Kim Vallee Interview: Part II

My buddy, Kim Vallee recently interviewed me for her entertainment and lifestyle blog. We talked about some hip places in Detroit. Here’s the beginning of the second part of the interview.

At Home with Kim Vallee (AHWKV): Which are your favorite home décor shops?

Jennifer: I enjoy:

• Bureau of Urban Living: super cool, funky gifts, housewares, and décor
• Mezzanine: the sell high-end European furniture and accessories
• The League Shop: dishes, silver, accessories, and gifts
• Vertu: vintage furniture and accessories
• Shine: where to get cool and funky accessories

To read the rest, and learn a bit more about what’s doing in Detroit, follow this link.

• Posted by Jennifer at 1:19 pm
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My Interview with Kim Vallee

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by my blogging pal, Kim Vallee. She writes At Home With Kim Vallee, and entertainment and life-style blog. We took some time to chat about interior design and blogging. We had a long talk, which she’s turned into three separate posts. Here’s an excerpt from part one (and no, I don’t like my hair in this picture).

At Home with Kim Vallee (AHWKV): When and how did you get into blogging?

Jennifer: I’ve always loved writing and have written free-lance pieces for magazines and newspapers for years. A blog gives me the chance to pursue my love for design and my love for writing. I decided to start a blog on an impulse. I had been forced to slow down my working life due to a hip injury. One day, while I was feeling particularly cranky about it, I decided that if I couldn’t practice my craft in real life (however temporary) then I’d write about it instead. I had no long-term plan, or any plan, for that matter. Two years later, I’m still writing. I feel lucky to be a person who’s vocation is also my avocation.

Follow the link to read the rest of the interview.

Thanks Kim!

• Posted by Jennifer at 11:14 am
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What’s Hot in Appliances: An Interview with Don Hurst

I spoke with Don Hurst today, owner of Hurst Appliance, about what’s hot in kitchen appliances. Here’s what he had to say:

DH: I know you sell high-end appliances. What brands, specifically?
Don: We carry an extensive line of products. That includes Sub Zero, Viking, Bosch, Thermador, and Miele just to name a few.

DH: What is the benefit of spending the extra money for a high-end appliance?

DH: Let’s talk about trends for a bit. There seems to be a lot of interest in color these days. Are customers really asking for things beyond the standard black and white?
Don: Yes. Our biggest sellers are stainless steel. It’s been strong for 7-8 years and it won’t let up any time soon. I believe stainless is here to stay because it’s so neutral.

Beyond that, we carry an Italian line called Bertazzoni, which offers real color. In fact, they get their paints from the Ferrari plant. Red is the best seller – no surprise there.

Bertazzoni’s ranges come in a wide variety of colors

Viking also offers a line in different colors. Viking blue is most popular. Beyond that, the custom panels that match the rest of the cabinetry are still very popular.

DH: What about the new technologies in cooking?
Don: When it comes to cook tops, induction is the hottest thing out right now. It’s electric, but cooks like gas. It’s very quick to heat up.

As far as ovens go, convection remains popular. There is also a pro range of gas ovens that have infrared broilers. With these there’s no mess whatsoever. And your steak comes out seared as if it were on a grill. It’s fantastic.

Liebherr Biofresh Refrigerator

DH: What about refrigeration? I noticed that you carry Liebherr.
Don: I’m very excited about the Liebherr line. They’ve created a new technology called Biofresh. It keeps meat fresh for ten days instead of three by maintaining a constant temperature just above freezing. It’s great for vegetables, too.

There are a lot of other reasons to be excited about it. For one thing, you can customize it, so you can build just what you want. And they’re coming out with a 36-inch French door style that’s the hottest thing on the market. It has a drawer below and a door above. Best of all, it costs a lot less than a Subzero. Liebherr run about $1,500 – $2,000 less.

DH: What are the big sellers?
Don: We sell a ton of Viking, Subzero and Thermador. Bosch is the best buy on the market for the dollar.

DH: Why don’t high-end appliances ever go on sale?
Don: They’re all sold everywhere for the same price. But, Bosch and Viking have packages where you save money if you buy several things.

Thanks, Don, for taking time out of your very busy day to talk to me. Hurst Appliance is located in St. Claire Shores, at 24524 Harper. Their phone number is: 586-778-8670.

• Posted by Jennifer at 4:26 pm
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• Tagged: Kitchen & Bath, Interview, trends

Kitchen Design: An Interview with Jim Morris from Grosse Pointe’s Morris Kitchen and Bath

Jim Morris is the owner of J. W. Morris Kitchen and Bath, located in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. I spoke to him recently about kitchen design. He offered up some great advice on how to go about renovating your old kitchen. Here’s what he had to say.

DH: Let’s start at the beginning. What’s your approach to kitchen design?
JM: I don’t take a whole lot of stock in the triangle thing. [This is a standard kitchen design procedure where the sink, stove and refrigerator are within a certain ratio.] We’re always working with older houses with constraints. That means we have to be more creative.

I design with function in mind first and aesthetics second. How the kitchen will work is very important.

DH: What’s the most important thing clients should think about before coming to see you?
JM: First, I recommend that they invest $30 or so in books and magazines on kitchens. Don’t dismiss a kitchen just because you don’t like the color, or a style. If you look closely, there might be things you really like. Bookmark those, or start a tear sheet file of things you really like.

Also, a client should think carefully about how they use their kitchen. What kind of appliances do they want? By that I mean do they need one oven or two? Do they want a large microwave? It is a one-cook or two-cook kitchen?

DH: What’s the biggest mistake people make?
JM: It’s more challenging to design for a client who comes in with a preconceived notion that won’t work, such as a peninsula or an eat-in kitchen. We work mostly in an area where the homes are older and space is predetermined. Getting your heart set on something without considering the reality of the space is not a great idea.

DH: What trends are you seeing?
JM: Grosse Pointe usually bypasses trends as far as the overall design goes. As I said, the homes are traditional, older homes. If a client wants a more contemporary look, we’ll do something transitional so that it fits the style of the home. We work mostly with The Grabill Cabinet Company. They have full custom and semi-custom cabinets that are really well made. About 20% of our clients might ask for a lower end cabinet like Kraft Maid.

As for counters, granites are still popular, though we’re using the honed look more and more. It’s much warmer and softer. Limestone is fantastic. I personally like Silestone, though it’s a bit more expensive. The benefit is that you never have to seal it and it always looks the same whereas natural stones can vary in color.

DH: What is the average cost of a new kitchen?
JM: A renovation involving a complete tear-out typically runs about $70,000. That might seem like a lot, but we’re also bringing everything up to code. That means new electrical and plumbing.

DH: How do you charge for your service?
JM: The initial consultations and preliminary drawings are free. After that we charge a design fee, which ranges from $500-1,500.00, depending on the size of the job.

If a client wants to hire their own contractor, I recommend that they check for references, and make sure they’re licensed and insured.

DH: Is there any interest in “building green”?
JM: Personally, I’m a green freak. I’m always taking things out of the garbage and putting them in the recycling bin. To answer your question, there are more people coming in and asking about it. But we haven’t quite turned the corner on that one really because of the added cost.

A green kitchen adds about 15% more to the cost. When you’re already spending around $70,000 that can be quite a lot more. Lyptus cabinets, for example, are 20% more than Cherry.

DH: What’s really cool when it comes to kitchens?
JM: Built-in espresso coffee makers are great. Miele has a nice one, but it’s expensive. Thermador has one that’s more reasonable.

I also really like the new technology ovens – steam ovens. GE’s Advantium ovens use halogen light and microwaves. Other companies make them, too. They cook food eight times faster than a regular oven. With families being so busy these days, any time-saver is a fantastic thing.

If you’re interested in talking to Jim, here’s some information about the company. They have been in business for over 10 years and specialize in kitchens, bathrooms, libraries, offices, and home entertainment centers. Their designers work with clients through the process of product selection, preliminary layout, and final design. You can find J W Morris Kitchen & Bath at 17864 Mack Ave. in Grosse Pointe Farms. Their phone number is 313-886-4898.

• Posted by Jennifer at 8:00 pm
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Interview with Lighting Designer, Bob White

I met lighting designer, Bob White, when he taught my lighting class at The College for Creative Studies. He is a graduate of the school and returned to teach us about the creative possibilities that designing with light offers. Bob is an amazingly gifted designer, and his enthusiasm for his field is infectious.

His design firm, Illuminart, works on everything from churches to airports, from residential to water parks. His work sends him and his partners around the world. They’ve completed projects in the US, the Caribbean, Central America, Australia and the Far East. Bob was kind enough to talk to me about his passion for lighting and to pass along some advice on how to create drama with light in our own homes.

DH: You work in a very specialized field of design. What makes lighting so vital?
BW: On a basic level, we help the interior designer and the owner realize their vision. In a residential situation the owner might have an idea of how they want the place to look. Good lighting can help achieve their vision. More specifically, regardless of the materials used on a project, lighting will show them in their best or worst light. For example, we can work with a faux stone material and light it so that it looks like real stone. On the other hand, you can buy the best, most expensive marble imported from the far ends of the world, but if it’s not lit well it can literally look like plastic. I’ve seen that happen.

DH: Almost everyone has heard about ambient lighting and task lighting. But I don’t think most people think anything about lighting except to find a nice lamp and put it on the table next to the sofa. How can a Do-It-Yourselfer go about doing their own lighting plan for a room?

BW: When anyone is thinking about lighting they need to take the whole picture into account. We have to think about how the room functions and how the space is used throughout the day. Certainly we’ll need more light at night. But, the space may be used differently at night. Also, we have to think about how can we use the qualities of the room itself to best distribute light. A ceiling fixture may provide enough ambient light for a room. But if the ceiling has some beautiful detail, attention should be paid to that or the detail is lost.

DH: What particular things we should pay attention to?
BW: There are three things a person should think about - quality of light, quantity and accent lighting. There are two aspects to quality. First, what is the quality of illumination? It shouldn’t have a lot of glare. Then, there’s the quality of the fixtures, such as downlights [cans, or recessed lights] for ambient lighting. The glare the fixture creates, the trim rings, even the housing itself can vary greatly. Skip Home Depot and go to a good lighting showroom. They’ll let you know if you’re buying a quality fixture. Or, go to other people’s homes or restaurants where you like the lighting and ask what they used. Now we come to quantity. The trick is to balance ambient and accent lighting.

DH: By accent lighting you mean the lighting that adds some drama?
BW: Yes, this is what makes a room look beautiful. It’s easiest to plan the accent lighting first and fill in with ambient light second. Start with the fun stuff.

DH: How can we add drama?
BW: Organize the switching controls and dimmers so that you can adjust the light. Again, a good lighting showroom can help you make sure you have enough light. But, this is where you need to take a good look at the elements of the room itself. What can you accent? For example, a hallway will have some downlights on dimmers for ambient light. But adding one accent light on the wall at the end of the hall can set off the whole space. Don’t feel driven to accent light everything. Just popping one wall can make a huge difference. You can also add drama by thinking in the vertical plane, not just the horizontal plane. Use rope light to accent a cove ceiling.

DH: Popping a wall? You mean just a plain wall?
BW: You can do this with some adjustable downlights that throw a wash of light onto the wall. That can add a lot of drama. But don’t narrow the overall light too much or there won’t be enough light. Don’t fall into the trap of accent lighting everything. Choose one thing - even the ceiling - and accent that. You can also use uplights to wash a wall.

DH: Would you approach lighting a contemporary home differently than a traditional one?
BW: If we think of traditional rooms, we think of walls with wallpaper or wood detailing. So, we’re lighting a lot of texture. In contemporary homes the walls are typically smooth, no texture – more planes. So, we might do a scallop of light in a traditional home versus a smooth wash of light in a contemporary. I’d use the art as the opportunity to spot that.

DH: Are there any special tricks to lighting a face and the body? I’m thinking of dressing rooms, where all women want to look good. J. Crew does a horrible job with this. They have giant, glaring downlights and no accents. It’s like when you hold a flashlight up to your chin only in reverse. You can’t see what the clothes look like.
BW: Lighting a face is a question of balance. Things that are really task driven, like dressing rooms, have to start with the ambient light and then the accent lighting. Glare can be a big problem. And you need the accent light, like a sconce, to balance the light coming from above. But in most lighting projects, we start with the accents.

DH: What’s the biggest mistake people make with lighting?
BW: I think it’s forgetting about accent lighting. I remember this high-end housing development where they’d used some really exotic paneling in the houses and didn’t bother to light it. A lighting distributor did the lighting and they used a factory approach. It was an ocean of 8-inch downlights.

DH: You’re up to date on the latest technology. What’s the coolest thing coming out now?
BW: LEDs definitely are the coolest thing around now. They aren’t the solution for everything, but they’re very cool. The things you can do with them are limitless and they come in so many colors. They’re still very expensive, but they’re coming down in price. We’re currently working on a resort in the British virgin Islands. We’re using all LEDs to light the exterior. The resort is off by itself, so we don’t have to fight street lights. That means we can start with a much lower quantity of light and do something dramatic with a fraction of the energy.

DH: Tell me about a project you’re particularly proud of.
BW: Believe it or not, I’m really proud of the work I did relighting the Detroit tunnel. [The tunnel that runs under the Detroit River between Detroit and Canada.] The roadway is designed so that the driver goes up an incline and then right out of the tunnel into blinding sunlight. That was causing a lot of accidents because the drivers didn’t have a chance for their eyes to adjust. I added a gradual increase of light to acclimate them before they left the tunnel. It actually saved lives and I’m really proud of that.

DH: What are you working on now?
BW: I think I mentioned the resort in the BVI’s. We’re working on another hospitality project in Northern Michigan, a casino in Texas, and residential work throughout the country. We’re even doing an exotic dance club.

DH: What are your favorite lighting websites?
BW: Lightsearch.com is a great one for more commercial things. [A more experienced DIY-er can find some great things here.] I also like LightingUniverse.com. They’re great for hospitality and residential and they give you pricing.

DH: I know you’re hopping a plane tomorrow for an overseas flight, so thanks for giving me the time for this interview.
BW: It’s been my pleasure.

• Posted by Jennifer at 7:07 pm
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• Tagged: Lighting, Interview

Designer of the Week: David Moser

I had the fortunate experience of talking to David Moser, the principal designer at Thomas Moser Furniture, which has been making hand crafted furniture for more than thirty years. And, in a world where almost everything we buy today is made in China, Thomas Moser remains in Maine. Their Freeport showroom (one of eight) is the next town over from where my Grandfather lived. That’s where I first saw and admired their furniture. I’ve always loved the clean, somehow-modern-yet-timeless design of their furniture. Now they’re coming out with new designs, such as the Edo. I asked David about his new designs and where Thomas Moser fits into the larger world of furniture design. Here’s what he had to say.

Design Hole: Moser furniture is often compared to Shaker. How do you characterize the Moser “style”?
David: I think of our style as an amalgamation of Shaker, Japanese, and Danish design aesthetics. For example, Thos. Moser is like Shaker in that when we make a joint we embrace it as part of the design. We don’t hide anything.

Two occasional tables

Design Hole: You have some new lines, like Edo, and Vida. Why did you decide to branch out?
David: My father came up with 20 good things, such as the New Gloucester Rocker. For the next 20 years we used those designs to build the business to a place where we now have showrooms around the country. Those 20 good things allow me to create new pieces.

New Gloucester Rocker

Design Hole: Are you the principal designer at Thomas Moser?
David: Yes, about 10 years ago my father said he would retire. We hired a company to take over the business end of the company. It freed me up so I could design full time. I fancy myself more as a creator and an artist than a furniture designer. I love doing new things. I need to take everything I learned yesterday and apply it in a new way tomorrow.

Vita Dining Table

The new Vita dining table is a risk for me. I designed it and I decided to run with it. We don’t do focus groups. I would rather ask for forgiveness than for permission. I believe this new design will have an impact and will do well.

Design Hole: Sustainability is a big deal these days. Everyone claims to be Green, but you’ve always had that reputation. Why?
David: We use a lot of lumber from Collins Pine. They got an award from Global Green, which is run by Mikhail Gorbachev, as the first lumber company to raise sustainable Black Cherry. But we’ve never advertised that fact because I feel that those people who really know about our company know that we’re a company with integrity. All our wood comes from sustainable growers. We just don’t pay for the audit to certify it.

Pieces from the Edo collection

Design Hole: Who are your favorite designers?
David: I don’t look to fashion. We’re not trying to satisfy the next trend. I don’t go to design shows. We just do what we do.

Design Hole: How do you see yourself relative to furniture artisans like George Nakashima?
David: Others made George Nakashima famous. He had a particular way of working and he was discovered. The outside world really decides who or what the next big thing is going to be.
In my opinion, his body of work was very narrow. He designed a few things and then never took it further. Nakashima stayed so myopic. He couldn’t recreate himself.

George Nakashima and his Conoid Chair

I do the work that I do and I hope that people like it. I derive great happiness and joy in the work that I create and if people recognize the work that I do and it impacts future designers that would be wonderful. But I don’ t know if I’ll ever receive that kind of recognition.

What we do is timeless and it takes a long time for that to be proven. And it’s not for me to prove.

A writing desk from the American Bungalow collection

Design Hole: What makes a piece of furniture timeless?
David: It’s a piece that doesn’t try to make an overt statement. It can stand alone in a room and have a dignified presence. Yet it can also yield to other more outspoken pieces in a room and still have meaning. No matter how short the skirts get, the piece still looks good.

I like working with just a few elements. It’s a real challenge. If you make something really simple that’s also beautiful, it will stand the test of time. That’s hard to do because with only three components because you can’t hide imperfections.

The Hawthorne Dining Chair

Design Hole: I’m reading a new book by Dana Thomas called Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster. Basically, it’s about how we used to pay a lot of money for something because the quality was better. Now, the quality is in some case worse, yet we’re paying more for a designer’s name. Do you see that happening in your business?
David: I think that pertains to Dakota Jackson. Someone is being exploited and someone else is getting rich. Stickley Furniture is made in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

We stayed in Maine even though it costs us and arm and a leg. The United States is not a place for manufacturing, so it costs a lot to pay a living wage to a worker. Our average employee has been with us for 10 years. That’s why our prices are what they are. Thomas Moser is cost based. So the price we charge for our furniture starts at the lumberyard and goes all the way up to the packaging.

Eastward Arm Bench

Design Hole: What advice would you give to a young designer?
David: Find your own voice and be true to yourself. If it’s a design that has an impact for the greater world it will have success. But design for yourself, not for the world. You won’t necessarily be a financial success, but money shouldn’t define success.

Thomas Moser Furniture will open its ninth showroom in Los Angeles soon. You can see their furniture and read more about the company by visiting their web site here. Don’t forget to tell them that Jennifer at Design Hole sent you! And thank you David, for taking time from your busy day to talk to me.

UPDATE: I wanted to clarify David’s statement regarding Stickley furniture being manufactured in Vietnam. I confirmed via Stickley’s website that they have a line called Antiquities, which is made in Vietnam. The remainder of their furniture is made in the USA. Just wanted to clear that up.

• Posted by Jennifer at 7:22 pm
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• Tagged: Furniture, Designers, Green, Interview

Mezzanine Interview with Joe Posch

Here’s some great news for Detroit as well as for those of us who appreciate modern design. Joe Posch is putting the finishing touches on Mezzanine, which he has relocated from Ann Arbor. The new store is on the second floor of The Merchant’s Building on the corner of Broadway and Grand River. Joe was kind enough to take a few minutes from the hectic pace that always accompanies an impending grand opening, to talk to me about his store and his opinions on design in general. Here’s the interview.

DH: Why did you decide to move Mezzanine to Detroit?
JP: More and more of my clients were coming from Detroit where there’s more interest in modern design. I also wanted to be in an urban environment and most Detroiters are familiar with the building.

DH: What lines do you carry? Will you have accessories for sale?
JP: We carry the best in modern furniture. Knoll, Moooi, Artifort, to name a few. We also sell lighting and accessories like Jonathan Adler. We were was one of the first stores anywhere to carry Adler.

DH: I love accessories. What else besides Adler?
JP: We have Allesi, Rosenthal and some other smaller producers. I think it’s important to have a good mix of the big names and smaller outfits who offer great design, but are up and comers.

DH: That’s a full plate.
JP: Yes. Our plan is to open with the furniture, lighting and accessories and in a couple of months add a separate area for books, magazine and lifestyle products focused on design. We’ll have a tabletop and barware section as well as a bridal registry. We also sell things online. We’re available to all your readers.

DH: What are your thoughts on the currently saturated (in my opinion) mid-century modern trend? What will be next?
JP: I think there will always be purists who like the minimal aesthetic. The key is that certain pieces are timeless; they’ll never go out of style. But I think we’re beginning to see movement into a more eclectic look; an iconic Knoll sofa, with pieces from other eras to shake things up a little. This is reflected in what we sell. We’ve got a mix of both the iconic and modern pieces from today’s top designers.

DH: IKEA recently moved into the area. Do you think their presence will increase Mid-Westerners’ appreciation for modern design?
JP: I think not just mid-westerners, but Americans in General understand the Scandinavian aesthetic that IKEA offers. Natural materials and lots of craft in their work. You see the same thing in Shaker designs. We have a lot of Scandinavian designers at Mezzanine. It’s more accessible to Americans.

DH: Any other thoughts you’d like to share?
JP: I really would like people in the area to spend more time shopping at the independent retailers instead of running to the mall. It’s the only way to find a look that will be different.

DH: Thanks Joe and good luck with the new store. Here are some important facts: Mezzanine will open around the first of April. It’s located on the 2nd floor of the Merchants Building located at 206 E Grand River. The store hours are Wednesday through Saturday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm and Sunday 12:00pm – 5:00pm. The phone is 313-887-0900.

• Posted by Jennifer at 2:46 pm
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• Tagged: Detroit, Furniture, Interview