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New clients with V Starr Interiors

Posted by in Uncategorized | July 27, 2016
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I am excited to announce that any new projects I am taking on are through V Starr Interiors as the acting design director.   I have been working with V Starr and Venus Williams for seven years now and we have created such an amazing team of designers that it is now a full-time job for me.   The best thing about V Starr is the team of people and the quality of work we can put out in a fraction of the time.   Please check out our website at http://www.vstarrinteriors.com or contact us at 561.744.7177.

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Palm Beach Residence – Variance in Design

Posted by in Current Project,Design Tips | November 21, 2012
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I think it is most important for a residential designer relabel able to listen clearly and interpret what their clients want for their home.  Too often I hear stories from clients saying that the designer didn’t listen and used their own tastes to dictate the space.  Residential design is very personal; you are their friend, confidant, right hand, voice of reason and many times, counselor.  As a designer if I meet a client for the initial consultation and feel that I won’t be able to interpret their needs properly then I let them know and walk away from the job. I recently updated a formal living room in Palm Beach and you will notice that it does not look at all like most of the images created for clients in Miami. This image is a perfect example of using your design sense to assist your clients with their vision and style.  The needs of this room were that it had been painted by a family member years ago and the memory needed to be preserved.  We were utilizing most of the existing furniture and needed to reupholster and create new draperies and an area rug to complement the existing specialty paint finish while updating the space and creating a fresh look as it had not been changed since the 70’s.  The before image to the left will show you what the original space looked like.  I have also included an image below which shows the drapery fabric that was selected and the difference you can make with a minor update.  Multiple patterns were selected within the blues to complement the yellow walls and green was also included to to tie in the yellow and make the walls a little more subtle.  Blackout liner has since been added to the drapery to assist with the preservation of fabrics, art and paint.

Hope you like it!

Kitchen Soft Update

Posted by in Current Project | November 15, 2012
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I’m back again with the update photos for the kitchen. This original photo to the right  shows the kitchen as is when the home was purchased.   There are many additional unnecessary items floating around the kitchen which in itself can make you feel like it either isn’t clean or you have no space.   The feeling of not having any space is legitimate as I can’t imagine utilizing my counter tops while they are already covered with accessories.  The cabinet space and layout worked so there was no need to modify any of that as well as the flooring which runs throughout the house.   The trick is, turning a country kitchen into a clean modernized kitchen on little to no budget.   How do you accomplish this?   Well, if you look at the image below you will see.   Utilizing color to bring out the tones you want from the materials that you are stuck with.  The back-splash would have been a large cost to change and it is tumbled Jerusalem stone, which is a very nice finish.   I selected a deep grey for the cabinets to pull out the grey veining in the stone as well as complement the stainless steel.   New glass in the upper corner cabinet was necessary to modernize as well and removal of the stained glass with etched palm trees.  All the hardware was changed from a country brass to a clean line stainless to also save on the budget.   To warm up the kitchen I selected a wheat color for the paint on the walls and accent that with towels for seasons in warm tones.  A dear friend of mine, Antoinette Rourke, used an amazing product to paint the cabinets without the need to strip or sand the existing and was a big time saver, and time is money.   Let me know what you think……

 

Why do Designers leave their own home for last?

Posted by in Current Project | November 3, 2012
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I have a theory that really good designers are so busy that they don’t have time to design or fix up their own homes. At least I am hoping that is the case because if it is then I should be considered an excellent designer. Before moving into to our current home I made a list of things I had to do to move in, a list of short term, as in 2 year things, I would like to get accomplished and then the final wish list. So far, after recent review, I am way behind on the two year plan and we have been here three and a half. So, I have vowed to remodel my kitchen before the holidays and by that I mean just paint the cabinets and change the hardware for a whole new look. A friend of mine is helping paint them with Annie Sloan’s Chalk paint. I’ll update with photos soon so you can see the outcome. What I want to know is…. Does an electrician have lights that don’t work or plumbers sinks that are clogged? Does the cleaning lady have a messy home or am I just a special case?