ANNE BURESH - Anne Buresh Interior Design Charlotte, NC. Jackson Hole, WY. www.anneburesh.com
How would someone be able to tell the design was yours? What makes your style significantly you?
My goal is to always design a space that celebrates the clients’ parts and pieces that make our lives. My designs tie those elements together for a unified and authentic story. I want your spaces to cultivate emotions and feelings that resonate when one’s life experiences are expressed through design. Your home should be a space where people feel comfortable and relaxed – where you can kick your feet up, enjoy each other’s company, and share a toast to the beauty of life.
I want to create serenity that is calming and fulfilling for our clients.
I always complete a project with a gift of a bowl of nuts – a nod to Southern hospitality.
Do you recommend the whole home to have similar colors or should each room be very individual?
Your home should have cohesive unity and balance. While each room may have its distinct use, the entire space should work together. I start my process by seeing the outside environ- ment, the exterior landscape, and the home’s architecture. I like to come through the front door, whether in-person or virtually, to get a sense of the home’s aesthetics. My goal is to bring in the soft, serene colors from the environment that are naturally soothing. I like to introduce calming colors at the beginning in the foyer. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and the entrance is the introduction for the feeling of the home and sets the tone and the connection that flows throughout the rest of the home.
FIONA LEONARD - Fiona Leonard Interiors www.fionaleonardinteriors.com
Is the enthusiasm for lacquer paint growing? Where / How do we best incorporate this?
Lacquer is still exciting and its a great way to incorporate a different texture into a space. Lacquer paint is here to stay. Most rooms have layers of soft fabrics, textured rugs and flat paint finishes. Introducing lacquer is a way to break up the monotony of those matte elements and provide the aha “caught my eye”moment. While lacquered walls have been all the rage, we like to think about what’s next, what else can be lacquered? We turn to lacquered game tables, entry tables, bench legs and sconces. These are elements that don’t bombard you, you discover them as the room unfolds. entry table - photographed by Davidson McCuolloh
Finish! Go the extra mile, put that beautiful last layer on. What does that mean to you?
Nothing is more satisfying than putting the final layer on a room. While we could source all accessories from the beginning, we like to take a stepback at the end to see what final brushstroke is needed in a room; a slight- ly off-color throw, an eye-catching sculptural piece of pottery, fresh vi- brant greenery. These elements all bring a space to life. It is a home that should feel like people actually live there. Cohesion or contradiction? Pop or simmer?New Paragraph
CAREY KARLAN – Last Detail Interior Design - Darien, CT
What can I say I was young...(blunders)?
With so many hands touching every aspect of a project and the myriad of details involved it’s amazing more mistakes aren’t made. Certainly, I’ve done my share of using wallpaper upside down, applying a fabric inside out on upholstery, and having a few pieces of furniture land on the sidewalk as I didn’t calculate the dimensions of the back hall and freight elevator carefully. Really, every installation has its own little surprises...
My most epic color fail was personal, public and recent! I thought it would be charming to paint the front door of my new antique home, “Rose Cottage”, a soft pink. The first color went up while I was at work and I was horrified to come home to a raging Day-Glo flamingo pink. My neighbors were concerned, someone was taking pictures (not in admiration) and I feared it would cause distracted driving. I could hear the universe screaming “and you call yourself a designer”. Low and behold I redeemed myself on the second try!
Go the extra mile, last layer:
The last layer should be personal. I don’t like interiors where you can’t learn anything about the owner when you are in the room. It’s a home not a showroom. I love to see collections, children’s art, hobbies, family pictures, dog beds, favorite slippers--any sign of real life displayed. A designer can help you arrange your beloved things, so they don’t look like they’re out of place and askew. It’s more important that a home be personal rather than perfect.
CHRISTINA ROUGHAN - Roughan Interiors Greenwich, Ct. New York, NY. www.roughaninteriors.com
Is the wallpaper trend going to continue?
Yes, wallpaper tends to ebb and flow more in the magazines and media, but for a designer it is a staple. Sometimes it might be more textural and tonal like grass cloths and silk wallpapers, but other times it can be all about big bold patters or more subtle and an allover pattern. It’s all about the room and the right application.
Wall paper is now both modern and traditional.
If I could team up with anyone?
Bewitched, so I could blink and the entire room would be finished.
Have you ever designed an entire room around a single piece of art?
Yes, I have and it was an amazing process as we loved the art.
The most uncomfortable position you were put in while working on a job site?
Opened the door and a prospective socialite
client who answered with a towel around his waist and nothing else. He then proceeded to show us around the apartment and introduced us to his girlfriend who was in his bed covered by just sheets. Awkward, a little. Funny, yes!
Finish! Go the extra mile, put that beautiful last layer on. What does that mean to you?
Art and curated accessories that last forever!New Paragraph
BETH KEIM - Lucy and Company - Charlotte, NC. www.Lucyandcompany.com
Kitchen remodels are on the rise. It is a great opportunity to flex creativity . What are this years suggested trends to stay ahead of the kitchen game?
I just updated my own kitchen.. out with the white cabinets and in with the wood! My home was built in 1921 and I adore all the quirks that come with it but being creative on space is always a challenge. Rather than hiding my pantry I made it a focal point by mixing pretty with functional. Taking the amazing reeded doors on the new pantry and continuing on the walls!
Is the enthusiasm for lacquer paint growing? Where / How do we best incorporate this?
I love lacquer. It’s always a goal to mix different textures throughout the home, and lacquer is one of them to mix in with the flat, textures, wall papers and plaster!!
Have you ever designed an entire room around a single piece of art?
Absolutely ! Well not a single.. but a pair Artist: Teresa Roche
What was your biggest blunder?
I didn’t measure the turn on stairwell wall for a sofa very well ,you can fix a wall, so we cut into it!!
Finish! Go the extra mile, put that beautiful last layer on. What does that mean to you?
Art, for sure.
