a gentleman’s quarters

a gentleman’s quarters…

they say working for friends isn’t always the best idea. maybe its true, but i seem to have a lot of friends asking for help these days. in the past, I’ve created issues.  i haven’t set the proper tone, i’ve ignored the usual scope of work & fee proposal, i haven’t wanted to talk about money.  not surprisingly, i would put my friends on the back burner when ‘real’ gigs came up. but this year i’ve set new parameters: i treat my friends like proper clients, i follow the usual process, i give them awesome design service and i even charge them for it! yes, after all these years i’m learning…

one great friend we’re currently calling ‘client’ is reece terris. he’s also one of our favourite general contractors as half of terris lightfoot contracting terrislightfoot.com, and a thought provoking installation artist as maker of  the incredible ‘ought apartment’ and ‘bridge’ reeceterris.com. a real bonus of working with friends is the deeper insight you have into their personalities & lifestyle. we know reece has his artistic quirks, but he’s lovingly old fashioned and a gem of a gentleman. and, like us, really appreciates character & depth.

based on some of reece’s established choices – exposed rafters, chunky reclaimed fir treads, a free-standing cast iron fireplace, a refurbished 1950’s range with chrome detailing -we assembled a mood board with a modern nod to 1920’s industrial.  we met at ‘le wagon rouge’ to discuss our ideas over a sazerac. it only took a bit of convincing… and whenever reece strays towards anything too mundane, we graciously steer him back on track.

to ground the space, we chose duchateau’s fsc certified heritage timber ‘trestle’ oiled oak floors, salvaged from production waste. natural fir doors will compliment the fir stairs, with obscured wire glass transoms at the bathrooms. arto’s concrete hexagon tiles in shades of grey will spill out from under the cast iron stove.  matte black cabinetry with iron accents and salvaged walnut create an elegantly masculine kitchen. for the backsplash, we hope he’ll take the plunge for walker zanger’s art deco inspired studio moderne ‘paramount’ tiles in clover green (i’ve had a crush on these for years!!).  hansgrohe’s new classic ‘montreaux’ faucets grace the kitchen & bathrooms. add some lighting and furniture & kappow!

we’re loving nichole’s beautiful renderings! can’t wait for the housewarming…

heritage timber floor duchateaufloors.com I arto concrete tiles artobrick.com I studio moderne paramount tiles walkerzanger.com I montreaux faucets hansgrohe-usa.com