Sure, you pay fees for our skills, you schedule times when we should come over to do our work, and we most definitely do everything we possibly can to provide you with the design solution you're looking for, but...
That doesn't mean we're mere service providers. Actually, we're much more.
We're artists. And our creative gift is storytelling.
Just because our works' canvases don't come in the forms of literature, film, or spoken word doesn't mean our creations don't tell stories, because they most certainly do. The only difference between our tales and those of a "traditional storyteller" is that our stories play out visually - not with words, but with layouts, furnishings and decor.
And our finished pieces ... They're the stories of our client's lives.
I recently found time to peruse the two newest design books in my library:
Nate Berkus’ The Things That Matter
Darryl Carter’s The Collected Home
My son gave them to me for Christmas, and I'm so glad he did, because I've been dying to spend some time pouring over each of them.
My own personal style falls somewhere between the two. I’m a neutral base / high contrast kind of person, like Darryl Carter, but I also like the way Nate Berkus mixes things up and adds color, flavor and unexpected touches to his rooms. Both have a masculine, strong look that I am drawn to, and I strongly subscribe to their lack of excess fluff in a space.
But, strangely enough, it wasn't the visuals that were spread throughout each book that moved me the most. No, it was something else. What I was particularly moved by...
Were their words. Their stories. Their ability to inspire an emotional connection towards that which is my favorite storyteller of all: Interior design.
Darryl Carter is, undoubtably, a master of design.
With an artistically trained eye, he was able to write incredibly vivid descriptions and reasonings for why he does what he does.
The absolute logic, thoughtful selection and design expertise that goes into his work are so evident in his writing, making the entire book an absolute pleasure to read.
Here are a few of my favorite excerpts:
“When it comes to arranging furniture, art, and accent pieces, sometimes the careful pairing of opposites can produce an appealing visual creative tension that results in a sense of harmony and balance. Objects can provide a sense of conversation among them. The goal is to gather pieces that deliberately yet discreetly relate to one another.”
“It may seem that adding a treatment to an already low ceiling may visually lower it, but a deeply punctuated embellishment can actually create a greater sense of height.”
“There is no greater gift than the experience. Think about how your house feels, what memories it evokes, how the tactile quality of the material on a chair welcomes you to have a seat.”
â—†
Darryl's words are poetic, thoughtful, precise and descriptive, aren't they?
You know ... Just like his interiors.
Then, there’s Nate.
The story of his experience in the tsunami was deeply personal and moving. The tragedy took his partner, changed his life forever, and we all knew he would address it in his book.
Sure, we all know he was there and what happened to him, but reading about the experience in his own words provided a more intimate look into what happened during those horrific moments. Not only that, but the story makes clear what's most precious to him in his life.
As a designer, what I found particularly enjoyable was the story of his first design project: The basement bedroom in his childhood home - the one he designed and decorated over and over again. Every designer in the world can identify with that story!
Nate's closet
“I couldn’t leave that bedroom alone. I reorganized. I reinterpreted. I reframed. I had three bookshelves and my idea of a really good time was to remove all the dust covers from my books, then put them back on, just to see how they looked.”
Then there are also many hints along the way that describe who Nate is as a real human-being.
“The glass-front refrigerator couldn’t have been better for a guy who likes to decant his eggs. Look, I don’t care how many times you reread that sentence, it’s still going to say that I decant my eggs. (I cut the expiration date off the carton, set it at the bottom of a plain glass bowl, and place the eggs on top.”
Nate's kitchen
Don’t we love Nate Berkus! Oprah chose well, didn’t she?
.jpg)
These two designers’ books are from the heart and speak of an artist’s passion for his craft.
Attention to detail, careful curation and collection, thoughtful and inspired assembly of parts to make a whole, and execution with precision, skill, craft, and an artistic eye are all characteristics of a good designer and...
A good storyteller.
So, are interior designers just another type of service provider?
Technically, I suppose I have to say yes.
But above all else, are designers artists?
...Absolutely!
So get excited when you embark on a project with a designer! Because what you're about to receive isn't just a home full of pretty, you're about to have your life's story created visually, as told through design.
â—†
This week we're talking about what it's like to work with an interior designer.
Tomorrow's topic: The mystery of the interior designer's discount.