I recently returned from a trip to Toronto where I put the finishing touches on a client’s new home.
I have worked with my client for over 10 years, and apart from having transformed her children’s bedrooms, we renovated a kitchen, refurbished a deck and worked on almost every room in their house. The best part is that we also became very good friends in the process. So it was with a mix of excitement and sadness that I received the news of their relocation; excitement for the prospect of creating another home for my client and her family, and sadness since it would move us apart, at least geographically.
I asked my client if she had considered doing the move herself: “Yes – but only for a nanosecond! – Doing it by myself with the mistakes I invariably would make would have cost me time and money. I definitely had preconceived notions about what belonged together, what would fit together, and I would have either discarded a piece of furniture because I could not see it in a different context or brought pieces with me that I later would regret taking. I could not see what you saw”.
The process of downsizing from a large home in a Westchester Hudson River-Town to a 2 1/2 BR triplex in the center of Toronto was a challenge in and of itself. That this destination might not be a permanent end-station added further complexity since we not only had to decide what should go where but also what to keep and what to put in storage.
As with all good design, a cohesive plan encompasses more than its parts. Prior to coming up with the floor plan lay-out we spent a day at the “old” house going over every piece of furniture, art, and accessories, and made lists. I took the lists and started mapping out where things should go in general terms to make sure we could make it work.
Furniture groupings were broken up and put together anew. A sofa was now going to be matched with a rug from a different room, and that necessitated a re-upholstery and new pillow covers. We were lucky that I had kept every yard of fabric from the room where the rug previously resided so we were able to make the transformation on a budget. Artwork was re-assigned, and my client was amazed that: “we were able to use all the big paintings I otherwise thought would have to go into storage”.
As for art and furniture that we could keep, such as an important painting that had value but would not have brought any real proceeds from a sale was instead donated to a local museum in Rhode Island dedicated to this particular artist; artifacts were placed with antique stores on a commission basis with a caveat of a donation to a worthy cause should they not sell. So giving it up was not throwing it away.
Since this move was going to be one of their last, there was some downsizing that warranted new purchases. My client had sold the business she operated out of her home, and did not need the elaborate office paraphernalia that went with it anymore. At this time in her life she wanted the perfect little desk, beautiful enough to become a focal point in her new living room. We opted for a small and delicate design by Jens Risom for DWR, and a small glass desk lamp by Robert Abbey found at YLighting
Asked what she would have done differently had she been able to look into a crystal ball 25 years ago, my client said: “Except for our dining furniture, which we bought 25 years ago, most of the things we are taking with us were brought into our lives via your design, and that to me says: buy furniture that stands the test of time, it may be a bigger initial cost, but it’s better than throwing away unusable pieces. And buy art based on your taste, not based on a room setting, so you can move it around freely from room to room. Furniture purchases should have the future in mind.”
The entire process was delightful and easy, despite the fact that I had not seen the new apartment before the move. We worked on and off for about two months, via email, skype and face time, with drawings and lists of furniture, artwork, and accessories. Lists were revised and re-adjusted several times before the movers took it all away. So when I arrived for my 2 day visit all was in place and I literally only had to put the finishing touches on my client’s new home.