My imagination is always present in any project, but when designing for everyday people with real budgets you must look further and deeper to get the job done and look good. I always enjoy the challenge. I must say I love it when a room comes together that looks like I spent a lot of money but it didn't. It's knowing where to splurge and where to save. Being exposed to very high end furniture, accessories, fabrics, and art you learn what makes each piece four figures. You become familiar with the quality, details, colours, finishes, lines, and materials that are being used by the fine furniture designers and talented artists. You have an understanding and a respect to high style. Like looking at a flawless diamond. I can look at a well constructed chair the same way. As a designer we get used to these types of pieces and their price point. A $2,500 coffee table is like, yeah that's about right.I was telling a client the story of when I started working at my first design firm. Some of my responsibilities was to source furniture, fabrics and lighting for upscale private residences. |Years ago, working on one of the projects I was to look for bedside tables for a master bedroom, the tables I was sourcing were $1,500 each! a set would be $3,000! I thought silently "that's almost how much my car was worth". Having the opportunity to be in the opulent world of design with a trained eye you are able to pick thru a lot of undesirables and choose high end looking pieces that bring the same impact.I'll give you a recent example, I was at an art gallery sourcing posters to have framed for one of my projects. While walking thru the showroom there were beautiful marble sculptures here and there perched on pedestals on display. One that caught my eye was a sculpture of marble intertwined smooth and polished stone worth $2,100. Although they were stunning I couldn't consider bringing up to my clients the idea of spending all my accessory budget on one piece. Then the very next day while at Homesense I found the same sculpture, well the idea of it right there on the shelf in pristine condition in a carrot cake colour...different. Lifting it up to look at the price I braced myself for the heaviness of stone but it wasn't stone, it was a resin material that resembled a rare marble exactly. Turns out it was $49.99, I placed it gently in my buggy and my day was made.
