What are the differences between Residential and Commercial Interior Design?
And which one should you use for your business?
Choosing between these two distinct designers can play a considerable role in the success of your design project! Each type of designer approaches projects in a totally different way, the furniture they source is niche, fabrics are vastly different and floor layouts are approached with a different sensibility.
We are here to help you make the right decision when choosing your next interior designer. Let’s start with the basics: Residential interior designers focus on private homes, condos, and apartments. Commercial interior designers create public spaces including hospitals, healthcare clinics, schools, office spaces, retail stores, community centers, and fitness centers.
Furthermore, residential interior designers focus more on the specific design style of the client they are designing for while commercial spaces are designing around a branded image.
Another major difference between these two designers is the experiences they create. Commercial designers consider user experience while residential designers are making comfortable spaces that are personalized for a specific family or person and exude self expression.
There will always be crossover between Residential and Commercial designers we have an industry term for that- “Resimercial”. I’ll write more about Resimercial in my next post!
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“Corporate design clients have specific needs that relate to their staff. The staff utilizes the space in a unique way, they don’t live in the space, they work in the space.”
The commercial side of things-
Although there is plenty of crossover between commercial and residential design, I’d like to focus more on commercial design as this is our firms expertise. When designing for commercial spaces - user experience is at the forefront. These user experiences can relate to the patient experience, the employee experience, or the staff experience. You may be thinking, “What are these experiences?”.
Examples of experiences within a commercial space include:
What does a person of color experience when entering a doctors office - do they feel welcome? Is there a “black lives matter” sign placed at the front door? How does a child feel when entering a new school? Does the student have the feeling of acceptance because the space includes multi-cultural photography? Are there signs placed at the school front doors advising new students where to go? Other examples of an experience would be snack bars, absence or presence of natural light and music/acoustics.
End users are encountering a specific experience when they are in the commercial built environment. It may be there first time in this building so visitors require graphic signage to help them get around.
The user may need storage for their personal items, users need to securely enter and exit the building, or they may need to understand what the space offers in terms of services. The commercial designer has to educate the end user about multiple things.
Each time we approach a new project in the commercial design realm we are addressing the following experiences one by one; way-finding, process flow, thermal comfort, technology needs, community, movement and material finishes - just to name a few. Experiences are built around evidence based design which I talk more about here:
Commercial projects typically have a larger scope and size. Clients want a unique space that will represent the company’s brand and image.
Commercial clients utilize interior design to attract more customers and make the work environment more positive for employees. Typically commercial projects are high-traffic and require commercial grade fabrics, durable flooring and stain resistant paint. There are a higher amount of people in the space and it’s important fabrics are cleanable and can be sanitized, especially in healthcare environments!
“Commercial design is all about experiences. How do you want people to feel at work, at school or in the office? All commercial designers must ask themselves this question throughout the design process.”
The Residential side of things-
Now onto the residential design, first and foremost residential designers are creating a space in which the end users will live. Designers work directly with the home dweller, in their home and want to understand personal style as well as lifestyle.
The residential designer has to ensure sentimental items are brought into the design. Designers in a residential setting help to educate their clients about color, paint and finish decisions as well as appliances.
Comfort is top of mind for residential designers. Relationship building is also a key trait of residential designers as the home is one of the most personal spaces in our lives- where we spend most of our time.
“Designing for residential clients is personal. These clients often times have sentimental pieces that will need to be worked into the design in a thoughtful way.”
As you make your decision around what designer will be the best fit for you, keep in mind designers usually specialize in either residential or commercial. We at Blackwell & Jennings have an in-depth understanding of commercial design. Our process includes post occupancy evaluations, design recommendations which include evidence based design research, implementation and accessorizing. Call us when you are ready to begin your next commercial design project.
Until next time!
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