This section serves to expand your regular vocabulary. What separates the men from the boys (or the women from the girls, if you want to equalize things) is v o c a b u l a r y. We cannot stress this point enough. People who have a larger vocabulary have been shown to make more money and get promoted more often.
We could actually also sneak this word into the DESIGN SPEAK section because of its original Medieval use describing the projecting architectural portion of a battle fortification. In modern times, however, this word tends to be used to describe a less tangible kind of fortification and more that of a resilient stance or stronghold.
Example: Due to the lax attitude towards accuracy and detail held by both her boss and her colleagues, Jesse was starting to feel that she was the last bastion of quality control within her firm when compiling specifications and construction documents.
The easiest way to remember this word is to focus on the emphasized syllable: lie (as in falsehood, misrepresentation, fabrication, etc.). Why? This succinct little transitive verb means to present a false impression of, to contradict, to disguise, or to show something to be wrong.
Example: A stranger off the street would have supposed the client meeting to be going extremely well, but Jim knew better. His boss’s smiles and witty comments belied her simmering anger regarding the money their firm had lost on the project.
To give someone or a group of people an old fashioned scolding. In other words, to condemn in a very noticeable and angry manner – sometimes for an unusually long time. It’s never fun to be berated.
Example: Jonathan’s weekly project meetings were never something to look forward to since the grouchy developer tended to pick one person on the project team to berate every week – justifiably or not.
This is the kind of word you expect to see in Old English texts or your collection of Shakespearian classics, but the word is built for the modern world too. Though it can be used in several ways – to formally address someone, to ask for or hire in advance, to request something, or to foretell or hint at beforehand – its this last, most simple, definition that’s most used today: to indicate or show. Our example sentence should quell any confusion.
Example: The multinational company’s Board of Directors was duly impressed during their final interview of the week. Stated the CEO: “Your extensive portfolio and calm confidence bespeak years of experience in the practice interior design and facility planning. We want to hire you to design our new corporate headquarters.”
The literal French translation: black beast. Sounds scary. The way the English-speaking world uses the term is a little less creepy: a person or thing (not necessarily tangible) that you want to avoid because it stirs up dread, disgust and/or hatred. Uh… we hope we’re not anyone’s bête noire.
Example: Prima donna designers have long been the bête noire of contractors, but they’ve become the darlings of drama-hungry media and insecure, status-conscious clients.
We love this word. On the one hand, it means lighthearted, merry, and carefree in disposition or character – a positive, to be sure. On the other hand, it takes on a more negative bent as it can also mean lacking in consideration, heedless, and a little too casual when it comes to thinking things through. Our example sentence uses the latter definition.
Example: In a panic due to her client’s anger over the poor wearing capability of the carpet she specified for his bank lobby, Judith met the manufacturer’s representative at the site to inspect. To her dismay, he reacted with blithe unconcern, even after seeing the product’s deteriorated condition first-hand.
This fun, cheerful word is French (“But, of course!” said in an over-the-top accent), and it literally means “good liver.” Not in the organ sense, but in the sense of one who lives well. More distinctively, it means one who is culturally refined and has perfect social taste, especially when it comes to cuisine and wine.
Example: Nigel absolutely loved his new clients. Not only did they have multiple homes in multiple countries in need of extensive remodeling, but they were quite the bon vivants and loved to treat him to sumptuous dinners at the best restaurants London had to offer.
A peppy noun with Italian ancestry that denotes the three Vs: vivaciousness, verve, and enthusiastic vigor. Capiche?
Example: Danny’s brio usually motivated the others in his studio, but after two all-nighters dedicated to finishing up the over-wrought construction documents, it was merely getting on their nerves.
We’ve seen this word more and more in the news in the last year, so we thought that we would include it in the glossary. Primarily it’s being used in relation to cities assigning tax credits and/or offering grants to private developers to transform brownfield sites into multi-use developments – i.e., apartments, condos, retail, dining and entertainment venues, conference centers, etc. – thereby revitalizing sections of a city, increasing tax revenue and slowing suburban sprawl. Therefore, you can probably surmise that the term “brownfield” refers to older, neglected or abandoned urban areas that have mostly been used for industrial purposes in the past but are sitting idle as unproductive eyesores currently.
Example: With the price of gasoline steadily rising, more investors are seeing the potential of developing brownfields into urban multifamily housing, attracting residents by decreasing their commute time and expense.
To bridge the gap between the student / educational community and the professional / manufacturer community of the interior design world, and not to die of boredom while we do it.
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