As with all design process, the start to finish takes many steps. Luckily with bespoke upholstery, it's possible to influence the finished design to suit your taste or room design.
I do believe that a home or office that has been designed with the individual in mind is always going to be more successful than a room filled with generic furniture and no thought or consideration given to light and colour.
I'm at my happiest when I know that I've saved an item of furniture from either ending up at the dump or sat in the back of a junk shop, slowly decaying. The three photos give you a glimpse of my starting point for next few pieces of furniture that I'm actually working on at the moment. As much as I love to work with a client and produce something unique for them, I know that for a lot of people it's not possible to wait the three to six weeks for a piece to be completed, so when time allows I work on projects that come to the Studio looking for a new home. It's exciting to be able to choose the finishing touches and let my imagination flow, especially when I've saved a little reproduction Queen Anne chair from the skip or as happened last summer I was able to purchase an early Victorian iron back nursery chair that was destined for the dump, as it really had seen better days and doing a little dance of joy when I found, not one but four boxes that needed new homes.
As with most design, it's a case of finding the inspiration needed for each project. Sometimes, it's seeing a remnant of fabric that you fall in love with, or a trip to the garden centre or picking up a book or a magazine. Anything that gives you that starting point, can inspire you to then choose your actual top fabric, what colour the legs will be - do I paint them or wax them, on the other hand maybe they should be varnished. If it's a toy chest for a luxury nursery do we want castors or feet, handles or buttons - contrasting piping or appliqued animals to a practical ticking. The choices are endless and as with all design it's knowing when to stop, just as much as it is where to begin !
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