Designer Adam Nathaniel Furman has picked out 10 projects that represent the New London Fabulous movement of "designers who resolutely seek out beauty, complexity and joy".

They include works by designers Yinka Ilori, Camille Walala and Morag Myerscough, architect Space Popular and artist Rana Begum, as well as Furman himself.

Other projects are by Lakwena Maciver, Edward Crooks, 2LG Studio and Katrina Russell-Adams.

Furman defined the movement in a live interview with Dezeen last week. He described the style as "design and architecture as a visual and cultural pursuit, which is highly aesthetic, sensual and celebratory of mixed cultures".

The movement is a backlash against the minimalist style that has dominated architectural discourse in the media and schools, Furman said in the interview.

Selecting 10 projects for Dezeen, Furman expanded on his definition of the movement, which has not been coordinated but has arisen out of the context of contemporary London.

"In an age of closing borders, simplistic narratives, and shrinking horizons, there is a new generation of designers who resolutely seek out beauty, complexity and joy in the face of an adverse political and economic climate, who embody the cultural melting pot of London," he said.

"At a time when liberalism, internationalism and multiculturalism values embodied by the city are under sustained attack and vilification they are defined by their total delight in the liberating power of a kind of no-holds-barred aesthetic expression that collectively looks like a huge and extremely colourful 'fuck you' to all those calling time on diversity and the celebration of difference."

Perry Rise by2LG Studio, 2018

London interior-design duo 2LG Studio converted this south-London house into their own home and studio. The four-bedroom home in Forest Hill features a series of bright, pastel-hued rooms as well as areas with bolder colours, such as the sea-green sitting room.

2LG Studio was founded by Russell Whitehead and Jordan Cluroe. The duo describe their work as "simplicity, elegance, functionality and [a] signature use of colour."

How I Started Hanging out with Home by Space Popular, 2018

London duo Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg of Space Popular liberally reference historical forms in their riotously colourful projects, which often exist only in virtual reality.

This is done to ensure virtual environments are full of stylistic references that human users can relate to in cyberspace, which has no inherent form and would otherwise be alienating.

"In that world, style is almost everything," Hellberg told Dezeen in a live interview conducted as part of Virtual Design Festival last month. "Because if you don't have style in a virtual environment, if you don't allow yourself to speak any language that you might need to communicate something, then you'll be extremely limited."

How I Started Hanging Out with Home was an exhibition held at MAGAZIN in Vienna in 2018. In it, the London studio imagined a future where buildings the increasing agency of domestic appliances leads to buildings taking on human features.

Still I Rise by Lakwena Maciver, 2017

London artist Lakwena Maciver paints large-scale murals combining colour, pattern and type, often communicating messages of hope and faith.

Still I Rise is a 2017 mural at the Juvenile Detention Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA, commissioned as part of citywide project that saw artists paired with local landmarks. Maciver's contribution is inspired by writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou's poem of the same name.

Rosebank Arcade by Edward Crooks, 2019

Whitechapel-based Edward Crooks created a large-scale wall and floor installation to transform Waltham Forest's busiest pedestrian thoroughfare into a colourful artwork.

The piece is designed to appear like a fragment of a grand civic arcade, with arches pained on the walls and a 20-metre-long pattern on the floor.

Happy Street by Yinka Ilori, 2019

Yinka Ilori is a designer who combines colour and pattern based on his heritage. Located at Thessaly Road in Battersea, this was his first installation in the public realm. For the project, the British-Nigerian designerenveloped a railway bridge in his signature motifs.

Designed as part of the 2019 London Festival of Architecture, the permanent installation called Happy Street consists of 56 patterned-enamel panels that line both sides of the road under the bridge.

Temple of Agape by Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgan, 2014

DesignersMorag Myerscough and Luke Morgan created the colourful Temple of Agape for the Festival of Love, which took place at London's Southbank Centre.

The structure is adorned with neon signs displaying words relating to love, along with a quote by Martin Luther King Jr that reads, "I have decided to stick with love."

Furman described Myerscoughas "my hero" and said: "She shares her knowledge with younger designers and has really opened up the way for the type of work that we're doing now."

Salt of Palmar hotel by Camille Walala, 2018

French artistCamille Walalahas been based in London since she completed her studio at Brighton University in 2009 and is known for large-scale public installations.

For this project, completed at the boutique Salt of Palmar hotel in Mauritius, Walala combined the bold monochromatic stripes seen in much of her work with sea blues and sunny yellow to complement the island's landscape.

Gateways by Adam Nathaniel Furman, 2017

Furman designed a series of ceramic-clad gateways for this 2017 installation at London Design Festival to showcased the history of Turkish tiles.

The four four-metre-high structures were each clad in a different type of tile employing decorative hand-painted tiles, contemporary flooring tiles, colourful square tiles and bevelled metro tiles.

The tiles were decorated using a "500-year-old technique of hand painting," Furman told Dezeen in a live interview for Virtual Design Festival last month. tiles. "I think, at the time, this was the most photographed installation at the London Design Festival."

Haus by Katrina Russell-Adams, 2020

Southeast London printmaker and visual artist Katrina Russell-Adams abstracted symbols and shapes found on architectural plans to create a pattern pained across the facade of architecture firm BAT Studio.

The artist worked with the founders of BAT Studio to produce several black and yellow relief elements that are included in the installation, which was funded by community arts organisationWood Street Walls.

No. 700 Reflectors by Rana Begum, 2016

Artist Rana Begum creates artworks that incorporate geometric patterns, often inspired by Islamic art and architecture.

As part of the redevelopment of King's Cross she combined 30,000 white, red and orange reflectors to create the 50-metre-long No. 700 Reflectors artwork that stretched the length of Lewis Cubitt Square.

Continue reading here:
Ten projects that represent the colourful New London Fabulous style - Dezeen

Can it really be thatQueerEye(Netflix) is on to its fifth season already? After a brief trip to Japan, the Fab Five have gone back to basics, although any notion that the whole-life-makeover experience they bring to deserving strangers is something basic really does their work a disservice. This is a deep dive into finding out who people are and what they need, and it is always as moving as it is entertaining.

By now, their brand of self-love, self-care, self-improvement and self-acceptance is laser-focused. There is nothing that can surprise the gang except maybe the mid-episode reveal that one participant is the brother of a famous pop star. The only real change here is that the headquarters have moved from Atlanta to Philadelphia. Jonathan Van Ness remains eternally watchable, even when hes simply shouting We love safety! and I love an alley! (That is alley, and not ally, though Im sure he loves both.) Food expert Antoni Porowski even shows up in a T-shirt emblazoned with Nothing irrational about my love for the National, a knowing nod to his seemingly endless supply of band T-shirts. This is a format so good that the five of them know it doesnt need a makeover.

In the opening episode, they meet Noah, a pastor who runs an evangelical church, who is struggling with his identity as a gay man. Through numerous heart-to-hearts, he learns to cook for himself, keep his appearance tidy and, crucially, he gets some major work done on his dilapidated parsonage. Most of the participants in this show need some new furniture and a lick of paint, but in this case, the walls are quite literally crumbling away.

Even though there is a reveal, they resist milking it with any hugely dramatic before-and-after moments, instead showing most of the tweaks as they go along. Still, its narrative of transformation gives it the irresistible appeal of Changing Rooms combined with What Not to Wear, with the added benefit of 20 years of social progression.

But its the life-coaching that ramps up the emotional intensity. Usually thats up to Karamo Brown, whose range of slogan T-shirts rivals Antonis collection of indie band merch (Cry today, smile tomorrow reads one). In the heavyweight opener, though, its mostly left to interior designer Bobby Berk to talk to Noah. When they meet, Berk makes his disdain for the church known. I was pre-warned, which is why I wore my fireproof suit, he jokes, dryly. Regular viewers will know his painful history with organised religion. The pair bond over their experiences of homophobia in the church, and both come to a new understanding about their place in the world. It would take a hard heart to deny the power of conversations as frank as this one. Its a reminder that for all of its positivity, the show is not afraid to ask difficult questions and offer difficult answers.

If this is an accurate portrait of the US, then it is a hopeful one. There is a mobile dog-groomer who is the tallest woman in her family at 6 3, a newly qualified paediatrician who gave birth six weeks before her final medical residency and an earnest teenager fully embracing politics and activism who is in danger of burning out. Ryan is a DJ on the Jersey Shore, at least by night, though by day he is a property manager for the family firm.

The nice thing aboutQueerEyeis that it pushes your feelgood buttons in the way you would largely expect the transformative power of a nice haircut, some carefully chosen and well-fitted clothes, a living space that suits the persons needs is clearly not to be underestimated but it also takes the occasional swerve into the surprising. You might be forgiven for thinking that the advice to Ryan would be to knuckle down, now that he is in his late 30s and wants to find a family, but instead, they encourage him to follow his heart, into the club.

This fifth season arrived with such haste that I checked my Netflix to see if I had finished the fourth. I still had three episodes to go. Five seasons of any show is a lot, in such a short period of time (the first run aired in 2018), but the beauty ofQueerEyeis that its adaptable and could run for years. Perhaps it will. It seems churlish to object to a show as wholesome as this on the grounds that there is too much of it. Its not as if there is an excess of love and understanding in the world. In its most poignant moments, and there are many, this show is compassionate, humanising and completely heartening.

Continued here:
Queer Eye season five review makeover show remains a thing of beauty - The Guardian

When downtown L.A. restaurant Red Herring updated and upscaled its former Eagle Rock iteration, the project also became a bold debut for interior designer Marissa Zajack, who used her background in film and television to tell a vibrant and transportive visual story.

The relocated Red Herring opened in December 2019, the love child of husband-and-wife team Dave Woodall, the chef, and Alexis Martin Woodall, president of Ryan Murphy Productions. Zajacks credits include graphic design for shows and movies such as Zombieland, New Girl, Bombshell and the upcoming The Boys in the Band on Netflix.

Martin Woodall met her when they worked on Murphys 2006 movie Running With Scissors, and since then has tapped Zajack for design advice and small jobs at the old restaurant, which closed early last year. The scope and undertaking of Red Herring 2.0 was new territory for them both.

I didnt exactly know what I was getting myself into, but was so honored that Alexis asked me, Zajack said. Years working in the art department on TV and film is similar in some ways to the interior design process, but there were definitely things that didnt carry over, which were new and exciting for me, like understanding building codes and the durability of materials.

Her background in graphic design, however, proved a huge asset for detailed aesthetic continuity she digitally designed the interiors, furniture, fixtures and marketing, and even handled the branding, down to business cards and way-finding signs.

Zajack commissioned artist Mike Willcox for the restaurants show-stopping mural, a colorful art deco-inspired jungle scene spanning the entire back wall of the dining room. She printed his artwork on wallpaper, then aged it to make it feel vintage less computer-generated and more painterly and unearthed with history.

Thematically, Zajack said the whole decor was about celebrating the spirit of California, past and present a place that was fun and sexy, timeless yet modern, where you could go day to night.

She even imagined a fun back story: Some fabulous woman owned it that had wonderful dinner parties for all of her fabulous friends; a Dorothy Parker type. Decadent, elegant and whimsical, but nothing too serious. It had to be joyful.

How did you get your start in design?

I grew up in Southern California; my dad was an advertising photographer and my mom worked in his studio. I went to college for fine art at ArtCenter in Pasadena, and then got interested in fashion and worked for Libby Lane in Beverly Hills. Then I segued to working in the art department for film and television for about 15 years. I was really interested in graphic design in film because you could really tell a story through the graphic elements, especially if youre working on a show or film thats based in a different time period.

What are some of your aesthetic trademarks?

The graphic element, like custom wallpaper and adding graphic geometry into a space. For furniture, I really like soft curves and use a lot of blush and brass elements. Ive called upon some of the artists I worked with on the restaurant in other projects, like the lighting designer Dora Koukidou, who is out of Greece. I loved her light fixtures and I wanted a custom piece for the bar area at the restaurant, for a bold statement.

The color scheme is amazing.

I love the way Mike Willcoxs work and the rest of the colors go together. Theres a delineation from the bar area to the dining area, which is a lot more jewel-toned because theres a lot going on with the mural. But in the bar area there are more pastels and washed corals. They feel cohesive but also two very different spaces at the same time.

What projects are you working on right now?

Im working on my own home at the moment, which is really exciting. Its in a historic building in Koreatown on Wilshire called the Talmadge. Red Herring was a full build-out, but this is working on a historic interior and beautifying something that is already beautiful. One of the first rooms you walk into is filled with molding and hidden bookcases; its pretty spectacular.

Because youre working on your own home during social distancing, could you offer any advice on ways we can all elevate our spaces during this time?

A lot of it is being super frugal and using whats on hand. Im organizing and finding treasures that might have been hidden in a closet. Or repurposing something out of the archives and breathing new life into your space. And water your plants, because you want to keep them around during this.

Read more:
Marissa Zajack jumped to interior design from TV and films - Los Angeles Times

Chet Callahan of Chet Callahan ArchitectureLos Angeles

Blending historical precedents with progressive ideals, architect Chet Callahan imbues spaces with what he calls romantic functionalism.

We create form through careful consideration of the natural, the built environment and the future uses of the site, he said. We aim to create environmentally sensitive buildings and enhance our clients and our communitys experience.

A case in point is Mr. Callahans renovation of a 1934 Spanish-style home in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles to fit the needs of its new ownersa young family of four.

He preserved the historical architectural details of the house, including the plaster cove moldings, the wooden floors and the wrought-iron embellishments. And he made it one with the landscape by adding large picture windows to, as he said, bring green leafy views inside.

He treated the interior spaces as a blank slate, painting the walls art-gallery white to accommodate the familys colorful contemporary art collection and added sleek yet comfortable furnishings.

The living room, for instance, features a faux-beamed ceiling with plaster corbels that is illuminated by a glittering crystal chandelier reminiscent of a full moon. The furnishings, which include a plum-colored tufted sofa in velvet, speak of the past, while the spare white bookshelves, where volumes are arranged by the color of their covers, bring the room into the present tense.

The new interventions, he said, have been rendered with minimal ornamentation as a juxtaposition to the existing features of the home, the clients vibrant art and the surrounding garden.

Before opening his eponymous firm in 2017, Mr. Callahan, who is 39, worked for Marmol Radziner + Associates, XTEN Architecture and AGPS.

His firm has worked on a variety of projects, including a multi-generational compound in Culver City; an artists complex in North Hollywood; and the re-envisioning of Los Felizs oldest estate.

A two-time winner of Interior Design magazines Best of Year (2007 and 2014), Mr. Callahan, became interested in design at a young age.

I used to watch my dad build furnitureand just about everything else, he said. And I went antiques shopping with my mom.

Read more:
Interior Design Stars Around the World You Need to Know - Mansion Global

A bedroom is a space you retire to at the end of the day. It is your happy space where you come to and want to feel a sense of calm to help you recharge for the next day or at least that is what it is supposed to be! Given our cramped spaces and hectic times, bedrooms are no longer sacred. But that doesnt mean we cant aspire and have bedroom goals to rival the best of Instagram! The bedroom designs showcased here today are modern, elegant, minimal and most of all give you the detachment and escapism from our daily grind and inspire you to be the best version of yourself.

Every bedroom deserves its privacy, after all, it is the place where you can let yourself be. Vasyl Ambroziaks bedroom visualization gives you this privacy but without the boring walls! Using a glass wall to partition between the bedroom and the raw concrete exterior wall, Vasyl adds an explosion of green in place of a boring old wallpaper. In fact, as the plants change with the season, you get a unique backdrop and of course the calmness of being surrounded by such a green space. Isnt it perfectly zen?

While the previous design pays homage to everything green, this design by Matts Miliaukas respects the earthy shades. Using muted shades of stone grey, the highlight of this room is the lava-like backlit wall, making this room perfect for anyone who prefers a darker color scheme. The aesthetics of this design bring to mind a lair or a covered room that highlights your nocturnal nature.

Mostafa Hardanis bedroom design plays up textural elements to create focal points. The wooden highlight wall behind the bed is lit up and the beautiful minimal lighting lets the wooden texture do all the talking. Not to forget the vertical green wall adds some natural purification to the room, helping you sleep better.

A high vaulted ceiling, a wooden pedestal that stretches up to the ceiling in an unbroken line, and the subtle light underneath the bed this bedroom interior by Taras Kaminskiy & Veronika Mulieieva named Urban Jungle has tranquility. The light under the bed makes the bed almost levitate, inducing a calming effect the moment you step into this room, draining away all your worries.

The thrill of a floating bed! Stephen Tsymbaliuks use of this floating bed amplifies the airy/spacious feeling that is the key element of this bedroom design. The open walk-in closet behind the darkened glass adds a modern touch whereas the trees creating a backdrop behind the bed amplify the feeling of floating up between the trees.

Philipp Pablitschkos shot of this bedroom surrounded by nature is the first on my post-quarantine travel bucket list! Almost magical in its aesthetic, the vertically slanting windows on the sides of this bed create the drama and escapism we all are surely craving after being stuck in this urban jungle during quarantine!

White is one of the most difficult colors to achieve visual contrast with, but designer Nazar Tsymbaliuk uses textured walls to achieve this difference and harmony. The project is named Gloria and located in Greece, the interior complements the traditional white and blue color scheme that the traditional Greek architecture is renowned for.

Polyviz Visualization Studio created this render using leather to add a touch of ruggedness to this bedroom. From the headboard to the base of the bed, the dark brown leather upholstery creates the perfect setup on which to accent your bedroom.

Designed for an apartment in Iceland, designer Stephen Tsymbaliuks textured wall looks almost alive with its dynamic 3D pattern. The floating bed, muted bathtub, minimal design all come together to create an ideal bachelor pad for the modern man.

Nazar Tsymbaliuk uses an almost Japanese inspired aesthetic with wooden slats to create a partition as well as highlight this bedroom design. Using a platform to elevate the floor bed, there is a peaceful aesthetic flowing through this bedroom, inspiring inner peace.

Seeing these designs, we cant help but bring out our notepad and get inspired to make changes to our current setup after all, whats the point of all this time to ourself if we cant use it to get ourselves come out better on the other side of the post corona world!

Continued here:
Bedroom Designs to inspire you with the best interior design ideas! - Yanko Design

Anne Zuckerberg had a reputation as an in-demand interior designer with an eye for tasteful antiques.

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Coronavirus: The ones we lost The Palm Beach Post is chronicling the lives of the people in Palm Beach County who died in the pandemic.

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One day in 1958, a free-spirited New Jersey homemaker with a creative streak took out an ad in the local newspaper: Confused in choosing fabrics? Think you cant afford a decorator? Call me."

Soon, Anne Zuckerbergs phone started ringing. Sporadically at first. Then seemingly nonstop.

In the ensuing decades, Zuckerberg built a reputation as an in-demand interior designer with an eye for tasteful antiques and a talent for sprucing up living rooms, penthouses and lobbies across New Jersey and New York. An early client was Skitch Henderson, the Grammy Award-winning New York Pops conductor and first Tonight Show bandleader.

>>So many gone, so fast: Telling the stories of Palm Beach Countys coronavirus dead

But Zuckerberg wanted more. With boundless energy, she traveled the world, became an artist later in life and partied with friends at Palm Beach galas into her 90s.

It seemed like nothing could stop her. Then came the coronavirus pandemic.

The deadly respiratory disease somehow found Zuckerberg in late March, perhaps, as her daughter suspects, while she was recovering in a rehab facility from a broken hip suffered two months earlier when she fell at her Sapodilla Avenue apartment in West Palm Beach.

Struggling to breathe on March 31, she was taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center. She died April 4, about two months shy of her 95th birthday.

To think that that virus took her down in a matter of days is just uncanny," said her daughter-in-law, Marybeth Zuckerberg. She walked every day. She had better legs than most 60-year-olds. Annie was a fighter to the very end."

>>Lost to coronavirus: Read all the stories of those taken in Palm Beach County by the virus

Zuckerberg moved to West Palm Beach years ago to be close to her friends, who included Palm Beachers and members of the local arts community. She appeared in Palm Beach Daily News photos at the Armory Art Centers Mad Hatters luncheon, Miami Ballet receptions and Kravis Center galas.

She was a great person who lived life to the fullest," said Susan Bloom, one of her closest friends. We lost a good one."

The daughter of a builder, Zuckerberg was always drawn to the arts. During her three decades as an interior decorator, she dabbled in painting interpretive portraits as a hobby.

But when she retired, she painted prolifically," said her son, Sid Zuckerberg. She did some amazing stuff. Some she gave away and sold."

>>Married nearly 60 years, Boynton couple dies two days apart

Just five years ago, a collection of her paintings was displayed at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County gallery in downtown Lake Worth Beach.

"We were proud to showcase Ms. Zuckerberg's artwork in a 2015 solo exhibition at the Cultural Council," said Dave Lawrence, the councils president and chief executive. This is a big loss for Palm Beach County's artist community, but we will continue to honor her legacy in our hearts and creative endeavors."

For creative inspiration, Zuckerberg seemed to tap the past, even though her ideas were progressive.

She loved Marie Antoinette. She thought she was Marie Antoinette reincarnated," said her daughter, Elish Kodish. She was just a really independent spirit ahead of her time."

>>Lost to coronavirus: Ex-FAU professor survived Soviets, but not virus

In an interview in 1969, Zuckerberg acknowledged her consternation 11 years earlier when she decided to place the newspaper ad seeking clients, against the wishes of her husband.

I love glamour and design but was always hiding in the background. It took guts to launch my career but I knew I had to do it," she told The Record of Hackensack, N.J., for a story under a headline touting her as a New-Look Designer."

To gain more experience, she joined the staff at Tony Art Galleries in Englewood, N.J., where she developed a knack for arranging displays that caught the attention of frequent customers like Rat Packer Joey Bishop and comedian Buddy Hackett.

She would make vignettes with different antiques in the store, and from there she got jobs. Thats how she built her career," said Kodish, who took over Anne Zuckerberg Associates when her mom retired. She had a very top-echelon clientele."

>>Lost to coronavirus: Retired postal worker not used to sitting still

Kodish wouldnt divulge the names of her mother's clients. But in 1969, they included Henderson, the orchestra conductor for whose Manhattan home she selected upholstery fabric, and the owners of the Hazel Bishop cosmetics company, inventor of the first long-lasting lipstick, according to her profile in The Record.

She attributes her success to hard-nosed aggressiveness, a trait she had to cultivate in order to make her presence felt," the story said.

The story also described the antiques inside Zuckerbergs home in Teaneck, N.J., a Louis XV sofa covered with black linen next to a glass top cocktail table, an early Dutch bombe chest with marquetry, a Japanese table she stripped down and bleached, and walls painted cognac.

>>Lost to coronavirus: A love for the ages cut short by COVID-19

"She wasn't one of these designers that did pretty little things. She really, architecturally, did all kinds of buildings, complicated lighting, custom furniture," Kodish said.

My mom worked well into her late 80s. She would have worked forever. She loved her work."

A year ago, after turning 94, Zuckerberg danced at her grandson's wedding. She enjoyed living by herself at The Metropolitan, a condo building not far from Cityplace and the Dreyfoos School of the Arts.

Her main focus was on her friends," Sid said. She had a very active social life. Her friends were much younger than she. They wanted her around. She was the life of the party."

One day in January, in the kitchen at her condo, she took a wrong turn and went down. She broke her hip," Sid said. Although she was a very robust person, still, she was 94."

>>Lantana principal dies of COVID after last-ditch plasma infusion

After successful surgery at Good Samaritan Medical Center, she was released to a rehab facility to recuperate. She was doing well," said Sid, who visited her for two weeks before going back home to Connecticut.

After she was rushed to Good Sam on March 31, she was put on a ventilator. She was diagnosed with pneumonia. A coronavirus test came back positive on April 2, two days before she died.

Her family praised the compassionate hospital staff for setting up a video conference call so they could say their final goodbyes.

I keep feeling like she's in Mexico on vacation and she's going to come home," Kodish said, but that's not going to happen."

jcapozzi@pbpost.com

@JCapozzipbpost

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Lost to coronavirus: Free-spirited interior designer was 'life of the party' into her 90s - Palm Beach Post

SINGAPORE, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/-- From traipsing through websites to visiting countless showrooms to find the perfect interior designer, the process of redecorating a home is challenging at best. Hometrust, an interior design and renovations review platform, is transforming the industry by connecting designers and homeowners on Singapore's only two-way marketplace for home renovation and design.

Unlike other mainstream platforms which promote interior design firms based on their works to consumers, Hometrust takes the extra step by helping consumers find highly-rated interior designers by leveraging on user-generated content to create a comprehensive rating system that consumers can discover and compare to find their ideal designer.

While other industries have embraced online marketplaces, interior design has typically relied on traditional channels to get the word out. With limited resources at their fingertips, homeowners are left to do their own research-- and even after finding a designer, it's tough to find unfiltered customer feedback on firms. Self-promotion is also highly inaccessible for smaller designers who can't afford to invest thousands to reach their customers through advertising or media platforms. Hometrust empowers both designers and homeowners with its one-stop-shop for interior design projects. The platform gives interior designers with an avenue to showcase work and upload accreditationswhile providing homeowners with an open platform to browse previous design projects, interact directly with firms, and access honest customer reviews.

"The world has evolved, and the interior design industry needs to evolve along with it. Before Hometrust, the interior design industry operated mainly as a one-way street, making it difficult for homeowners and customers to connect in an open, authentic way. Hometrust brings interior design into the digital age through our beautiful, intuitive platform," said Jasmine Chong, Head of Operations, Hometrust.

Hometrust bridges homeowners and interior designers with transparency and unbiased information

Hometrust creates just that: home trust, with greater transparency for homeowners and designers alike. The platform rebuilds trust in the industry by providing a forum for 100% unbiased, unfiltered reviews of designers to assist users in the decision-making process; and levels the playing field for designers by giving firms an open platform to showcase their work, build their customer base, and connect directly with homeowners.

Once a homeowner has narrowed down their shortlist, they can quickly browse through the designer's portfolio and previous projects, as well as read over 2,000 honest reviews and nearly 9,000 recommendations from existing customers. On top of that, users can upload floor plans and send images directly through the platform-- allowing them to cut down on waiting times and kick-start conversations straight away with online video-meetings and consultations, before meeting recommended designers.

Unlike other mainstream platforms - which promote interior design firms based on their portfolio to consumers - Hometrust takes the extra step by encouraging homeowners to upload photos of their completed renovations and rate designers according to artistry, customer service and more.

This helps consumers find high-ratedinterior designers, rather than traipsing through countless portfolios to find the right designers or aesthetic, Singaporeans can avoid dreaded designer fatigue by hopping on to Hometrust to search by house type, budget range, and style.

Story continues

On top of their search function, homeowners can also use the platform's unique new photo search feature to browse more than24,000 interior design photos and over 2,600 real design projects from local homes. By running a search for a specific keyword, such as "L-shaped sofa", "bathroom", or "feature wall", users can instantly source inspiration from previous projects from an array of local interior designers.

Founded and developed by Singaporeans for Singaporeans, Hometrust is proudly homegrown and has localised its platform to the unique housing demands of Singapore. In addition to browsing local firms, Hometrust allows users to search for specific designers for HDB, condo, and commercial design projects, as well as browse unique articles and upcoming events in the region.

For more information, please visit https://www.hometrust.sg/

About Hometrust

Hometrust is an innovative interior design and renovations marketplace with complete designer listings, portfolios and photos, as well as honest reviews from customers. The platform promotes open discovery and sharing of interior design firms from a growing community of homeowners, while providing designers and decorators with an open avenue to share their work and grow their customer base.

SOURCE Hometrust

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Redesigning interior design: Hometrust connects design firms and homeowners with innovative online marketplace - Yahoo Finance

Bookshelves are having a moment.

Not long ago, their epitaph was being written. Ikeas redesign of its Billy unit to accommodate objects other than books was cited as evidence that we had turned the page on possessing print.

Now, that story has a sequel.

Self-isolation has people rediscovering the value of having hardcovers at home. In addition, TV networks shift to interviews via Skype, rather than in a studio, is revealing the bookcase backdrops of pundits, news anchors and celebrities at home. That domestic exposure sparked a social media conversation about literary decor.

Room Rater on Twitter, for example, offers regular, and often snarky, critiques of shelves in the rooms visible behind various talking heads.

Room Rater dishes compliments, too. Just enough clutter, one tweet reads. Looks real.

Domestic libraries are first and foremost about books. But the displays also lend an inviting graphic element to decor. Just please, designers say, dont arrange books page-side out. That affectation makes no sense. However, please do pair books with objects, art, photographs and ephemera.

The book Bibliostyle: How We Live at Home with Books by Nina Freudenberger showcases enviable bookshelves around the world. Photos of collections and the rooms they inhabit are accompanied by interviews with their well-read and often-notable owners.

The hardcovers it pictures may make you want to read and display more books.

Bibliostyle features more than 250 color photographs of 35 homes in 15 cities and eight countries. Residences include the homes of writers, illustrators, designers, editors and collectors readers all.

Highlighted rooms range from clean contemporary to overstuffed classic. Shelves showcase rare editions, fairy tales, gardening volumes, coffee-table tomes and even vintage comic books. There are books in closets and bedside stacks, books on landings and books lining dining room walls. Theyre arranged by color, by author, by language, by genre or not organized at all.

People live in different ways, says Freudenberger, a Los Angeles-based interior designer. I think to not have books, its a red flag. It makes me a little nervous. Books have something incredible. The smell. Theyre an object. Theres a legacy.

True to her Rhode Island School of Design education in architecture, however, Freudenberger does appreciate creative order.

I dont think you have to jam every shelf full, she says. Empty space is important.

She suggests using bookends for visual breaks and is fond of natural wood shelving, which, she says, is warm and accentuates the books.

Interior designer Dayna Flory Rasschaert of Dayna Flory Interiors in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., says:

Books can be a tricky item to visually conquer. Trust me, there is no better feeling than the warmth of being surrounded by books. However, if not properly allocated, they can become visually overwhelming and very busy to the eye.

Flory Rasschaert, like many designers, finds a crazy quilt of paperbacks and book jackets visually jarring. Some will remove paper jackets or cover books with paper or custom bindings for a more calming uniformity.

I arrange the books by genre, and very importantly, by color, she says. Grouping the books by color gives visual order and quiet.

Rasschaert says bookcases work in any hue.

Black is one of my personal favorites, she says.

New York interior designer Celerie Kemble, the author of the book To Your Taste, says custom built-in bookcases are ideal and are especially appealing when they surround windows.

Whatever the display, Kemble writes, A well-used bookcase offers heft, stability, backbone, character and a sense of life lived.

The libraries featured in Bibliostyle are stunning examples of the substance that books lend intellectually, aesthetically and emotionally.

Poet and author Caroline Randall Williams of Nashville, Tenn., whose heirloom cookbook collection is featured, speaks to the emotional value.

If the house were burning, Randall Williams says, Id probably rush to save The New World Encyclopedia of Cooking, purely because Nana pressed fresh flowers into its pages, and I would be heartbroken if I failed to preserve them.

Concern for an orderly display is often less important than the pleasure of the collection itself. Still, the collectors homes in Bibliostyle make up an inspiring portfolio of interior and architectural design. There are high-ceilinged European apartments, a poured-concrete modern in Mexico City and a wonderfully layered 19th-century New York farmhouse with windows framing Hudson Valley views like color plates in a vintage book.

The Paris dining room of textile designer Carolina Irving has custom bookshelves crammed with global titles. The result, Freudenberger observes, is a colorful cacophony on the shelves, a warm, natural wallpaper with snapshots of Irvings family, bits of pottery and sculpture.

More minimalist homes also are depicted. Emmanuel de Bayser, a proprietor of concept stores in Paris and Berlin who says he doesnt understand people who dont have books, has a collection tailored to fit the midcentury modern decor of his Berlin apartment.

To be honest, in Paris, I went to find several clothbound books in specific colors, de Bayser is quoted as saying. The priority was the looks. But one is a special edition of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

I happen to really like Rilke; it made sense, and it was a beautiful green cover.

The Los Angeles home of Roman Alonso, one of the founders of Commune Design, manages to maintain restraint while also being book heavy. He keeps many of his volumes in a reading nook, as he calls it, where theres a daybed for reading and a turntable for listening.

Alonso says his books are like old friends to me, and I miss them when I dont visit them.

Many of the featured book lovers have arranged their furnishings to accommodate reading.

After visiting the homes of the featured aficionados, Freudenberger reached her own conclusion about the elements of a really good reading chair. Being near natural light is nice, she says, and she likes the idea of proximity to the kitchen.

The most inviting spot among those pictured may be in a vignette from the Brooklyn brownstone of writer Kathleen Hackett and artist Stephen Antonson.

A chair, known as The Chair, with an appealingly broken-in sheepskin, is the most coveted reading spot in the house.

It is, of course, beside a bookshelf.

Fellow Brooklynite, the novelist Jonathan Safran Foer, also says books and reading are about place.

Im really attached to the idea that different spaces, whether physical or interpersonal, will create different thoughts and experiences, Foer says. Having a comfortable chair, good light these things do put you into a state of mind to better absorb ideas.

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Social isolation, and video chats, are renewing attention to the art of the bookshelf - Greensboro News & Record

The 50 States Project is a yearlong series of candid conversations with interior designers we admire, state by state. Today, were chatting with Laura Hodges, founder of her Catonsville, Marylandbased design studio and retail shop, about how going into business with her husband changed her (work and home) life, the challenges of sustainable sourcing, and why she goes green whether or not clients ask her to.

You had an installation this weekwas it your first post-coronavirus install, and how did it go?Surprisingly, it was our second in two weeks. It was a little nuts. One of the projects was supposed to have wrapped up in January and the other in February. Obviously its hard to do an installation [now] with everybody wearing masks and trying to keep 6 feet apart.

As those projects did get delayed, what has been the reality of wrapping them up in the last two months?For both projects, it was natural delayswhich, under normal circumstances, wouldnt be such a big deal. We redid the stairs and built a whole wall with windows inside this loft space, and there were various structural parts that were taking longer than expected, so things kept getting pushed back. In March, we started to think, Hows this going to work? For the custom staircase, for instance, it was a fourth-floor loft space and the installers were bringing in the massive stringers with a crane. It was a big thingnot like they were just delivering a sofa. It involved a lot of people who really couldnt be 6 feet from one another.

What have the regulations been like in Maryland?Maryland has been pretty strict about sheltering in place. Yes, construction is essential, but the metal shop shut down for two weeks. It was challenging because the contractors are all considered essential, so they just kept going, but we were like, Well, were not essential. It was hard to keep up! I couldnt come out to the job site and do all the stuff I would normally do.

We did FaceTime as much as possible, but not everybodys on board with that way of doing things. It means asking builders to get on a FaceTime calls with us as we go, Show me what that baseboard looks like! We had to explain to our clients, Were doing the best that we can, but we have to be safe. Were very happy to have the work and to keep going, but it became challenging. Were trying to run a business, but you dont know when its all going to end.

Rightwhat counts as essential can be so vague.Like, do I just leave that custom table I ordered with the maker in Baltimore for the next year until they find a vaccine, and then Ill look at it? I [ended up going to see it] with a mask, and Im glad I did, because this is expensive furniture that I want to be a certain way and I was able to make some adjustments in personbut at the same time, its not essential.

Has your mindset changed in the past eight weeks?For sure. It started off like, We all have to be super safe, we have to stay in our homes and not do anything, its not worth it. I have two young boys and I dont want them getting sick, and of course were just trying to be responsible for our employees by doing the right thing. And then at some point, youre like, Well, this is not going to reasonably change anytime soon. So are we just going to sit here in our houses and not do anything?

A lot of the work that we do is totally remote. But Im used to going to my project sites at least once a week, because theyre [usually] all within an hours distance. Mistakes can be made, people can misinterpret your designthere are all kinds of things that you could avoid if you actually were there. At that point, I started thinking of it more as, What can we do safely, keeping in mind that this is probably going to go on for a very long time? Were going to have to make sure the furnitures right, move it in, and make sure the electrician put the light in the right spot.

We wear masks and gloves, we have 8 million things of hand sanitizer, we dont touch anything unless we have to, and were washing our hands. You cant control what other people are going to do, though. So we just do our best with our own company to maintain our own standards for how were going to do things.

Courtesy of Laura Hodges Studio

Tell me about your firmhow did that grow and evolve?I started by myself. I have a business degree, so theres a part [of me] that loves the business sidebut more the entrepreneurial side, coming up with and growing ideas, not so much the financial side. I like to see that we are profitable, but Im not like, How much did we make today?

My husband [Tim Hodges] has worked for different appliance companies in corporate roles like sales and marketing. He enjoyed it, but he was always interested in the projects that I was working on and thought it was neat to see how it all came together. He would look over my shoulder as I was doing budget spreadsheets and be like, Why dont you do this? Make a pivot table! I just wanted to shove my computer toward him and be like, You do it. And then two years ago, we were having brunch one day, and said, What if we did work together? What would that look like? I do all the design, he does all of the business, and we can stay in our own lanes. It was hard for me at first to let goId been doing it on my own for such a long time, but I had to recognize that things work better as a team.

We decided to open a store together around the same time, coincidentally. He started working with me, and then we decided to buy this building where we could open up a shop and have a studio where we could both have our own offices. Shortly after, we realized that neither of us actually wanted to work in the store, so we hired someone managed the shop, and then in her downtime she also was doing design. We ended up having more design work for her, so we hired a design coordinator, whose main job now is the shop. Shell help Tim, my husband, with the business sidehe tends to do the order placements, tracking, figuring out where everything is for our full-service projects, in addition to bookkeeping. She helps him out with receiving and deliveries, and sometimes with initial planning, drawings and design proposals.

Rolling back all the way, how did you launch your firm?I officially started my firm in 2016, though I had been doing a few smaller jobs before that. I worked in New York for other designers for a couple years after I got my degree from the New York School of Interior DesignI interned with Jamie Drake and then worked for Thomas Jayne. When I was having my first son, I knew that I wanted to stay home, so I took off close to five years to stay home with my boys when they were young. And then when my youngest was about 3, I started doing a little bit of work part-time. When he was in preschool, Id run over to the local library and work on projects. The design center was very close to his preschool, which was very convenient, so I could just run over there, source some fabrics, then pick him up.

Courtesy of Laura Hodges Studio

You said you have a business degreedid you go to NYSID right after, or what was the in-between?The in-between was actually five years working at a marketing company before I realized that it wasnt quite fulfilling my creative interests. I always knew that I loved art and music when I was in high school, but I didnt really understand the industry. I really just looked at it more like decorating. So I got my business degree, worked for a marketing company and then started feeling like I wanted to do something else.

I was looking at this online design degree, and the more I looked into it, the more I realized: Wow, this industry is so much deeper than I ever thought it could possibly be. I realized, if Im going to do this properly, Im going to get a degree. I mean, you could teach yourselfand there are a lot of amazing designers who havebut Im the type that needs to get all the information. I really want to know everything. If somebody asks me, Why did you choose this chair? I can be like, Its this gorgeous Biedermeier that coordinates with the English Regency table you have. I dont want to be like, Because it looks great! I wanted to have a thorough understanding of the history of design, how to do drawings, and the technical side so that I can do the best possible job.

Did the design school experience live up to your expectations?Its funnythe two people that weve hired have degrees in other areas. At first, I only looked for people who had design degrees, but I soon realized that just because you have a degree, it does not make you a good designer or a great employee. It means a lot, but it only goes so faryou need to have all these other layers to be the right fit. So [that education] definitely laid the groundwork for me. But you also need that apprenticeship-type situation, which I think is hugely important.

Courtesy of Laura Hodges Studio

Tell me a little bit about Maryland. How did you land there and start your firm there, and what is the design scene like there?So originally, Im from England. My dads from Jamaica, my mothers English, and we grew up going to England, where my grandparents live most summers. We moved to Maryland when I was little and I grew up here. I always knew that I didnt want to stay in my state for college, and in [the 15 years I spent] in New York, I knew that was the right place for me. I couldnt imagine leavingthat whole mindset of, How could you possibly live anywhere else? And then we had kids, and I was like, Oh, right.

That sense of, This is why people leave?Exactly. Dont get me wrong, I still love New Yorkit was just no longer the right place for me. My parents and brother still lived here in Maryland, so we thought, Why dont we at least get closer to family? And you know, we wanted a backyard. My son was afraid of grass. He was 18 months old and wouldnt step on the grass! So when we got here, we had to introduce him to bees and butterflies.

How has it been for your design business, and what types of projects are you working on?We have a big range. In Maryland, our tri-state area is with D.C. and Virginia, and were sometimes a little bit left out of the design scene. When people say Maryland, typically theyre talking about closer to D.C., but Im closer to Baltimore. There arent as many designers in our area, but Baltimore has a great design scene. There are so many amazing people who make awesome products, so we try to have furniture made here. Our shop is full of local makers and artists.

The Washington Design Center is the big design center here, but we tend to do a little bit more local sourcing. Theres a smaller design center closer to us that has fabric, wallpaper and some furniture. They dont have as much as the D.C. design center, and certainly nowhere near the New York Design Center. When I first came down here, I was like, Where am I going to find anything? But you get used to requesting samples and if something is not available, you look online more. In New York, you didnt have to do that at all.

I remember when I was interning at Jamie Drakes office, the designer I was working with asked for a lamp, and I said, Oh, I saw this one on a website. And she said, Dont show me anything unless youve seen it in person. I cant say that to my employees, because theres nowhere to go see it, but I think of [that moment] all the time, because I wish we could go see everything. We normally go down to High Point every six months, and we went to KBIS in January. We try to get out there, because theres less to source here.

Courtesy of Laura Hodges Studio

Is that what led you to open your store, Domain? I think every designer secretly wants to have a store, because we see lovely things all the time and want to give them a home. I [also] love the idea of being able to support people who are making things locally. Almost everything that we have in the shop is locally sourced. We have a lot of artwork from local artists. Its been such a lovely experience to get to know them all and be able to genuinely say, Shop local. Many times, people are like, Well, I just dont know where to look, I dont know whos out there. Well, here they are.

Were always looking for beautiful things for our clients, and often we find amazing things that arent the right fit for that particular project or client. Many times when we would source accessories, it was hard to find the right things, because I dont like to buy the type of accessories where you are buying 20 of something, putting them in a warehouse and then putting one in every bookshelf. We like to get very specific to the clients tastesome vintage pieces, some antiques, and it was harder to find those finishing pieces here.

Does the shop bring in customers who turn into design clients?Weve had a few really good projects come in directly from the shop. The studio is right down the hall, so if somebody comes in, they can talk to us because were right there. We put our design boards up on the wall toohuge cork boards with all of our active projects so we can say, Heres what your process would look like. We can show them the materials and finishes, how we workthey get the ins and outs without having to buy in straight away.

We can also source things from Domain. I actually thought at first that that was going to come across as a little weirdto be like, Heres a vase that just happens to be from our store, like Im just trying to sell them stuff that I already had. But our clients actually asked us to do that. Theyre like, Dont you have great artwork? Dont you have linens? Dont you have all these lovely things? And I was like, Well, I do, and if thats OK with you, Id love to bring them in. It took me a second to realize that our clients are probably going to like whats in the shop if they like what we do. It makes for great client gifts, as wellwe always have stuff that we can take over there as a little gift.

Youre a LEED professional. Why was that important to you?My husband has always called me Captain Planet because Im a little obsessive about reusing and recycling everything: What are you using that paper towel for? So its always been important for me. Were obviously a very materialistic industry, always buying new things or tearing down perfectly good buildings to build a new one that looks more beautiful. Its hard sometimes to be thoughtful and responsible about what were doing, so I felt like I needed to get some training in that. I wanted to make sure that I knew what I was talking about and not just saying, Well, we sourced this from this person [who says its sustainable], but we dont really know what all these acronyms mean.

A lot of the LEED program has more to do with the architecture of the building, which is why I [also got certified through] the Sustainable Furnishings Councils green leadership program. Thats more about how furniture is made, which sometimes gets a little left out in this sustainability conversation with so much furniture made overseas where the standards are so different.

Courtesy of Laura Hodges Studio

Do you think theres progress being made in the realm of sustainable furniture production and consumption?Its hard, because theres so much competition in the pricing. How do you get something thats well-priced, well-made, and also sustainably made? Theres not a lot of auditing that happens in terms of how everything is being sourced, so its hard to knoweven companies like Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn, they say that they use FSC-certified wood, but the [Forest Stewardship Council] doesnt really audit that much, so how do we really know what were doing? We can only do our best, of course, but I think that the furniture side of things still has a long way to go in terms of making sure that were being responsible.

With sustainability in mind, what are the parts of that process you prioritize?We try to source a lot of vintage pieces. We also work with our clients to donate anything theyre not using. Last year, we worked on this law office project. It was an office full of lovely traditional furnitureleather boardroom chairs, mahogany tablesand they really wanted to go super-modern. I was like, Thats cool, but that means we cant really keep any of this furniture. Those tufted leather chairs looked like they were from 1992, but they were in great condition.

We also work with a local childrens home on the side when they have various design issueswell help them if theyre having an event. So we talked to the law firm and arranged for them to donate their furniture to the childrens home. They didnt care that they were tufted leather chairs from the 1990s, they were very happy with them. And it looks great, you know? But thats also sustainable, because nobody would buy this stuff. It would have just gone to the dump.

We also try to donate cabinetry and appliances. Those custom stairs that I was talking about earlier, we recycled all of the old steel from the staircase that came out. And it helps to be able to say that we can do that for clients. Not all of our clients value it in the same wayI mean, I think they value it, but I dont know that its top of their list. But I do think they always appreciate it.

Do you just say, By the way, sustainability is part of our process? Yes. We definitely use it as a selling point. But its also like, If its not important to you, were not going to harp on it, but were going to do it anyway. When we talk to clients, so many times its just that they dont know what the options are. The loft that we did recently, we had a local nonprofit that took all the cabinetry, appliances, doors, everything. Nothing really went to the trash except for drywall. And the client, I dont think they were even aware that could happen. Its not that they dont care and dont want to, its that they dont necessarily realize how to do it.

Did getting those certifications change your approach to projects or sourcing?You start to learn about how companies try to manipulate things. Theyll say that theyre green, but then when you see why they say that theyre green, its like, Thats not green, youre doing that for cost savings. If youre doing it for the sustainability side of it, you would carry that [sensibility] through. You wouldnt use these high-VOC finishes on your furniture.

Weve found really amazing craftspeople who make amazing wood furniture in this country. Its made within 500 milesthats one of the sustainable things for LEED certification, so thats great. Its made with rapidly renewable wood. Thats awesome. And then youre checking off all the list with all the things, but then its insanely expensiveor you dont even like it. Once you narrow it down to whos truly sustainable, good luck finding something that actually fits your project.

Courtesy of Laura Hodges Studio

Where do you see the opportunity to grow? What are you most excited about in the year or two ahead?We are knocking on some wood here. We have been lucky to stay busywe just signed a new project yesterday, actually. I love designing furniture, so were hoping to be able to expand that way. Licensing might be interesting, or developing our own line, but furniture is a hard thingespecially because of all the sustainability challenges. I can get on my high horse about this stuff, but then you see the reality of it and you understand that it costs an arm and a leg to get the right type of wood, the right person to do it, all these things. You add up all these costs and suddenly your chair is $9,000. But anything that we make or support should fall into line with all those values. We dont want to have things just for the sake of having them. It really needs to fit into who we are, which is hard.

How do your clients find you?We have a lot of repeat clients, which is fantastic. New clients [often find us by referral or sometimes through press coverage]. Weve been lucky to get a decent amount of press, as wellwe were on House Beautifuls Next Wave and Traditional Homes New Trad in the past year, so weve had a decent number of people come to us through that. And then the shop is a big draw as well.

What is the impact of the press? Is that immediate? Its nice to have the added layer of appreciation from an objective audience. It also helps us with pricingto be able to show that were not just some design firm down the street, that we actually have some credentials to our name. It is hard sometimes for people to understand how much work and detail goes into these projects.

How do you approach pricing?We charge hourly. We explain that we do two different types of projectsfull-service where we do it all for you, or design-only, where you [take our vision and execute] it on your own. Because not every client needs to be a full-service client and some people are going to have an amazing design but want to do it themselves. We talk about price and budget right awaymost of the time people say that they have no idea what their budget should be. If theyve worked with a designer before or have had multiple homes, they tend to know more about what they want to spend. But honestly, I have clients and theyre just like, I dont know. Do what you think is best? Just dont break the bank. But what does your bank look like?

Its hard to know sometimes what theyre expecting, but theyll always set us right. We might show them something and they might say, Thats not quite the budget we were hoping for. By the time were presenting a project, if they say, Oh, its too expensive, we havent done our job at all. We certainly get to that conversation way before that. We had a client recently who said, I have no idea what my budget is. And we started talking and about half an hour in, she was like, I dont think Im going to feel comfortable spending more than $100,000, and Im like, OK, so you do have a budget. Then we need to prioritize what you actually want to do. Because $100,000 isnt enough for what you want. So we have that conversation as soon as possible, because it makes it more efficient for sourcing. Like, can we even design custom furniture? Is there any point in going down that path of explaining some element of design that I know is going to cost more than what theyre willing to spend?

Courtesy of Laura Hodges Studio

Did the time you spent working for Jamie Drake or Thomas Jayne influence the way you approach budget?I was so lowly at Jamies office, I was only in on a few meetings with clients to even hear that conversation, and the numbers that I was hearing were nowhere near what my brain would even comprehend. But I knew that it was really important to be up front about the cost, because the type of people I wanted to deal with are in the position theyre in because theyre OK with talking about money.

How do you feel talking about money?I still hate having that conversation. I dont mind talking about their budget, but I hate talking about how much Im going to cost, because theres always that weird situation where youre like, I deserve this! I do! Im good, I know what Im doing! But at the same time, I just want to do as much as I possibly can for themI want to make them happy, I want to make sure that they love their home, and I want to make it affordable for them, so its really hard to say, Im so sorry, but in order for me to do my best work, its going to cost this much, and you already said that you dont want to spend that much.

We used to always take on many more projects than we should, and Ive been able to pare that back a lot and tell people, Heres how much a design with us is going to cost. We might not be the right fit for you, but heres somebody else who is. I always refer people. I try not to ever just tell them, Were too expensive for you.

As you grew the firm, and as you have to support more people, how did that change the kind of work you took on?Its given me a better sense of our value and whats worth our time. There are only so many projects we can work on. Theres only so much work we can do in a day as human beings. Yes, you can sell product as well, and theres more flexibility there in terms of profits, but still, there is a limit to how much we can actually work and how much we can charge for. It helped to actually have employees, because being able to look at somebody elses hours makes you stop and think, Im paying you this amount of money, so I need to be bringing in this amount of money to make it worthwhile to have you working on this. Its one thing to be able to write off your own hours, to say, Ill just work on this a bit longerIm just watching TV while Im drawing the picture, let me keep going. Once its somebody elses time that youre paying for, youre suddenly much more aware of that.

And then also when my husband started working with me, I [became] more aware of how my time was being spent, because it came down to this: Im a billable asset versus his side of thingswhich are extremely valuable, but hes not literally billing for his time. Hes doing the work that needs to be done, growing the business. But the work that Im doing, we can literally say to the client, Heres a bill for it.

Does that change a lot in your home life?It did! Its funny, its very practical. It actually made life a little easier. Because he had more of that financial mindset, he was the first one to say, I should go pick up our son from school, because youre working on a project and youre billable. I mean, if I dont do this, were not going to get paid. We have to do all the other stuff too: We have to grow the business, we have to support the business, but we also have to do the business. So the pressures there. We can joke about the fact that my husband usually makes dinner every night, but theres also that pressure of: If Im not doing my part, then whos going to do it?

To learn more about Laura Hodges, visit her website or find her on Instagram.

Homepage photo: Laura Hodges | Courtesy of Laura Hodges Studio

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Why this Maryland designer goes greenwhether or not clients ask her to - Business of Home

A home office for children has become a common request for architects, builders, and interior designers as children practice distance learning during the coronavirus. Here, a sunlit space, designed by Wadia Associates in New Canaan, features two desks and chairs, plenty of storage, bookshelves, and a gorgeous stained glass window, creating the perfect environment in which to work.

A home office for children has become a common request for architects, builders, and interior designers as children practice distance learning during the coronavirus. Here, a sunlit space, designed by

A home office for children has become a common request for architects, builders, and interior designers as children practice distance learning during the coronavirus. Here, a sunlit space, designed by Wadia Associates in New Canaan, features two desks and chairs, plenty of storage, bookshelves, and a gorgeous stained glass window, creating the perfect environment in which to work.

A home office for children has become a common request for architects, builders, and interior designers as children practice distance learning during the coronavirus. Here, a sunlit space, designed by

Theres no place like home: Design and build during the age of the coronavirus

Members of the interior design and home building industry have found it necessary to adapt to changing, evolving economies over the years. From bull markets and bear markets to recessions and post-9/11, this group of professionals has had to think creatively in order to persevere.

Now, the virulent novel coronavirus, dubbed Covid-19, has brought the entire world to a screeching halt and has radically affected the way we live, work, play, and learn, and will continue to do so for a long time to come. As various parts of the country begin to reopen, the virus is influencing the creative process. It can no longer be business as usual in this environment. Architects, interior designers, home builders, and contractors are having to think outside the box when interacting with clients, meeting with subcontractors, and presenting and installing projects.

Our vendors have offered to show their fabric lines to us virtually. They show us all the new fabrics over the computer, and then we order samples, says Jan Hiltz, an interior designer with more than 25 years experience and the owner of Westport-based Jan Hiltz Interiors. It works for me; Ive been doing this (type of work) for so long, Ive found that where theres a will, theres a way.

Were in the midst of preparing for our first Zoom presentation, adds Christine Hiltz, Jan Hiltzs daughter-in-law and an interior designer in the firm.

For some firms, virtual presentations will be the preferred procedure, at least for a few weeks or months, or longer. The virus is going to be guiding the way we do business until we get a vaccine. Things will evolve slowly, says Dinyar Wadia, principal of Wadia Associates, an award-winning architectural and interior design firm based in New Canaan. I dont think this thing is going to go away for a while. We just have to adapt.

Programs such as Zoom have been a blessing to some, like Wadia, who has noticed an unintended benefit to using the online platform: It is easier to gauge a clients or prospective clients immediate reaction to sour proposals, whereas during in-person meetings, it is rude to stare so you might miss subtle physiological responses or cues, he explains.

While some designers are choosing the practice of designing at a distance, others are bravely plunging into the fray. Wadia and Jan and Christine Hiltz are doing both, depending on the level of each clients comfort. Designers conducting in-person consultations and presentations, however, have had to arm themselves, in addition to the usual tools of color wheel, fabric swatches, and measuring tape, with masks, gloves, protective booties, and disinfectant.

Wadia notes that he is also foregoing handshakes. Although he has tested negative for Covid-19, he takes precautions to avoid exposure and prevent him from bringing the virus home to his wife, he says.

Marsha Matto, principal and head designer of Point of View Interiors in Sandy Hook, says she still conducts some in-person meetings, although they are anything but ordinary. For a recent meeting at a plumbing supply store, for example, Matto says she was required to arrive after regular business hours, wear a mask and gloves, have her temperature taken, and sign a waiver disavowing the company of any responsibility if she contracted the virus there. Business just cant happen the same way anymore, at least not for now, Matto says.

She admits, Its been difficult. And not just because some clients have put projects on hold and because of social distancing guidelines, but also because of disruptions in the supply chain. Upholsterers might still be working with a crew, albeit smaller, but theyre not able to get the cushion fillings or frames, all requisite pieces and parts that go into creating custom furniture, says Matto, who has more than 20 years of experience in high-end residential and commercial design, and who also serves as chair of the Interior Design Department at the University of Bridgeport.

The New York company she hired to pick up and deliver a furniture order in New Jersey for one of her commercial clients in Connecticut had to decline when that business was deemed nonessential, leaving Matto scrambling to arrange transport herself at a higher cost. Instead of a simple delivery and installation, it turned into a nightmare, she recalls. Frustration sets in from time to time but most people are understanding.

Robert Berger, a Westport-based architect and builder, notes that many of his clients want renovations that relate directly to the coronavirus. Homeowners are requesting that we install hands-free sinks, operated by foot pedals or a motion sensor, or a second desk or office space, ideally enclosed, as parents are working from home, and their children are distance learning, he states. Everyone is thinking about how they will be living in their homes during the age of the coronavirus, and beyond.

Washers and dryers located inside the homes point of first contact (such as in a mudroom), so residents can remove and wash their clothes as soon as they come in, are also on the wish lists of todays homeowners. Eventually, I predict well be installing exterior entry doorway panels in front of which people can wave a key and the door will open, eliminating any need to touch a doorknob, Berger explains.

Hard surfaces tend to be easier to keep clean, and design professionals are specifying materials such as stainless steel, which can be cleaned with ammonia- and alcohol-based products (brass and other metals with lacquer finishes cannot), and countertops made from quartz or other hard materials, according to Berger. Some cabinet manufacturers already carry cabinets that can be opened and closed with either wave in front of the door or a single finger push opening, he says, and I think more clients will be requesting options like these now and in the future.

Some people may think redecorating a house in the midst of a global medical pandemic is frivolous but Jan Hiltz says her work has not decreased. In fact, she has a five-month waiting list, perhaps because people are spending even more time at home than usual and who knows for how long and they want their living environments to be beautiful, and to feel safe. Now, home has become a real sanctuary, Jan Hiltz states.

She reports that her company has already received several requests for outdoor projects. Many of her clients want to install in-ground swimming pools because they dont want to go to public facilities anymore, and they also want more backyard amenities that will allow them to invite friends over while still safely socially distancing.

Life goes on, and it brings joy to people even to just consider the promise of decorating, bringing new ideas into their home, and bringing sunshine and brightness to their home, she says.

One of her clients sums it up this way: We really need this.

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Theres no place like home: Design and build during the age of the coronavirus - CTPost