been working on designing a new build with a contractor- here’s a sneak peak of the outdoor dining area, which he is using for marketing the property.

I was influenced by the Restoration Hardware look this year, and I think it came out in this space. I love the large scale of their pieces, which dictated the size of the deck. This is a great time for the designer to be involved in the project, because furniture arrangement/light switch locations etc…are all lifestyle related, which the designer takes much time considering.

Work has been picking up…has anyone else noticed this? I hope it’s a good sign…real estate has taken such a kicking, and ID rides the shirt tails of the construction industry.

 

Best…Michelle

The Moorage Display Suite

     

The developers who built the Moorage condos in Ucluelet are quality builders. Sometimes builders just particle board a building together to minimum code, with budget driven materials (meaning cheap). Not these guys…there is a quality of work under the drywall that you cannot see. The building references a nautical past, when the town was just a series of boardwalks for fisherman. Long Beach is only 15 minutes away, but a series of hidden beaches around Ucluelet give you the seclusion it’s known for. This show suite was a project I did with local resources and on a shoestring budget, but with some built-in millwork and a plumper budget, you can personalize the space like this-

or more modern, like this…

With a location like this…it’s the perfect getaway close to Vancouver

It’s a place where landscapes like this-

inspire you to create things like this-

“Ucluelet Skies”, Acrylic on Canvas, Michelle Morelan

So, imagine, after a day at the beach collecting shells, kicking back in this chair…looking at this view…hmmm, life is good.

The Moorage Condos are available for sale through JudyGray.com

 

Best, Michelle

5 Facades

 “ White Beach House”

“Hint of Craftsman”

“The New Traditional”

“Urban Elegant Gray”

“West Coast Casual Chic”

I’m missing the drawing/design the client chose, but these are the 5 “rejected” choices.

Drawings and design by Michelle Morelan 2010