From China to America and Back Again!
We are happy (and sad) to announce that our talented Project Designer, Jessica Liu, has left our San Diego office to join our Shanghai team! Jessica started her career with Andesign, Inc. in La Jolla, CA during the fall of 2015. After one year as a Design Assistant, she has been promoted to a Project Designer role and grown to be an integral member of our international company. Back in Shanghai, she will wed her high school sweetheart and continue to contribute her creative multi-tasking, bilingual talents to both continents. If one thing is for sure... there will be much fighting over her time between our domestic and international offices! We miss her already and wish her all the best! BY MELISSA DALTON Alison Davin’s San Francisco-based firm, Jute Interiors, specializes in crafting home interiors from start-to-finish, from space planning to final furniture selection. She gave us her top tips for getting the furniture to fit just right. 1. Ergonomics are fundamental "We always start with function," says Davin. "Having something fit your ergonomic requirements trumps what it looks like in the space." This means Davin reviews all of the uses for a particular piece and makes sure to incorporate the client’s personal preferences. For instance, she might place a higher-backed sofa before the television so that tall family members don’t have to lie down every time they watch a show. In the dining room, Davin often hears the request for "three hour chairs," meaning seats need to be comfortable for long meals. Lastly, she says to check with the whole family before making a final purchase. "Weigh in with all the different family members and get their ergonomic requests," she says. Everybody sits in the sofa differently, so having everyone try it out first is important to avoid costly returns. 2. Double-check dimensions Catalog photos are deceiving, says Davin, and never depict the size and scale of items accurately. "Definitely look at the dimensions before you order something that you haven’t seen [in person]," she says. Ask yourself how a piece will fit in the intended room, as well as how it will be transported there. The latter is too often overlooked. Davin has heard many stories from clients about furniture-buying attempts that ended up with their purchase never actually making it in the house. "It didn’t fit in their freight elevator or through their front door," she says. Before buying, use painter’s tape to block out where the piece will go in the room and take measurements of all the doors and stairwells it will traverse to make it home. 3. Consider construction Davin suggests doing a bit of research into where a piece of furniture was made and its materials, in order to avoid products that might contain harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde or fire retardants. Both substances have historically been common in furniture construction. Formaldehyde is currently found in wood glue, while fire retardants are often in upholstery foam. While it’s not possible to completely avoid contact with these chemicals, making more informed purchases might lessen your exposure via their off gassing.
To do so, Davin endorses US-made products over imports, and buying solid wood over composite wood construction. "Many US retailers are sensitive to using hardwood versus composite wood that’s glued together with formaldehyde," she says. "In the states there’s a lot more hardwood being used and it’s not only a better product, it’s going to last longer and it doesn’t off gas." Here’s a roundup from the Environmental Working Group of five couches without fire retardants that can be bought from large retailers, including Ikea, Room & Board, and Crate and Barrel. 4. Don’t be afraid to go bigger Assessing whether a piece of furniture is proportional to the room and to the other pieces around it, or understanding if you got the scale right, can be tricky for non-designers. "If somebody can’t necessarily figure it out, I think it’s always good to not be afraid of larger pieces," says Davin. She says that clients often assume that a tall armoire or a large sectional will make a space feel cramped, but she finds the reverse to be true. "If positioned correctly, larger pieces can often make a room feel bigger," she says. "Putting a lot of small pieces in a small room just makes the room feel smaller." 5. Balance shapes To get a pleasing mix of furniture pieces in a single room, Davin suggests varying their basic shapes. "What I typically do is count up how many rectangles, diamonds, and circles are in a space," she says. Then she makes sure one shape isn’t overly dominant in the scheme. "For instance, if you have a round lampshade and a round mirror above a fireplace, then maybe you do a rectangular coffee table and a rug that has a graphic pattern, just to balance out the shapes," says Davin. 6. Try vintage or custom Davin always prefers scouting out vintage furniture or having something custom built for a space, rather than buying from big box retailers. "Usually we will start with vintage stuff and then build [the room] around them," she says. "You’ll probably be able to go to a retailer and fill in the blanks with the leftover dimensions." When shopping for vintage, she has just one suggestion: "Find things that you absolutely love." If having custom goods built to your specifications seems too intimidating, Davin proposes purchasing a custom rug. "If somebody’s going to shop at a chain store and buy everything there, I would recommend that they then go to a carpet retailer where they might buy wall-to-wall carpet," she says. "Give them the dimensions and have them take one of their rugs and bind it to the perfect size, because having a rug that is custom to the space can elevate the room more than anything else." Read the original article on curbed.com. EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: EMILY TABER-MOORE, SENIOR DESIGNER
Working as a team from overseas, our La Jolla and Shanghai offices created a stunning design proposal for a high-end law firm in Taiyuan, China. Stateside, our Senior Designer created a concept design for the law office and then worked closely with our Shanghai office to have realistic renderings produced. The design was based on catering to a high-end clientele -- showcasing luxury features with a diamond-etched glass wall and contemporary marble flooring. Warm wood tones and soft carpeting were implemented throughout the space to balance the modern details.INSPIRATIONRECEPTIONVIP LOUNGEOPEN WORKSPACECONFERENCE ROOM |
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August 2017
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