Robin's Nest: Shifting gears mid-project
May 10, 2010
Robin Siegerman
SPECIAL TO YOURHOME.CA
The client-designer relationship is a delicate balance between tuning the engine of a collaboration so that it runs smoothly or tinkering too much, causing the process to stall out in the middle of the road.
The savvy interior designer needs to know when to put the pedal to the floor and when to put the brakes on when the client decides to take a u-turn in the middle of the road. Sometimes the client tosses an obstacle onto the track that we just didn’t see coming so the project must take a quick detour to avoid a collision. Such is the interesting change of direction that my project with Jim Prichard is taking.
We started the project a few months ago bringing his new/old farmhouse into this century while paying homage to its roots. It was to be a sanctuary for Jim, who was going through the transition of his second divorce and needed a place that would reflect his interests (remember the man-cave with the hemi engine and the 1968 Chevy hood art?) and an interior that would be casual and comfortable, blending the contemporary with the vintage to create a funky chic farmhouse style. He chose a white leather sofa with chrome legs as the first piece of furniture for his new home. On that unlikely base, we’ve built quirky layers with a vintage kilim rug on the floor, chrome and glass side tables, table lamps with rustic twig bases and contemporary linen drum shades, a rustic coffee table of barn board and chrome, and comfy chairs to relax into while watching the man-sized TV perched on the weather-beaten console. It’s a happy mash-up that was purring along with the vision becoming ever clearer as we got further down the road.
Dining room shows progress
After some false starts with the dining room, trying to find a carpet that would work with the awkward room dimensions of 20 x 12 and either not liking what we saw or liking carpets that were off the budgetary charts, I went back to my carpet man in Santa Fe to see if he had another vintage kilim even remotely close to the dimensions we were seeking. As it happens, one had just become available from Turkey circa 1940 that was an unusual but beautiful blend of red, silvery blue, orange and grass green. It has all the wonderful idiosyncrasies of a rug that’s been handwoven on a homemade loom with vegetable dyed yarn. Eureka! I can let out the clutch! I then picked a red from the carpet to paint the walls and a beautiful silk fabric in silvery blue for the drapes which picks up the same shade in the carpet. We found a compromise on the dining room chairs that worked with the budget and I used the same silver blue colour in an ultrasuede for the upholstery. They should be arriving any day.
Adjacent to the dining room is a small parlour that we had envisioned turning into an intimate spot for before dinner drinks that could occasionally convert into a guest room with a contemporary, queen-sized sleeper sofa. Since this room is clearly visible from the dining room when the door is open, my plan was to hang the same silvery blue silk drapes as in the dining room, paint the walls a deeper shade of the blue and cover the sleeper sofa in the ultrasuede of the dining room chairs, thereby tying the two rooms together.
Detour ahead and it’s a doozy
Oops! Like any unexpected detour, we’ve encountered one that has caused me to downshift and consider how we’re going to reach our destination. I feel sure we’ll get there, but it won’t be on time because ... Jim’s getting a roommate. An attractive brunette with three kids and dreams of a happy future together. And furniture. And stuff. Oh boy....
So the plan of the contemporary sleeper sofa in the parlour has been replaced by an oversized brown leather sofa with large rolled arms which was part of the roommate package. The furniture in the breakfast nook is on hold until we know if the leather roll-arm sofa will be bringing siblings with it and the drapes have shifted to neutral until the sewing machine moves in.
Well! My choices in this situation are to turn off the engine and abandon the trip or find an alternate route with as few bumps as possible. Unlike some, I don’t mind admitting that I need directions. So I’ll let the engine idle while I’m looking at the map.
I’ll let you know where we’re headed once I figure it out.
Robin Siegerman is a Registered Interior Designer and award-winning Certified Kitchen Designer with a showroom at Designers Walk. When she’s not designing man-caves or mansions, she can be found on her website: www.sieguzi.com.
Catch up on Robin’s Nest
- Putting his heart in a new home
- Designer dilemma: Getting the project to the finish line