A designers’ work was featured in the latest issue of House & Home, that was Modern and full of unexpected design choices.
Now you may not notice anything unusual about me bringing up another Designer and commenting on their work – but it is unique. It is murky waters to publicly comment on other designers. To applaud others and potentially send work their way. But I don’t think so in this case… he’s in New York!
I have got to share because I kept thinking about what I saw. I want to examine and dissect it. I want to learn from it. Here it is!!!
Look at that carpet! It is cut not to conform to any space but to create its own!
The layout is several vignettes and not lined up in any normal configuration.
Like, you expect the sofa, two accent chairs and a coffee table to run along a wall. Even if it is in the middle of the room, it follows a line. Like this for example:
But Dan's space doesn’t have that.
It is a large greatroom space. There was no need to situate the furniture or cut the carpet in the abstract fashion it sits. It is so unexpected.
Two other objects I want to mention that speak out – that sofa. Look closely! It is two base cushions and four upper cushions. It would comfortably seat four people. No one would slip in between a cushion! And the soft grey fabric. So plush.
And finally, I love that credenza against the window. It is a dark piece that pulls you into the space and then, notice, the hardware draws you right to the middle of the object. It is like stairs… up, up and boop, there’s a picture at the top to look at.
It makes me question looking at asymmetrical in a completely different way!
Let me define the terms and then pose my fascination…
Symmetrical is the equal balance or mirroring in a space.
Asymmetrical is uneven but objects work space like a cantilever.
People occupy spaces according to their innate sense of balance. They are drawn to homes that are laid out in a symmetrical or asymmetrical configuration and go on to place furniture unconsciously to their predilection.
I’m going to broadly say:
That in a large rectangular greatroom concept there is an expectation to divide the space in equal parts and balance the space. There is enough space to duplicate architectural choices – like windows for example are positioned on equal sides of the space. A sofa would sit in the middle of two windows or in front of one window… Symmetrical design happens often in these spaces.
Smaller spaces are more likely to be asymmetrical. Condo’s in particular would be asymmetrical. Floor to ceiling windows on one side of the unit for example. Furniture layouts are restrained to balance out the space on one side and weight on the other.
And here is why this Designer - Dan Fink has captured my eye. He chose asymmetrical in such a large space. His layout is so playful with several furniture vignettes.
All the furniture is laid out so the picture captures the real flow of moving through that space. I have posted about this before that Design Pictures have the furniture turned to present rather than show the layout. I dont think that was the case for this picture.
Anyway, I love the design and his website showcases a great number of other design feats.
Sources:#plbinteriors
PLB Interiors digital drawing