Great Design Starts with Storage

I had breakfast yesterday with a new colleague and friend whose company I very much enjoyed. Her name is Jennifer Carrel and she's an executive at Perkins Eastman, the largest architecture firm in New York City. We met at an exciting event at Lord & Taylor where a fellow undergrad alum, Jane Elfers, President of Lord & Taylor, spoke eloquently about the post-sale brand relaunch of L&T. Anyway Jennifer and I talked about the things women talk about: work, families, our wishes and dreams and of course, Jennifer's closets. First we discussed a freestanding wardrobe for clothing and the options, but as the conversation unfolded, the need for a small office area arose. While I made some recommendations, the dimensions of the room arose. We both came to the conclusion that the placement of the wardrobe in the proposed location would make a long narrow room even more long and narrow: not a good idea! Then we considered a window seat and supplemental storage on the opposite wall. While this discussion is to be continued, the important observation is as follows. Storage design, in the sense of both function and form, can define successful interior design! Great design truly does start with storage!

Keep the Wall Between Them: A Photo Example

Here's more info on my last post....

It's the shot I showed Patty Driver, an example of how Closet Revolution created a freestanding custom wardrobe that blends in with the architectural detail of existing closets and the overall room. A much better solution to expand closet space than knocking down a wall!

Keep the Wall Between Them!

I recently volunteered in NYC for my alma mater, Bucknell U, to help students with job searches. I met a friendly woman named Patty Driver from the career office in Lewisburg Pa. She happened to mention that in search of more closet space in her newly purchased historic home she was thinking of breaking down a wall between 2 back to back closets, in adjoining bedrooms, to create one big walk-in closet. I encouraged Patty to think creatively about custom freestanding wardrobes, styled to harmonize with the room's existing architectural detail and I showed her a shot from Closet Revolution. Much more cost effective than tearing down a wall and better to preserve a closet in each bedroom for resale value. Although we can't handle the project because it's out of our geographic region, we'd love to know how it's going.

Client Knows Best

Recently I designed some closets for a client, scheduled for installation shortly. Today she called and requested a section for dresses. Although she doesn't own many (mostly an elegant pantswearing professional gal!) she's having a dress custom-made for a special black tie event with her beau and doesn't want it crushed. So we're adding a long-hang dress section. AHA, a smart choice! We always try to balance client customization with resale value. Without the dress section, which most women need, something would be missing in terms of closet resale value should she sell the apartment. Way to go Pat! In retrospect, a very smart move!