Saturday, February 25, 2012

Woman Caves


Interior designer Michelle Mio from Birmingham, Michigan, reports an increase in the amount of her clients who want to incorporate “woman caves” into their homes.  Women are seeking out an area of their hoe that can be turned into a haven that is just for them, like a man’s man cave.  People may say that the women have the kitchen and the bedroom; however, these spaces are often shared and not necessarily a place that is all theirs.  What do women want or need this space to be for?  These requested areas are wanted to scrapbook, read, pay bills, do crafts, and anything else that they find relaxing.  Most importantly, they just want somewhere to go when “me time” is needed, whether it is an entire room or just a nook to retreat to.  

 The above image shows a woman cave dedicated to scrapbooking.  The following link provides additional images of women's craft/work rooms: http://www.flickr.com/photos/djonesgirlz/galleries/72157624244195525/#photo_371137565

Time is precious and can be hard to come by.  Women do countless things on a daily basis.  They wake up, go to work, come home, make dinner, clean, take care of the children, pay bills, do the laundry, etc.  Men do these tasks as well; however, women don’t usually have a place to escape to when those five minutes of rest and alone time is needed.  If they have a place that is organized, functional, relaxing, pretty, and all their own, they will be able to spark their creativity and serve as a sanctuary whenever they need one. 

We’ve all heard the sayings “happy wife, happy life” and “if mom’s happy, everybody is happy”, so why not make mom happy by providing this area for her?  Virginia Woolf stated the following in her essay entitled A Room of One’s Own, "Women, then, have not had a dog's chance of writing poetry. That is why I have laid so much stress on money and a room of one's own."  This essay was written over 80 years ago.  Woolf knew the importance of a place for a woman to go to where she could be creative, silly, imaginative, and whatever else she wanted to be.  Now everyone else is seeing that importance, too. 

The increase in demand for these “woman caves” could help increase the need for interior designers.  Yes, a spare bedroom could easily be transformed into the ultimate scrapbooking room without the use of an interior designer, but what about those who don’t have a room to spare to turn into their personal sanctuary?  An interior designer can help their clients renovate entire rooms as well as help turn an area of a room into this private get away. 

In the interior design field, there are already different areas of specialization or focus (i.e. commercial, retail, and residential).  Let’s take a look at residential design.  Residential design can be broken down to specific areas of the home that designers focus on, for example, kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and bathrooms.  With such an increase in interest and demand for woman caves, this could become it’s own are of focus. 

The increased interest in special areas designated to women could potentially help generate more business for interior designers.  An increase in business will increase revenue, and the clients seeking the help of interior designers for their woman caves could potentially seek the help of an interior designer for other areas of their home.  





Link to a related article not used for this post for additional information: http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/parenting-family/2011-01-22-mom-caves_N.htm

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