Through the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) Student Mentoring Programme, I was recently fortunate enough to spend a day at interior design agency; Tessuto.
I started my day by searching for a coffee table and a lamp for a show flat in Devon. They were needed because…
… the originally intended pieces were unavailable, so I was able to use the originally intended pieces, together with concept boards, room plans and the rest of the scheme for inspiration.
I was then very lucky to tag along on a site visit. Two reception rooms in a London home had been knocked into one, to form an open plan lounge and playroom. It was really interesting to realise just how much of an iterative process real-live design is. When I do coursework, I am working in a bubble – I decide what I’m going to do and then draw it all up. In real life; clients change their minds, things look different once on site and builders have their own ideas about how things should be done. I was really impressed by how collaborative it was. Designers have to be flexible – they’re working towards a solution for their clients, which might end up being quite different from what they originally conceived.
After lunch I documented all the rooms in the largest family home in W1 – nine bedrooms,three ballrooms, a cinema, a basement pool and a roof terrace to name but a few of the many, many rooms. Tessuto have just been hired to carry out a complete renovation – what an exciting project! I made them promise to let me come back and have a look when it’s all done!
I then carried on sourcing items for the show flat in Devon – the brief was to find mirrors or pictures for a hallway. I suggested a large silver mirror, a collection of smaller mirrors, or empty frames to draw attention to sections of the gorgeous wallpaper being used on the wall behind.
I had a wonderful day and must say a massive thank you to Susie, Lisa, Gemma and Tibby, who really looked after me (I was only allowed to make one round of tea!) and spent lots of their time talking me through projects and answering my many questions.
