When do you know its time to hire an interior designer?

I had a client that was from France living in the US, he moved to Stuttgart Germany. He asked me to design his home in Stuttgart. He was moving into a very contemporary space. My client had many antique family French treasures that he wanted to incorporate into his new residence along with some modern art that he had collected and some that we had had commissioned when he lived in the US.

Mixing old and new could have been a sheer disaster if the right balance had not been struck between the two. He was wise to hire an interior designer to pull it all together. A seasoned eye and competent professional can easily guide you through the process and edit the non estensitials.

The walls were left in a pale white so I used warm colors and inviting textures of velvet, mohair and leather to create a welcoming space in this otherwise sterile modern home. I mixed very modern lamps, end tables and artwork to "temper" the antique settee, writing desk, bar and French country dining table. The Kravet linen and velvet from Belgium is an unexpected flourish of softness that plays beautifully against the antique settee in the sitting room adjacent the living room and makes an inviting place to sit on the fabric covered floor cushions. I carried the same fabric into the dining room on the modern bench I had made by a local artisan that nestles next to the dining room glass wall. The modern mix continues outside with a rusted metal sculptor. My client is thrilled with the results and is so happy to live with ALL of the pieces he loves.