AbbeyK — On Interior Design

Taste: Making it Work for the Client

As a designer, I am a stickler about scale and proportion and clear passage -- that's how much space you need to comfortably pass through space. So if you want to put a lounge chair in your bedroom and there actually isn’t room for that lounge chair and you’re never going to be able to get by, I will endeavor to tell you why it won't work and why you won't be comfortable. I might even get out my tape measure to demonstrate. That’s the area of technical expertise that a professional possesses. So I’ll kind of hold on to that.

One thing I know: taste is personal.
Another thing I know: I don't live in your house.

What fabric you get to put on a piece, I might bend on that one. After all, if you really love a fabric, you should have that fabric. Maybe the fabric you "love" might look better on a pillow than on a sofa. So we can try it there. I might try to show you why a different fabric might be better that’s within the same range of what your taste is. And you might love that one, too. In that way, I'll try to influence your taste, but I really try not to overpower homeowners about taste.

How to tell quality furniture?

Some of my clients like to look at online and retail sources for products. They are some times confused about the differences in prices of products I show them and ones they can find at big box stores. There is certainly a place in a home for a bargain item, just know what you are getting.

I sell products that I can stand behind in terms of quality and construction. Properly constructed upholstery or case goods (like tables, dressers, and book cases) will last. Buy items with particle board, chip board or ones that are attached by staples and they simply won't hold up. Also you cannot always tell about the finish on a product from a catalog. Items may look fabulous in the catalog or online thanks to wonderful staging lighting and photography, but surprises can happen once the piece arrives.

I was recently told a story about a very well-priced television stand purchased on line. It arrived in a flat box, the back was cardboard, and it had to be put it together. Now that's no bargain!

I do buy items sight unseen for clients, but only from tried and true vendors whose quality I trust.

Fabric selection direction, This Old House

We're moving along with This Old House Newton. Working on color schemes for the house.
Here's the scoop: The front of the house is dark with lots of mill work and a grand staircase. The back of the house is lighter so we're going to balance things out and have colors transition from one room to the next.
as its fairly open space. There's the color scheme for the family room, dining room and living room.

All are durable fabrics and we'll professionally stain treat to protect. This week we hope to pick the actual pieces of furniture!

Here are some of the color schemes for the first floor.

Family Room

Living Room and Dining room
The dining room is the stripe.

Decorating: where to start?

Where to start?
Although that’s a daunting question for many of my customers, it isn’t to me. I guess that's why I do this for a living.

Here's one place to start: I have clients tear out a few pages from magazines. Then we go through them, what I often find is that people can’t put a label to what they like because they’re not familiar with the vocabulary of interior design. I can very quickly look through their pages and say: “Oh, tell me what you like about this picture,” and when they start talking about it, then were able to develop a vocabulary about the things that they like.

It’s also a really interesting exercise because I recently had a customer who showed me a whole bunch of pictures that had orange and black and high contrast in them, and she felt that those were very relaxing. That was relaxing, that was soothing to her. Most of my customers would call “soothing” more of a Zen palate –- light grays, tans, light blues, light greens. But for her, something that was dramatic was relaxing. That's why it’s a helpful exercise to create a common vocabulary together.

When not to take a job

I’ve had clients who've said, I want you to design window treatments, but I’m going have them made myself. And I won’t work like that, because it’s custom, and so much about window treatments looking right is how they’re sewn, the fullness, the length and width. The details.

If I can’t communicate what the specs are to my drapery workroom, I’ve lost control over the finished project and how it will look. If I sketch up a design and hand it off to the client, who will answer the questions from the workroom? How will I ensure that it gets translated correctly into a fabric treatment? If it doesn’t come out right, who owns the problem when they call me and say: “Abbey, this is not what I wanted.”

I try to avoid potential hassles whenever possible.

Window Treatments behind bed

Remember this project? A bed that was oversized for the room in front of a window. Our solution? Cover the window. Check out the before, the sketched solution and the after. Oh and we painted the walls.

The proposed sketch:



















And the finished product....The new wall color is Coco Malt by C2 Paints.

A Nice Story, off topic

This morning as I was walking from my boyfriend's condo to my car, a landscaper working at the building next door offered me a small gift as I walked by.

He just passed me the rose, dethorned and all, and smiled.

What a beautiful way to start the day. A random act of kindness from a stranger.

Pass it on!

AbbeyK

This Old House kitchen inspiration

We are hard at work on decorative. Lighting is just about done. We are starting with decor. There's a long list of needs with a lot to do. It sounds like we have a lot of time, but with install set for the beginning of December, it's only 4 1/2 months. Most items take 2-3 months, so decisions must get made soon.

Maddy and I met last week and discussed barstools. In the kitchen, we are doing a built-in banquette with chairs around one side of the table. Around the island, we need barstools that somehow coordinate. This has become a design challenge.

These is the light fixture and these are the chairs -- beloved antique pieces.

So the question becomes: what to put with the existing decor. It's a common question, but the more items that are chosen, the harder it becomes. The tiles and cabinets are also chosen. The tiles are a lovely light olive stone with decorative tiles as borders and accents.

Field tile

Accents

On top of all of this, we have a dimension issue. Maddy wants 4 chairs on the island, which means they can only be 18" wide.

It's getting more and more challenging by the minute.

This month's House Beautiful arrived at my door with the answer on the cover: French bistro chairs! A little internet research and a few minutes later I had some ideas to email Maddy. Good news: she loves the idea. I think it's going to work really well. Maddy likes the idea of no fabric for easy clean up. Here are some chairs are considering.

Cast your votes. Would love to know what you think.

Design Challenges -- Mirrors

Here's a recent challenge. I have a client who is moving up to the area for a few years and needs his condo decorated. There are beveled mirrors in different places throughout the house. Since we are not renovating, there are some clear decisions to be made about what to do with the mirrors.

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For the paneled mirrors behind the bed, I am simply covering them. This is more cost effective than taking them off and painting/repairing the walls behind them. We are going to make a drape to cover the mirror. The sconces are plug and play so those will come down, too. At least there are no mirrors on the ceiling.

Also funny that the one place you would expect mirrors, the entry, is without them.

Respecting a Budget

I’m very respectful of people’s budgets, but let me tell you a story about a customer of mine who fell in love with floor tile for her bathroom that was $60 a square foot. That price point was not in keeping with her budget at all, but she fell in love with it and had to have it. And I told her immediately this is not within her desired price and she said: “I don’t care, I want to have it.” Her bathroom’s beautiful with the expensive tile, and she loves it. And so does everybody who walks in. It’s gorgeous! (You get what you pay for!)

I can certainly make a room feel pretty beautiful with a workable a budget. But if you fall in love with fabric that is $200 a yard and you need 20 yards for a sofa, and you have to have it, it may be outside of your budget. So if you want to have it, we’ll change your budget. And then you have a new budget that I can respect.