There is a lot on the line when selecting hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars worth of finishings, furniture, and decor. Designing dream homes requires that no detail is left behind.
Some interior designers prefer to play it safe when they’re creating their client’s spaces. There is a lot less involved in pulling a grey on grey room together with nothing but ready to ship or in-stock furniture in all neutrals.
To keep the ‘risk factor’ down, homeowners and the average designers tend to ‘play it safe’ by selecting ready-made or in-stock pieces of furniture and choosing a tone on tone approach. To error to the side of caution is not only the ‘fail-safe’ route, but it’s also the easy thing to do. It’s a lot more work to carefully select custom pieces of furniture rich in texture and it takes careful attention to detail to ensure cohesion in a home when veering from a tonal/safe approach.
Anyone familiar with my work and my design philosophy knows that playing it safe isn’t my style.
Why bother paying for a custom-designed house if you want a basic outcome? A discerning client knows better, and that’s not to say the well-designed home has to have color, not at all (my house is primarily neutral). Still, it certainly has to have an effortless elegance, beautiful cohesion and embody a real sense of visual inspiration. Sure, it takes more effort to ensure that no detail is left behind but…
I prefer the road less traveled.
Sure, mixing colors can be more challenging. If not done well, it can look like a box of crayons threw up all over your home, and it doesn’t take an expert to know that nothing is charming about an obnoxious and unbalanced room. However, there’s nothing more exciting than creating a truly original design tailored to my clients’ personalities, one rich in elegance and charm, bursting with sensual textures of velvets, silks, and mohairs. A room that seduces your sense with layers of intrigue, one that takes a while to take in.
I love telling my clients stories through color, texture, shape, and light.
By no means am I a copy and repeat style designer. My portfolio is diverse, just like my clients with the common thread being their taste for quality and willingness to explore outside the all too common grey on grey color scheme that Vancouver is so well known for. It takes a little courage and curiosity to go beyond basic, but thankfully for me, I don’t generally attract clients inspired by a keeping up with the Jones or Basic B**ch approach. My clients, on the contrary, want something special, and they’re willing to wait for custom. Just like having a suit or dress beautifully tailored, they know that off the rack will suffice, but custom-tailored is always best. Anyone who’s ever purchased basic toss pillows or drapes vs. investing in a custom made approach knows that there is a significant difference.
Quality is a huge topic of conversation when with every client who’s building, renovating or re-furnishing their home.
It all begins at the research phase of a client intake meeting. To explore what sets their hearts on fire, to be invited into conversations so meaningful and quaint that you get to see glimpses of their souls, is a privilege that I find hard to explain.
It’s such an honor to come alongside someone to help them create their dream home, and it doesn’t happen without some proper research, and I’m not just talking about permits and property lines.
Where do they love to travel, wine, and dine.? What books do they read? Who or what inspires them? What is their dream vacation, and why? Do they have a secret obsession with fresh herbs or wine? Bubbles or salts in their bath or both? Or perhaps they’re more of a steam shower for two with some fresh eucalyptus. Tea or wine to help them unwind? Leather or lace, silk or velvet, or all of the above? Will their luxurious walk-in closet be their dressing room or their undressing room? Both…Perhaps a soft tufted ottoman and a safe word will do. Designing a custom home can be a highly customizable and intimate adventure, and it’s a process that, if cleverly and carefully thought out, can allow you to literally design a life you love.
My client interview is an essential part of my design process. What’s the point of creating a spectacular home if it doesn’t function correctly for who you want to live, and it doesn’t echo who you are?
It’s all about getting to know who they are, what inspires them, where they've been, and where they’re planning to go. It’s hearing about their fondest trips and memories and helping them to create a space that helps them dream bigger than ever before.
My interview process is the opening the ceremony of every project, but it doesn’t stop once the Champagne is gone. It’s a continual exploration into finding out who my clients are and how they want to live. As the design journey with my clients unfolds, so do the detailed nuances of how they wish to live. That’s the thing about working with clients you have a genuine connection with; you just become a team working together to achieve the same vision, and in doing so, a bond of trust is established with one another. More often than not, a friendship is born before a project is complete. It’s a result of caring about the people you serve and wanting nothing but the best for them.
Sure, I don’t go for dinner with all of my clients, but I love it when I’ve gotten to know a couple so well that I’m invited to their birthday, or they think to call me to give them advice on what gift they think their partner would like best.
What’s this all for if it’s not to help people have more connection in their life, with themselves and others.
I like to think my job is to create space for people to feel more seen and to be more inspired, and the best part of it all is that I get to work with some inspiring people.
I couldn’t have chosen a better vocation. I love what I do, and I love the clients I get to work with. There’s nothing more satisfying than designing spaces that help people live to their highest potential.
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Give us a call at 604-564-0404 or contact us online, or visit our boutique design store at 1637 W 3rd Ave, Vancouver.
