the design shop

My e-design website - thedesignshop.ca

As a designer I receive a lot of inquiries from homeowners regarding my services, all are very enthusiastic about their home improvement plans and have gathered loads of designer inspiration rooms, eagerly hoping that with the help of an interior designer they can bring their vision to reality.   Unfortunately, the reality for many of those who inquire is that the cost of hiring a designer on a full-service basis is just not feasible for them.  Generally I find most people have misconceptions or just no real concept at all regarding design fees, and that’s totally understandable - and its also a topic for another post entirely because I have a lot to say about that!

I’m a passionate advocate for good design,,,in all aspects of life.  I don’t believe it should only be accessible for the wealthy because I don’t believe that good design is about expensive things, how much something costs or has anything to do with how pretty something is.  In fact, I believe that when it comes to investing money in our homes or our business, we can’t afford not to utilize the advice of design experts, especially with small precious budgets.

For those homeowners who can’t manage to hire a designer on a full-service scale I’ve always offered them the opportunity to work with me on a virtual consultation basis for a few hours of time, enough to provide them with some critical and valuable design direction and ensure they’re not going to make any costly mistakes.  Thru the convenience of internet and digital photography all this information can be shared by email and is what’s key to making these consultation services affordable.   The hours and hours of meeting time, travel time, and project management time is eliminated and I can focus entirely on the planning and design issues,,,,leaving the leg work for the homeowners to take on - with lots of guidelines and direction of course!

Do I need to see a home in person or meet an individual in person to visualize their space or understand their needs, or style, or to give them design advice?  No!  In fact for many years I’ve designed spaces entirely from paper information because the building didn’t even exist yet, or the building was located in a different city or province or country.  As long as I have all the relevant information, dimensions, site photos etc., that’s all i need to start planning - architects and designers work this way all the time.  Personal information regarding needs and style preferences can all be obtained by asking the proper questions, thru detailed surveys and questionnaires,,,,whether in person or online, the answers are the same.  

I launched my first Interior Design website in 2004 and also created a complete concept for an on-line design website, but didn’t proceed with it at that time.  I posted a  notice on my website saying that ‘On-Line Design” was coming soon and I had even secured a separate domain name for it.  Despite the fact I was already working with clients this way, I never did get around to launching that site,,,,,,,,,until this year.   This past winter I thought the timing was better than ever to offer value based services and my new e-design website the design shop was created and then launched in June.

I’m proud to say that I think this is by far the most professional, comprehensive web-site devoted to e-design services I’ve come across on the web and I think the value is simply incomparable. There’s a complete menu of ‘prix fix’ services and if you don’t see a service that suits your needs just drop us a line and we’ll put one together for you - its literally a one stop shop for design advice.  

Imagine your personal designer, a click away!   I hope you check it out and let the possibilities inspire you...

www.thedesignshop.ca

Beautifully Simple

When I arrived one day at a clients house back in June, (with a bouquet of fresh peonies from my garden!) I couldn’t help but notice her guest bedroom was void of night tables and bedside lamps.  It was easy to notice because there was a direct sightline from the hallway outside the bedroom directly to that empty space beside the bed, not that I didn't notice the bed was perfectly made and lovely looking on its own,,,, but just that something was missing.   My designer radar kicked in and as I scoped out the rest of the room I spotted a pretty vintage chair with layers of chipping paint on it tucked in the corner, and then in her home office......a floor lamp that wasn’t being utilized.   5 minutes later,,,,,,,this is what the room looked like (photo above). 

Now the view from the hallway is so pretty, it brings a smile to her face everytime she walks by the room, and to mine everytime I look at this photo.

Often its the simplest changes make the biggest difference and usually they don’t cost a dime.  I love to work with things my clients already own and in my experience, there’s nothing they love more then when they see how beautiful their own stuff looks simply used in a new or different way.   

I admit it may not be the ideal night table or lamp for this room, and one day she’ll find them and the room will evolve over time.  But for now,,,this works just perfectly and is so much better than doing nothing.  I know that often people choose to hold out for that ‘ideal’ piece (if you can figure out what that is!?) but unfortunately that approach usually means you’ll likely end up living with empty spaces and blank walls for years...... there’s nothing appealing or practical about that.

I’m always amazed at the treasures I come across sitting neglected in basements or garages or spare rooms in clients homes.  I’m a firm believer in making the most of what you’ve got before exploring new alternatives.  I guarantee you, you can transform a room or a hallway or an empty corner just by using things you already have.  In fact, you may not even like a particular chair or a lamp or a piece of art that much,,,but by placing it in a new spot or an empty corner it suddenly gives new life or purpose to that otherwise blank space.  Ultimately, its the overall effect that can be created that you’ll love, the colour its suddenly added or the texture, or simply its function.  Even if you’re not so crazy about the individual item(s), you’ll get such satisfaction from the other aspects of how the space suddenly seems useable or more pleasing to look at - you’ll wonder why you hadn’t done it sooner and hopefully it will inspire you to continue building on what you’ve got.

Photo:  Carol Reed

My Condo - in Canadian House & Home

Canadian House & Home, April 2007 - The condo's Den, Photographed by Michael Graydon.  

After the renovation work was completed it took almost another 2 years for us to finish furnishing the condo.  Early in January of 2007, Canadian House & Home arrived for a photo shoot of our little condo reno and the photos and story were published in the Aril 2007 issue.  In addition to that issue, the kitchen was also featured on the cover of CH&H's special edition Kitchen's 2007 issue, the condo reappeared again in a small feature in their special edition Condos & Lofts 2008 issue, and again in the current CH&H special edition Condos & Lofts 2009.  

Above and below are some of the photos of the condo as published in the April 2007 feature.  The photo of the den was one of my favorites because aside from the kitchen the cozy den was my favorite spot in the condo and where we spent most of our time.   Except for one small pale blue vase, the small yellow vase and a teeny white vase, everything seen on the shelving was our own and displayed as it looked before the photo shoot.  I loved the cube style shelving (expedit from Ikea) which was perfect for displaying our books in stacks but I really loved standing the books up to show off the artwork on the covers and then mixing in my vintage ceramics among them.   When we had dinner parties I used to put votive candles on every other shelf and it became this wall of twinkling candles.  There was lots of room to neatly house my piles of magazines and the baskets across the bottom concealed samples and supplies for my office.   

Canadian House & Home, April 2007 - The condo's Living Room area, photography by Michael Graydon.

Canadian House & Home, April 2007 - The condo's kitchen, photography by Michael Graydon.

Canadian House & Home, April 2007 - The master bedroom, photographed by Michael Graydon.

Canadian House & Home, April 2007 - The condo's office nook, photography by Michael Graydon.

Canadian House & Home, April 2007 - The condo's master bath vanity top, photography by Michael Graydon.

Canadian House & Home, April 2007 - The condo's laundry closet, photography by Michael Graydon.

Canadian House & Home KITCHENS 2007 - Cover, photography by Michael Graydon.

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not personally a fan of pastels or bright colours, not in my wardrobe or in my home, so I wasn't the happiest of campers when I saw all the pastel and citrusy coloured accessories the editor and stylist brought in for the shoot.  In turn, I could see they were disappointed that all my sheets, towels and dishes were plain white and... that I refused to give in to them when it came to the pastel pink kitchen aid mixer.  I realize those colourful touches were brought in to make the space look more 'spring' like, and that it did, but I have to say I couldn't wait to put everything back the way I normally live with it. It was an interesting experience to see my own space styled and photographed thru someone else's eyes - and despite the anxiety I had about all that colour, I think the end result was beautiful.  How could it not be with Michael Graydon behind the lense!!  

In comparison, below are some of my own photos of the condo, taken in the months or days before the CH&H photo shoot and how it normally looked on a day to day basis (well, excluding the dishes on the dining table!).

Photo Credits:

First 7 photos by Michael Graydon for CH&H  

Last 4 photos - Carol Reed