How to Get Your Client to Sign-Off

 

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words. A client who wants to go a bit more modern without giving up her classic pieces couldn’t picture what I meant by “mixing it up a bit”, so I took a few hours to do these couple of drawings for her…sure enough, we are going ahead with the custom pair of nightstands and TV credenza for the MBR.  Talking with your hands can only take you so far.

Also, the toilet has been moved to create a symmetrical hallway to the bathroom, and a bathroom vanity area. The client thought it would make the room feel to small (still trying to convince her on that one). I would go for room that works before size in a minute. But, like I always say, I don’t have to live there.

Interior Design, Furniture Design and Renderings by Michelle Morelan, 2010

 

Best, Michelle

Bergere Love

Rendering and Design by Michelle Morelan, 2010

The lines, the feathers, the piping, just the right ratio of wood to fabric…I love the proportions of the Bergere. Jazz it up with a new linen and wood finish.

Bonjour!

  

Some French chairs that didn’t make the cut for my portfolio…but I think are still worthy in some way. I just love the lines of French furniture…don’t you? Such sexy curves.

Biedermeier is Yummy!

Met Home, March 2009, Interior Design by Larry Laslo, Photography by Grey Crawford

The word Biedermeier comes from the titles of two German poems, and refers to an era of literature, music, architecture and furniture.

The style was strong between 1815 and 1848 (the Vienna Congress to the end of the Napoleonic Wars). Biedermeier corresponds to the English Regency style, French Empire, and the American Federal style. It also extended into Scandinavia.

Urbanization, a new middle class, and growing political oppression all influenced the style. Beidermeier writers were mostly middle class.

Biedermeier is simple and elegant in it's lines, and without ornamentation, making it a treat for true modernists who believe in truth in materials, and lack of ornament. Some say it later influenced the Bauhaus and Art Deco periods. It was a rebellion against Romantic fussiness, and was commissioned by the middle class, eager to show their new found wealth.

Even know the style grew out of the French Empire period, local materials such as cherry and pearwood were stained to imitate the more expensive timbers.

There was a revival of the Biedermeier style after the Vienna Arts Museum Expo made it a focus in 1896, that lasted up until the fascination with Art Deco.

I recognize the style by the feminine lines, simplified curls, the burl type woods, Regency and Federal references, and black accents. It's one of my favorite styles of furniture, and this month, Met Home had the most beautiful Biedermeier style chaise on the cover. Of all things, it is set in a Rammed Earth house! I love watching this mix happen over time.

What do you think of Biedermeier?

Info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biedermeier

Interior Design and Decoration, Whiton and Ambercrombie, Prentice Hall Publishers

Mrs. Robinson Goes to Washington

The Queen's Sitting Room

renderings by Michelle Morelan

There has been so much talk about the election, and I have been so warmed by the images of this beautiful young family moving into the White House. I didn't know until recently that Michelle's mother, Mrs. Robinson, is moving in as well. She is there to take care of her grand kids- what a great family!

Here is my idea for her sitting room, off the Queens bedroom. It's a cute little space in the corner of the building with two windows and a fireplace. A great place for the kids to gather, grandma to grab a book, have mother/daughter chats, and a place to escape all the chaos.

As an Interior Designer, I started with research...looking at the history of the spaces, heritage fabrics and furnishings, opening up a can of worms that would take months to sort through, then START designing from; so this design does not consider the research and history that is involved in a project like this!

Good luck to Michael Smith; and I can't wait to see what you come up with! I read on Wickapedia that there is a whole storage "shed" full of antiques and art from renovations through the years. Can you imagine walking through there, and getting to chose from these items? It's more than that though...each piece has meaning and respect must be paid to the histories and the stories they represent.

The mirror over the fireplace is original to the room, and the seamless door style as well, but the remainder of the space is changed...with all due respect :)

The Queens sitting room is in blue, on the 2nd floor of the White House; the residential floor

The room now...I could work with the carpet, and possibly the chest...everything else must go!

rendering by Michelle Morelan

beautiful tables

I saw pieces by Live Edge Design, a company out of Duncan on the Island, at the Interior Design Show last year. The headboard with nightstands was on display, and looked great! Each piece is unique and special. They have respect for the material, and salvage trees brought down by storms and left behind by logging companies.

Long Beach Lodge, the Wick, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge and Tigh-Na-Mara Resort all use their pieces.

Some of their pieces give you the choice of character maple or uniform maple. Both are amazing, and offer options for the Designer.

There is something warm and primal about these tables, which I would own in a moment. I have to say, the combination of the chairs and table together are a bit much for me (in most situations), so marrying them with say a mid century modern chair in a plastic...maybe the Panton in white...that's exciting.

With design, it's about giving the intended amount of tension, juxtaposition, contrast and mixing form, colour and all the other design principles in harmony. The intended amount of each of these, and following through with their balance as you make decisions in the "real world" is what gives the Interior Designer real value in a project. That's why I went to school for 4 very long years!

Live Edge Design is amazing to deal with...see their stuff here!

Below is the common area of Long Beach Lodge, and the Wick on the Beach sitting area.

My Favorite Chair

Hans J. Wegner

It was love at first sight...when I first saw Wegner's Three Legged Chair at Alda Pereira's office during a work tutorial. Alda was my mentor for our final year mentorship program at Kwantlen, and her office and material boards were inspiring. It's where I first saw Cole and Son's "Woods" wallpaper, FLOR carpet tiles, 3Form products, Inform and the Wegner designs.

That lead me to the Wishbone chair by Wegner; it is simple yet complicated. Wegner's inspiration was classical portaits of Danish merchanants sitting on Ming Chairs, adding "... it was rather a continuous process of purification, and for me of simplification, to cut down to the simplest possible elements..." I like this black version.

We toured the home of Nancy and Neils Bensen as a site tutorial trip at school (someone at school worked in the Inform showroom), and was not surprised to see that they had perfectly used them around a simple very modern table. The lines of the chair were the interest, and the white kitchen confirmed that furniture design was thier life. The furniture popped against the simple lines of the modern house, which was inspired by Eames Case House #6. Bensen has a great sofa...the Canyon...check out thier website.

more yummy stuff from Harchow

Harchow does it again! I love the form of both of these items