designingMINDS
TB: The other thing it does is give value.
When we get a residential client, we give
them a written questionnaire and we will
also ask them for a visual idea book. I
always refer them to Houzz and Pinterest
or magazines to pull from. I want to see
what they like and don’t like. Sometimes
it’s like pulling teeth to get that because
they are afraid to commit or afraid to
express. Yet, they will go to a store, buy
their own wardrobe and express them-
selves that way. Their written expression
is 9 times out of 10 different than their
visual. You need to get a little bit of that
conflict. It’s like if someone asks me if I do
contemporary. It depends on what that
term means to them — it means some-
thing different to everybody. Is it white-
on-white-on-white or polished and shiny
— or is it just a little clean-lined furniture?
IA: And transitional has become kind of a
catch-all.
SH: Essentially everything is transitional.
It’s gone from traditional to Mediterra-
nean and beyond.IA: And the traditional moniker seems to be
what everyone is steering away from.
TB: I think you have to call it classic or
classical. Saying something has a classic
appeal to it means that it’s timeless and32 INTERIOR APPEAL | ORANGEAPPEAL.COM