Thursday, February 15, 2024

Meanwhile in White Lotus, the story



[picture shows a see-thru, red amber translucent, resin bathtub, surrounded by mounds and layers of rich velvet draperies; this is a statement piece in a very expensive interior]



White Lotus is this mythical place where interiors are done on a wish. One day you feel one way, and another day you feel another way. It's all fleeting and unanchored and you are allowed to change your mind often. 



Oh it's real and I have worked as a labourer on projects, where newly purchased home, literally the day after taking possession, would be gutted starting with the very expensive kitchen cabinets. Fabrication of kitchen cabinetry is very labour dense compared to the rest of the volume of the home so budgets tend to be weighted accordingly. 

Head of Studio Paolo Ferrari, Paolo Ferrari himself, talking about the evolution of the market, and how he is successfully seizing on this trend.


Last year my mentor called me up out of the blue, leaving just a 5 word message on my voice mail - very to the point, very much like Kent. He asked that 'I spray for him'. If you don't know cabinet shops than I will tell you that it means that you will be the person responsible for the quality coming out of that place - finisher is the last person that sees the piece before it is unwrapped and installed. Hopefully the piece is even more awe-inspiring and the new owner is pleasantly overwhelmed. Everything I learned about fine cabinetry I learned from Kent. 



Kent is an incredible built interior designer - he thinks about everything and his clients are always satisfied without being burdened to think about that overtly. He often felt he undercharged for his own work - but let me tell you this, Kent is good taste. His millwork appearing simple, yet being incredibly complex and requiring highest skill of execution. He exclusively does work for those designers requiring highest level of quality, because he is the only one that can deliver that individual attention.

What's his secret..? I will simplify it, but here it is. In his designs, the objects matches from any angle of viewing. This is very important and is the no. 1 complaint - somebody did not think about that view. 

No it is not like this video - this is simply too labour intensive and very few effects are worth having this much cost sunk into a project.  

It's more like this. 

I spent a week rounding over a crazy small, but very important detail on a series of built in cherry boxes. I won't go into details about the complexities of making this round over come out the way it did and be efficient, 'single pass' about it - it's always about $$$ and machine can't do it.