Five differentials separating a thought project from a decorated project:
1. Functional program documented before the first image. The project starts with structured client interviews, real (not aspirational) lifestyle survey and translation to spatial program. Without documented program, design becomes style applied to square meters.
2. Material curation with technical-environmental criteria. Every chosen material has documented rationale (durability, maintenance, environmental footprint, replacement cost). Curation is done with open catalog, not captive catalog, which protects the client from the decorator's conflict of interest with supplier kickback.
3. Landscape with vegetation appropriate to local climate. Selection of native or adapted species to the project's thermal floor (Bogotá savanna, Cauca valley, coffee axis, Caribbean coast). Efficient irrigation and documented maintenance. The garden that lives is the one designed for the climate where it is planted.
4. Lighting designed with photometry, not intuition. Lighting levels calculated by space use, color temperature by function, intelligent control when applicable. Lighting is the first thing the eye registers entering a space; poorly designed, no material saves the result.
5. Coordination with trades documented in detail drawings. Carpentry, ironwork, cabinetry, plumbing, electrical, lighting, all with detail drawings that the contractor executes without free interpretation. Without detail drawings, the result depends on the moment's contractor, not the studio.
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