Weekend Reading, “North America through the eyes of a European”

Episode 6 : The birth of a Concept

We were used to working with a "local" client base, which most interior designers do (unless of course you're a celebrity designer, who globe-trots to service your clientele) so I'd first-hand knowledge of how difficult it is to make a regular, and healthy living purely from interior design clients. Luckily we'd the mix of our design stores, the real estate development company, and our branding service, that helped bridge the many financial gaps that appeared while waiting for customers to turn up clutching both their dreams and their cheque books...

Weekend Reading, “North America through the eyes of a European”

Episode 5 : Business calls...

It was all well and good taking time out to get house and home together, but I was here on a12 month working permit, and time was ticking...

We'd envisaged re-creating our French retail business over here, but I still wanted to check out the reality of life in the furniture trade on this new Continent.  I quickly realized that it would be an expensive, and slower route, than we needed at this point of our business lives, so I decided to look again at a new concept that I'd started working on before I left Europe, and see where it would take us...

Helping you to get the most from the sale of your home.

This home was revised inside and out
by a major makeover, but the investment paid off.
It's value more than doubled!

Up until we created the Design To Sell Service, the only way the general public had access to the advice of a professional real estate developer was to be chosen for a TV show makeover.

If you've already following the advice of a real estate agent, or hired a Home Stager to “stage” your home before sale you'll realize just how important presentation is if you want to sell at a good price....

Design inspiration

We recently posted a facebook article on where design inspiration comes from, titled: Wow, where do we start?? Because inspiration comes from everywhere: nature, urban spaces, faces, design icons: be it people, or products, clothes, art, music, words, pictures....it's all around us.If you already have a pretty good idea of what you like and dislike, in terms of your style, our designers' job is to confirm, and refine your preferences, pushing the boundaries of design and products to create you a scheme that screams “personalized design”...

"Did you know..."

How we design...for you!

While working alongside some of our design team members last week, it dawned on me just how lucky we are to be part of the design industry today.

The choice we have in terms of quality products is so huge, it's difficult sometimes to limit ourselves to selecting one scheme per client, because we know that so many choices can bring amazing results....

In the Series "How to..."

Get the best from your Trades-person.

We've all heard the horror stories about contractors, builders etc etc who go badly over budget, bodge the job...or simply don't finish the job!  So what's the best way to protect yourself when you're thinking about renovating or extending your home?

We asked Luc Gendron, owner of Habitation Plani-conseil, the d@d resident build expert for his help. Here's his “Top 10 Tips” for getting the job done at the right price...without renovation regrets!

"We love..."

Charity shops!

They are a mine of potential wonders!
For clothing, although it no longer goes by the name “second-hand”, but “retro”. So much trendier!

Or for furniture & accessories...