WORKING WITH AN INTERIOR DESIGNER

As seen in SNAP magazine

Victoria has an extraordinary collection of great designers that can help you to improve your surroundings, while accommodating your needs and personal lifestyle.  For the size of our city,  Victoria has an extraordinary design industry that is an integral part of your community.  With Spring around the corner, you may be considering hiring an interior designer to help you improve a specific room in your home.  When you need medical advice, you call a doctor. When you need legal advice, you call a lawyer. Remember, your neighbor is usually “not” a designer and what worked in their place, may not be functional or needed in your own space.  There is a big difference in getting the right professional advice, personalized for your home.

 

Meade Design Group at work

 

People often think that a designer is an expensive luxury, but designers can actually help you save money.  At the end of your project, a designer’s cost in fees is actually close to those of a couple good quality appliances. Hiring a designer will give you the advantage to omit mistakes in your project.  A designer will be guiding you in what you need and what you don’t need in your home.  Interior designers truly understand your space and what you have to work with and can efficiently translate your wishes and desires into a reality.  For example, material selections are often about the choices made and how they are put together for a cohesive material/colour scheme, not about how expensive the choices actually are.   Designers provide you with the knowledge, experience and taste to bring your project to another level, and come together more smoothly. Designers can always work with a realistic budget to give you what you want. With a complete vision of your project they can correct things to help keep you in shape with your numbers. Hiring an interior designer who can understand your needs and knows how to maximize the use of your space is priceless. By engaging a designer, you keep everything coordinated.   They have strong relationships with contractors, trades and they know how to communicate their ideas and plans with them and get you what you want.

 

Ivan Meade & Echo Eaton

 

Interior designers usually work on an hourly or percentage basis.  Some important things to consider when hiring a designer are to evaluate their portfolio to see if their aesthetic is similar to yours, to check their years of experience in the business and their references, as well as a contract that spells out what the designer will do for you and what you will pay the designer is a must. As with anyone involved in your project, you need to check that the designer has liability insurance to protect your investment in them.  Always make sure your designer has your interests at heart. And don't hire a designer who won't listen to you when you talk.  Always be open to their new ideas and suggestions, if you work together you will be pleasantly surprised with how much an interior designer can improve your life.

MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011

Au Revoir, to the ‘Grand Dame of French Design’

Andrée Putman (23 December 1925 – 19 January 2013)

 

Meade Design Group was saddened by the recent passing of design legend, Andrée Putman. We wanted to include a tribute of her life and work in memoriam.

 

Andrée was one of the most recognizable names in interior design; her firm has conquered several projects globally from hotels, showrooms, museums, to offices, and some of the most memorable interior design projects around, including the first boutique hotel in the world, The Morgans Hotel in New York (once in 1984 - with the signature checkerboard tile, and again in 2008), and clientele such as Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and the one and only Karl Lagerfeld. She has also designed products for Christophle (Crystal), Montblanc (fountain pen), and Bisazza (Italian furnishings) and many others.

 

Interiors by Andrée Putman, Paris 2008

 

Her parents appreciated the arts and ensured she experienced art in all forms; music, museums and culture - it clearly paid off! Her formal education began with an education in piano and musical composition, however after being told that she would never be a concert pianist (like her mom), she decided to try another career.

 

After a brief stint as a messenger, where she worked with top magazines in her native France, exposing her to the world of design. Ever the proper lady, Mrs. Putman’s signature proper posture actually wasn’t a result of etiquette classes – she suffered a terrible bike accident as a young woman which sparked her zest for living life to the fullest.

 

Louis Vuitton Scenography, Paris, 2007

 

In her early 30s, Andrée Aynard became (as we know her today) Andrée Putman when she married Jacques Putman. Jacques was an art collector and critic as well as a publisher. He further exposed Andrée to the arts with his connections to the art industry (including Pablo Picasso!). Her career began pointing more and more toward design as she worked as the Art Director for the home department if the retail chain Prisunic where she would “design beautiful things for nothing”. Here she collaborated with Jacques on bringing great art to the masses by offering affordable lithographs by famous artists. Before long she was asked to be a part of a new textile industry company, Créateurs & Industriels, where she aided in the discovery of top designers. By her early 50s, Créateurs & Industriels went bankrupt and her marriage to Jacques ended. It was time to follow her true calling.

 

Morgans Hotel, New York, 1984

 

Morgans Hotel, New York, 1984

 

Morgans Hotel, New York, 2008

 

Andrée began working in interior design with her first studio, Ecart, showing a definite appreciation for the 1930s mixed with minimalism. “I loathe pompous luxury. I take interest in the essential, the framework, the basic elements of things.”

 

Ecart specialized in reissuing modernist French furniture. It was now the late 70s, but Ms. Putman’s big break didn’t come until 1984 when she took on a big project with a small budget: Morgans Hotel in New York. The hotel established her place in the design world and allowed her to show creativity with her famous checkerboard bathroom – using the most inexpensive tiles she could find to create a bold and graphic space which became the Hotel’s aesthetic launching point. She continued to break the rules, opening spaces and thinking outside of the box – she was one of the first people in France to choose loft living. After Morgans Hotel, Andrée Putman was in high demand.  …And 24 years later she was welcome back to update the Morgans Hotel with her signature look.

 

Anne Fontaine by Andrée Putman, New York, 2008

 

The Andrée Putman Studio was established in 1997 where she opened herself up to many aspects of design: interiors, products and scenography. She continued to make a name and style for herself and took on a variety of unique projects, each with a unique take and sense of humour.

 

Ten years later Andrée’s dream for her studio came to fruition when her daughter, Olivia Putman, was announced as the new Art Director. They continued to work together on a series of projects for Plevel (piano), Emeco (chair), RAC Paric (sunglasses), Toulemonde Bochart (carpets), Nespresso (coffee accessories) and many others. The firm also secured big scenography projects such as concerts and the Madeleine Vionnet exhibition. A monograph showcasing Andrée’s career was published in 2009 and the city hall of Paris hoted an exhibition in her honour in 2010 which received over 250,000 visitors.

 

Luminatore, Studio Putman Edition

 

Nespresso Collection, 2010

 

Sofa by Andrée Putman

 

Préparation Parfumée by Andrée Putman

 

Andrée Putman passed away in her apartment in the very city she lived all her vibrant days at the age of 87 this past weekend. She will be sorely missed.

 

 

Au Revoir, Madame Putman!

 

MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011

IN CONVERSATION WITH LORENZO CASTILLO

Lorenzo Castillo

 

What a great way to start 2013! – This conversation has been one of my favourites as it originally happened in Spanish (my native tongue), and what better way to introduce the best of the best in Spanish design to North America?

 

Lorenzo Castillo is definitely the strongest presence in Spanish design nowadays.  Castillo’s design aesthetic has defined a unique voice not only in Spain but in France, Shanghai, Hong Kong, U.S.A. and many other places around the globe where he has worked on projects  – When you see a project by Lorenzo Castillo you know immediately that his unique vision and talent is behind it – Whether it is a residence, a wedding for the princes of Spain, a yacht,  a five star hotel or one of the exclusive Loewe shops by LVH group.  Castillo always brings an element of unexpected elegance while creating each of his memorable spaces.    His work has been published in Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Marie Claire, Hola!, House and Garden, Attitude, Telva, Nuevo Estilo, and The New York Times.

 

Recently he has launched his own fabric line under the Gastón and Daniela brand.  A fresh take on design with one of the most sophisticated colour palettes I have seen in a long time.

 

Castillo’s appreciation for the past is evident in all his work. He holds a degree in Art History and has owned an antique shop since the 90’s.   His signature style is a mix of antiques with contemporary pieces.  Places and spaces that are timeless, but have a current vibe. 

 

I can’t wait to get Lorenzo’s input on design’. please read on to get in on the conversation…

 

Iván Meade – What was your first experience with design?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – I used to design for my own pleasure since my youth.  Design has always given me a very unique pleasure.  Perhaps my first experience with relevance was the design of the LOEWE shops for the LVMH group.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – What is the story behind Lorenzo Castillo – How and when did you start working in the interior design industry?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – I started in a very natural way.  I used to be really involved in the antique world, the use of antiques had a boom in Spain giving a really decorative feel to the spaces they were used in.  My clients started asking me to decorate their homes and the rest is history.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – What tip would you give to someone who is just starting in the profession?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – Open your eyes and see your surroundings very carefully and rediscover that hidden beauty.   Discover that unique moment that everybody misses and use it to your advantage.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – What has been the best piece of advice you have received?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – I remember the kind advice of an old decorator friend that told me to dedicate myself to something else, but I didn’t follow his advice – lol – Now being serious, the best advice I have received was to always be professional and always over deliver, as the new work will always come from that initial work.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – One of the qualities I really admire in your residential work is the mix of antiques with contemporary pieces. This is a very European design aesthetic in which you respect the past to make the present valid.  This is perhaps a parameter that identifies your style and the memorability of your projects.  How did you conceive this unique mix and how do you imprint your signature style in your projects?

 

Lorenzo Castillo –  The mix is always about intuition, it is quite difficult to establish rules for a successful interior.  There are mixes that work and others that look awful and don’t work.  This is part of a trained eye and the way you can balance harmony.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – How do you achieve a balanced harmony?  – I can see symmetry and classic lines in your projects but how do you give them a contemporary feel?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – Not all my work is symmetrical, actually I prefer asymmetry or the balance of different volumes.  I know that Greek or Roman classicism is based on order and balance.  I always base my designs on a classic root and I reinterpret this base from a more contemporary point of view.  Using a more up-to-date colour palette, and including the architecture of the space and as always, playing with light.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – Your use of colour is always very sophisticated which makes your projects really resonate with me.  How do you create your colour palette?

 

Lorenzo Castillo -  My colour selections are definitely the influence of the world around me.  I am always very attentive to see how a specific colour interacts with others.  Again, a visual harmony that you could see on landscapes, book covers, paintings or museums.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – How do you define luxury?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – Having your dream and perfect home.  Your home is a refuge for your taste and needs. 

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – What is your main luxury?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – Having the freedom to live in the way I want to live and being fortunate to have the perfect home for myself.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade –  What is the project that has given you the most satisfaction and why?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – Usually the last one, why? Because I really enjoyed my clients reaction and to see that I have created the perfect space for them.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – What is next for Lorenzo Castillo?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – Being grateful for the work I have received and continue working.  Spain is in a difficult economic time so I really feel blessed to have good projects on the horizon.

 

Interiors by Lorenzo Castillo

 

Iván Meade – Lorenzo, lastly, you have already created a stunning body of work with many mediums and styles. What would you like your legacy to be?

 

Lorenzo Castillo – I would like to leave a legacy as a person, not so much as a designer.  But I also understand that the legacy of a person always disappears and what is left is the ideas.  I think my legacy should be to leave an understanding that design is a constant search of harmony and balance; always inspired by colour, volume, and style - but adapting this to a modern and clean sensibility to create that special oasis for the individual who lives in that space.

 

I invite you to visit Lorenzo Castillo’s website at:

 

MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011