Jan 23, 201201:19 PMEditor's Notes
Third Thursday at The King's House Antiques
Our friends at The King’s House Antiques held their monthly Third Thursdays meeting yesterday, and outfitting magazine idea houses was the topic. Speakers included Doug Davis from Tracery Interiors, Chris Reebals from Christopher Architects, and our own Cathy Still Johnson, who helped moderate the Q&A.
Cathy explained Birmingham Home & Garden's Inspiration Home’s local approach to design and furnishing as wanting to show that Birmingham is a "great design center” in its own right. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand shopping out of a catalog, so having the chance to go look at all the wonderful design elements of the house in nearby stores is terrific.
{from left to right: Cathy Still Johnson, Doug Davis and Chris Reebals}
Following the introduction, Cathy handed off to the others, who explained their approaches to the Inspiration Home, and their work in general. It was easy to see why Chris and Doug work so well together, as Chris’ preference for simplicity in design gels with Doug’s focus on neutral decoration. Chris is also an open guy who, unlike many architects, actually listens to what his clients want.
However, he did add in a footnote about occasionally dissenting, saying, “There also can be a time and a point where you have to push back with a client…and try to educate them a bit on things.”
Doug led us through some of the design choices for the home (see Tracery’s amazing work at their blog here, here and here and how the team set out to make a more homely showcase for their talents. “We wanted you to come in a really feel like this was a home that someone actually lived in or could live in, and that it felt a little bit different than your typical showhouse,” Doug said.
Their input was informative and engaging, and we all had a bunch of fun. The highlight, though, may have been Chris mentioning he had just become a father, reaching for his iPhone for baby photos. {That’s gotta be an instinct dads have; did cavemen used to chisel etchings of their newborns to carry around in their loincloths?} Naturally, we all leaned in for a closer look.
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