Pictures speak louder than words! To get us on the same page, I ask my clients to collect images that inspire them. Even if they don’t know why they like them. Then I pour through them and find overall consistencies that they may not have realized were there.  And that is where we begin! In some cases, I will collect images for them and see what they gravitate towards.

There are a lot of elements that need to come together.  Once you have discussed the clients needs then the next step should be to determine a good floor plan with furnishings that are proportionate to the space.  Think of the furniture layout as the backbone of the design process.

I grew up in a house where every room was painted in a different color, wallpaper was abundant, custom hand-painted finishes and wall murals decorated the breakfast room and hallway, a life-size wall mural of the Mad hatter’s Tea Party was the focal point of my childhood bedroom, thick padded blue walls enveloped the basement and hand-carved wooden African masks had their place in the bathroom. In the living room, the walls were done in an oxblood red and the ceiling in a deep metallic bronze. Ornate gold mirrors and Persian carpets clung to the living room walls.  Not to mention the oversized sculpture of a flying bird made entirely out of recycled materials that hung in our stairwell and still occasionally frightens me to this day.  My childhood home was the essence of color, pattern, art, and quirkiness.  Every piece of furniture had a story, like the end table with real butterflies glazed onto the surface. It was filled with expression, history, humour, antiques, and collections of old & new. And it all seemed to fit together like an intricate jigjaw puzzle.  Looking back, I realize that perhaps what has impacted me the most over the years were the many many paintings and sketches that covered the walls, most of which were done by a very talented artist, my late uncle. So, when I finally moved into my own house and painted all of the walls WHITE I think my parents were a bit surprised. Perhaps I was ready for a change.  I took the works of art I have inherited from my uncle and let them garner quite a bit of attention against their new white backdrop.

Interior design is an art form. It has a technical side, undoubtedly. But when used to its fullest potential it can be as if you are living within the art, where it can move to your rhythm, and evolve with you.