Italy and Design
By Annsley Strong
Everyone likes Italy. Well, maybe not everyone,
but I don't get those who don't. It's got beautiful
architecture, iconic art, fabulous topography
inland and along the coasts, warm colors, people
of passion for life and love, food that has taken
flight from the comfort we Americans associate
with our own and a light that transcends it all.
Did I mention the light? And the love? I mean,
it takes courage to start your Saturday evening
on a park bench, literally entwined in each other,
completely ignorant of the wedding party and
guests gathering around you, watching you
watching the view. Bold! Engaged! In the
moment.
But I digress. Each of the component parts of
the landscape--ancient, modern, ruinous or
reimagined--is veiled in the softest of lights,
held loosely by the softest caress. There is a
grazing of the cheek, a glow that emanates from
within, a joy that should be reinterpreted in every
interior and exterior space. It is the single most
important element of any space--purposeful but
seemingly unintended, natural. It remains the
focus of what we do.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Is it tacky to ask a designer what something will cost?
Post by Annsley Strong
Until the 19th century, Interior Design was a luxury reserved for royalty and the rich. While it has long since become a trend for the masses, it can still present a snobby, elite-only, money-is-a-tacky-subject side. I think people may still feel there is a stigma in asking a designer what something will cost.
"Is it tacky to ask a designer what something will cost?"
The short answer: No. The longer answer: Vanderbilt used to say, “If you
have to ask ‘how much’, you can’t afford it.” That notion has persisted
because it assumes interior design is only for the rich. Glossy magazines
reinforce that. What these fail to address is the difference between design and
execution. Good design is accessible through a good designer. The cost of
execution is client-driven. Good taste is accessible at multiple cost points.
Interview several designers based on their work, recommendations, location,
personality, sense of humor, age, maturity, lack of maturity, fun quotient,
whatever attracts you. If you consistently like all designs, then choose your
designer based on how much fun you will have together and how honest your
feedback will be. Your executed design will be a reflection of both of these
and you will walk into your co-created space reminded that it speaks to you
and not to your designer alone.
Until the 19th century, Interior Design was a luxury reserved for royalty and the rich. While it has long since become a trend for the masses, it can still present a snobby, elite-only, money-is-a-tacky-subject side. I think people may still feel there is a stigma in asking a designer what something will cost.
"Is it tacky to ask a designer what something will cost?"
The short answer: No. The longer answer: Vanderbilt used to say, “If you
have to ask ‘how much’, you can’t afford it.” That notion has persisted
because it assumes interior design is only for the rich. Glossy magazines
reinforce that. What these fail to address is the difference between design and
execution. Good design is accessible through a good designer. The cost of
execution is client-driven. Good taste is accessible at multiple cost points.
Interview several designers based on their work, recommendations, location,
personality, sense of humor, age, maturity, lack of maturity, fun quotient,
whatever attracts you. If you consistently like all designs, then choose your
designer based on how much fun you will have together and how honest your
feedback will be. Your executed design will be a reflection of both of these
and you will walk into your co-created space reminded that it speaks to you
and not to your designer alone.
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