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A project’s site is one of its most important elements. Always carefully consider the story of the site and the design cues that ensue.

—Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner, Marmol Radziner + Associates

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Doing your research before you select an interior designer is imperative. Request a reference list of clients and speak to them. Do your homework before embarking on such an important investment in living.

—Scott Snyder

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To anchor a sofa, I prefer to have two matching pillows of the sofa fabric at each corner. Then you can go wild!

—Marjorie Shushan

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Trust your architect.

—Juan Miró and Miguel Rivera, Miró Rivera Architects

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Design is all around; it’s simply a question of reevaluation and reconfiguration into new forms. So lift your eyes from the pavement to the buildings and details around you.

—Martin Kemp, Candy & Candy

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Less is more. More quality and less quantity is a great mantra during the design process. Not all we own needs to be on display. It is important to be selective about what you need to live with.

—Nina Seirafi

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In architecture, the goal should be to improve the inhabitant’s life within the project. To achieve this, it is necessary to understand very well the inhabitant and the environment where the project will be located. This can be a room, a house, an apartment building or a public building.

—Alex Pössenbacher

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Always make brown paper templates of the dimensions of framed artwork to be hung in a given space. Place them at the proposed height and location on the wall with painter’s tape before you hang the actual work. This way you can avoid damaging your walls.

—Alexa Hampton

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We have found that listening gives way to better design.

Always keep in mind that the first idea you had was probably the best idea.

—Hugh Newell Jacobsen

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Translate the client’s program and wishes into drawings in the shortest time possible, hopefully in no more than a week. The drawings will then become the program and express the client’s wishes. In other words, go from the written form to the visual aspect of the drawings as soon as possible.

—Howard J. Backen