Client relationships – in it for the long run

One of the most joyful aspects of being a designer is having long term relationships with clients. One of my favorites was a lovely couple who wanted a smashing mastersuite makeover in order to help sell their oceanside home. With spectacular views of the Atlantic ocean just outside the bedroom, the owner wanted to capture the color and essence of what makes the ocean such a desirable location.

We chose to go with a fairly monochromatic color palette that emphasized texture and movement – from the swirl pattern on the carpet to the strie pattern drapes that looked like falling rain. This color was the exact shade of the ocean on a sunny summer day.

The main bedding fabric is this Robert Allen velvety soft chenille called Orly, colorway Spray. The bedroom was finished just in time for the first open house. The house sold that right away and within six weeks, my lovely clients were off to their new digs in sunny Florida. (I just know they miss the cold New England winters!!). Meanwhile, much of their new bedroom softgoods also went with them. Since they moved, I have had a beautiful silk table skirt made and shipped to them and I am now in the process of designing bedding for their new king-size four poster bed. The bedspread is basically the same as the original, just sized differently, but we are going with new, more upholstered looking pillows.

The new bed is still a four poster, but with a massive headboard and fairly simple side and end rails. Below is my first sketch idea for three upholstered pillows, approximately 21″ sq. There would be a gathered “border” and a big button detail in the center. The three pillows will be able to stand up against the headboard without buckling (unlike pillow shams) and will be made to be soft enough to sit back upon. My concern with standard box pillows was that they seemed too hard for a bed. So I decided to add the gathered detail which I think softens the look. This will be in either the main fabric (above), or if that proves too bulky, a plain silk.

Just waiting to see what the client thinks. More to come!