Of course, you don’t live on your walls. You also don’t live on your ceiling and most of the time you don’t live on the floor either (even though the floor would be easier to pull off than the other two). So where do you live? Think about it for a moment…where does your physical body spend most of its time?!
On. Your. Furniture!
If you’ve spent some time reading interior design blogs, websites, and magazine articles, there are three words that are very trendy… Curated, Bespoke, and Procure. They sound like fancy designer terms, but what do they actually mean and, should you add them to your vocabulary?
Let’s start with some definitions:
Even though these three words all have different meanings, they are woven into a common thread – each word speaks to quality, consideration, and care.
When a design is curated, each architectural detail, each finish, each fixture, each piece of furniture and each accessory is brought together to create a beautiful, cohesive outcome. The result is that the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts (Gestalt – my grade 12 English teacher would be so proud that I’ve held onto that word all these years).
A well curated space, generally requires a least one bespoke piece in order for it to feel truly unique and special. This could be a custom-detailed furniture or millwork piece, a one-of-a-kind area rug or fabric, or a commissioned piece of art. Bespoke pieces give your space a personalized story and may become family heirlooms.
Tessier Waggoner Custom Table
In order to achieve a well curated space with bespoke pieces to come together it needs to be procured. A knowledgeable (preferably detail oriented) individual or team needs to spend time sourcing, ordering, and attentively tracking all your items so that they can come together in your space.
Creating custom, personalized interiors is a labour of love. It begins by getting to know you and how you live, learning your story, discovering what you find beautiful, and how you want to feel in your space. The end result is a very special, emotional experience.
Here are a few curated spaces that we’re especially excited about.
As a turn-key design firm, we love designing everything down to the smallest detail and then bringing that design to life. We are constantly sourcing new products, suppliers, and local artisans so that we can offer unique pieces to our clients.
This month we’ll be attending High Point Market in North Carolina, the largest furniture & décor show in North America. We can’t wait to discover new and interesting pieces that we can use as we curate your very special space.
Interior Design is an interesting profession. It’s an industry that blends creative with technical skills, so confusion about what a Designer actually does is very common.
I spend a lot of time answering questions from potential clients, builders, acquaintances, friends… and, yes, even my own family about what we actually do.
Join me as I answer some the FAQs about Interior Design (as a profession) & S3 (as an Interior Design firm).
The ‘S’ word of the pandemic isn’t Snow (though we in Manitoba may think so) – rather, it stands for Supply as in the Supply Chain. The supply chain is the sequence of processes involved from the production of a product or commodity to its distribution to the end-user.
Since mid-2020, we’ve experienced the effects of the supply chain disruption, including many products, which may have been readily available to us in the past, now in short supply and the cost of these products increasing significantly.
If you’ve had the privilege of living your entire life in an abundant country, like Canada, you may be accustomed to getting the things you want when you want them. The store shelves are always full and companies like Amazon have done a fantastic job of teaching us (almost) instant gratification. It’s no wonder that waiting makes us frustrated, but we’ve entered a new reality including when it comes to renovating, building, and furnishing our spaces. Some of the supplies that have either been back-ordered or have seen prices skyrocket include:
And don’t get us started on furniture! The sofa that used to take 4-6 weeks from order date to sitting in your living room is now 18-20 weeks along with the increased costs, mostly shipping. We were recently quoted $1,700 to ship a $4,500 order of accent tables and the client, rightfully so, said ‘“no way”, so we went back to the drawing board.
One of the biggest challenges of this new reality is we can’t predict the price increases or the shipping delays, as they are constantly in flux. We’re actually considering getting a new S3 team uniform that says, “I’m sorry it’s delayed… AGAIN!”
So…where’s the upside in all of this? Because I promise you, it exists and we’ve seen it first hand.
Support. Local. Makers!
With exorbitant shipping rates, we’ve become more attuned to what’s available in our own city and province. The pricing of a custom piece made locally is suddenly comparable in price to a generic, lesser quality piece purchased overseas. For example, S3 has used a custom upholstery shop in Winnipeg for years. On occasion, we’d have a client who required a custom piece of furniture and the results were always spectacular, but for some reason, the custom route was more often our back-up plan, not our go-to option.
In the last year, we’ve recommended more clients to buying custom, locally-made furniture than ever before, and it’s a win-win for everyone! They get furniture that is completely customized and of extremely high quality, from a supplier who will service their pieces for years to come. It’s a beautiful thing, and it just makes sense.
With all of the shortages, delays, and inflated costs on products, right now may not be the best time to build your project, but it’s certainly a great time to design it. The supply chain can’t stop great ideas and it shouldn’t delay you from getting your project on paper. A well-constructed & detailed plan takes time, so while our clients are waiting for contractors to become available and the supply chain to normalize, we’re able to focus our attention on a comprehensive plan to allow the construction to move forward when the time is right. You can’t take us down, Supply Chain!
We know that waiting can be frustrating, especially when you’ve been dreaming of your new space for months or even years, but don’t lose hope…it will happen! The timing and cost may look different than you anticipated, so taking the extra time to plan works out better for you in the long run.
We’ll make it through this and learn from it. If we exit this pandemic with any lessons, my hope is that patience and grace are two of the big ones to carry us forward.
Over the last two years, we’ve noticed an increase in residential home renovations. We’ve been home more often than ever, so we’ve had time to dream about our homes’ possibilities and become keenly aware of the things that desperately require change. Read more
