Most of the time, working with an interior designer on a project for your home is fun, creative and satisfying. I mean, what's not to love about letting a style guru with access to gorgeous, exclusive products guide you through fabrics, wallcoverings, lamps and furniture?!

 But every now and then your designer might tell you something that's decidedly un-fun. Maybe they deliver the news that something you planned to keep is making your home look dated and unappealing. That something you had your heart set on just isn't going to work. Or that you actually do need to invest in something you'd hoped to sidestep.

Now that you know from this post all the ways trade furniture is better than retail furniture in terms of the actual pieces themselves (higher quality, longer lasting) and the impact the much greater selection and customization options have to how your rooms can look and feel, let’s talk about the less tangible benefits.

When you’re making big decisions and investing in anything you’re entitled to have a good service experience with product and service providers you can trust. It’s also vital that you know you’re making wise choices with your investment that you won’t regret later.

Our clients came to us wanting help to design a new guest cottage on their lakeside property. They, of course, wanted it to be comfortable for guests, but they wanted the cottage’s footprint to be kept as small as possible while including as much storage as possible.

That meant using every space creatively, finding clever ways to tuck storage in anywhere and everywhere we could and making sure not a single square foot of space was wasted.

This was such a fun client project for us to tackle! Small spaces are always challenging (and particularly when they need to be highly functional as this little guest cottage by the lake does). But problem solving is kind of our thing, so - challenge accepted!

This was a new build (the “Old” part of “New Old” comes from our clients’ request that we make it look and feel like it’s been there forever, slowly evolving over time). The main goal was to keep the cottage’s footprint as small as possible while adding as much storage as possible. And since it's going to play host to a parade of guests at all ages and stages, the finishes, furnishings and textiles need to wear well.

 We employed some clever storage solutions and used indoor/outdoor products throughout the house to meet those needs, then leaned on a fresh blue and white color palette, stylish area rugs and just about the coolest light fixtures ever to make each room truly special.

It’s true! Long before we got our hands on it, this small-but-mighty kitchen led a much-remodeled life, first as an 18th century tavern and later as a private home.

When the current owners came to us, it was a dark and dated 1980s-style space. It did the job as far as cooking was concerned, but it wasn’t pleasant or efficient for the family to use.

Most people get a bit antsy when we start talking about how much money will be required to accomplish their interior design project.