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Q: How long have you been a designer?
A: I’ve been a designer for many years! I pursued two passions outside of my professional life, cooking and home decor, and I occasionally fantasized about turning one of them into a career. In 2014, while working in operations at the headquarters of a popular coffee shop chain, I took on the responsibility of moving the office and got involved in everything from finding a location to planning the layout, coordinating with contractors, and selecting furnishings. It introduced me to the complexity of considerations involved in making a space work beyond just aesthetics, and it spurred me on to delve deeper into interior design. By 2017, I had completed my formal design studies, and I’ve been at it ever since!
Q: What is your favorite thing about being an interior designer?
A: The most enjoyable activity is putting together sketches and renders for a project, working through the challenges, incorporating the client’s tastes and requirements into something coherent, stylish, and functional. The greatest reward is when a client expresses genuine excitement about a design that I’m proud of.
Q. What is the most important/interesting thing you’ve learned in your time as a designer?
A: The most important thing I’ve learned is that nothing goes to plan, but—counterintuitively—the very plan that didn’t quite hold up in the field is actually the best tool for managing shifting conditions.
Q: Do you have a favorite room to design for?
A: Not really. I want all spaces to be beautiful, comfortable, and practical, whether it’s a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, or a backyard garden.
Q: What is your favorite style to design?
A: I’m pretty eclectic in my tastes and my work. I suppose my default is to take a hybrid approach, blending elements from different design traditions to create interest and balance, often set against a modern/industrial backdrop.
Q: What is one thing you’d love for your future clients to know about you?
A: I’d like them to know that I believe a successful design is one that pleases the client both visually and practically and that I’m going to do my best to achieve it.
Q: If you could design for anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
A: I would have loved to design for the late, great David Bowie. He was a big part of the soundtrack of my youth, but it wasn’t just his music that moved me; I was deeply influenced by his bold sense of style and his constant experimentation with visual language over the years.
Q: What is the best thing about working at NYKB?
A: The best thing about it is being a designer in a showroom in New York City. Like Frank says, “If I can make it here, I’ll make it anywhere.” This city is a madhouse, in the best and worst senses of the word simultaneously. I take tremendous pride in just having the guts to try designing in New York, and it’s taught me tons and given me a lot of confidence.
Q: What’s a fun fact about yourself?
A: I’m the 10th of 11 siblings; I’ve got 3 brothers and 7 sisters!
Q: Anything else you’d like to say?
A: This pandemic period has been rough all around. I’m hoping we’re on our way out of the abyss and that we soon get back to healthy professional and social interaction.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
