STYLE
Clean lines expand the space; a feature alcove adds interest (www.modernarchitectureconcept.com)
Simple wood veneer combines tastefully with tile (www.bjoku.com)
In a classic open-plan living room, every item is contemporary (www.ikrunk.com)
Limiting a space to just three materials is a stylish option (www.ikrunk.com)
Taking responsibility Kinney, for one, isn’t afraid to lay some hot (style) messes at the feet of local designers. To him, things go wrong quickest when, “[Designers] do not believe in themselves and lack confidence in their work.” If you’re a waiter with a wilfully difficult customer, revenge can always be exacted by, shall we say, food additives (not that that happens). The media can make you look like a buffoon (read Hollywood wonder boy Aaron Sorkin’s recent profile in the Globe and Mail). But how does a designer wrangle with a client who’s gone way off the reservation? Simple. He can’t. “No matter what type of client they are, it is always their home, so at the end of the day the client gets the final say,” Monique concedes. “As a designer you need to respect that. I try to provide guidance to my clients and inform
60
September 2012
them of the choices, along with the pros and cons of each choice. How they choose to use that information is up to them.” And if they want gold-plated toilet seats, they’ll have them. Chan agrees, particularly on the home front. “For residential projects the client is king,” he says. “They can have a subjective view and I won’t really bother changing it or fighting it much.” Those boring white walls suddenly look really, really good.
Find it Kinney Chan and Associates, www.kca.com.hk Monique McLintock Interiors, www.moniqueinterior.com R J Murray Design Ltd, www.rjmd.com.hk
Discover more about DB-friendly interior design under magazine articles/style at www.arounddb.com