do your interiors need "spot treatments" or "the works"?

Dear friends:

Today I am happy to announce a new line-up of design services for you! If you have been wondering how we work, what types of projects we do, and if our services are right for you, then read on. I've been joking that our new line up is like a spa treatment menu!

FURBISH started as an in-home interior design company, and interior design services remain the primary way in which we serve you. Every time you shop in the store, you are greeted by vignettes that are carefully designed to create an environment, and you are picking up pieces that will have a designer effect in your home.

Are you ready to take it to the next level? If you are considering window treatments, a major furniture purchase, or need to finish your space with accessories, then you are going to love our new showroom services. These services are a second tier to our regular interior design services. They are a way for you to get a "spot treatment" and design your room in stages rather than all at once. See the details below.

I also want to introduce you to a friend of mine, Cami Zelavansky of Studio Vert. Cami is a green architect and she and I work together on renovation and addition projects. Cami has revealed her favorite sustainable surfaces just for you in an article below.

Finally, get an inside look at how I think through design projects, and translate my style for my clients.

I hope you had a great long weekend! Be well,

Uma

quick links

introducing the furbish "design spa" menu!

Our NEW showroom services are a great opportunity for giving rooms in your home, focused, expert attention. Please call us at 973.761.0311 to learn more details and get started!

DESIGN SHOWROOM SERVICES

WINDOW TREATMENT DESIGN:

Custom window treatments instantly transform a room. We specialize in simple, sophisticated treatments that are expertly done: panels, fabric shades, woven shades, and high end solar or roller shades. Initial design fee is $350. Orders initiated within 30 days of presentation will be credited $150.

IN-HOME FURNITURE CONSULTATION:

There is no substitute for custom designer furniture. It makes a statement, looks stunning, and lasts for years. We will help you make choices that are both current and timeless. Consultation fee is $350. Orders initiated within 30 days of presentation will be credited $150.

ACCESSORY CONSULTATION:

Your room will not feel finished until you add mirrors, lighting, artwork, pillows, and other designer touches. We will show you the way to create displays that make an impact. Consultation fee is $350. Orders initiated within 30 days of presentation will be credited $150.

INTERIOR DESIGN SERVICES
Interiors by Uma Stewart

FULL RESIDENCE DESIGN SERVICES:

There is nothing more luxurious than a home that is finished, with all the details coming together into a beautiful, seamless whole. Full residence projects cover four or more spaces. Design plans are rendered on a fee and furnishings are discounted. Please call for more information.

PARTIAL RESIDENCE DESIGN SERVICES:

Every home needs at least one room that supports you completely with beauty and function. Partial residence projects cover one to three rooms or spaces. Design plans are rendered on a fee and furnishings are discounted. Please call for more information.

CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATIONS AND ADDITIONS:

Construction projects provide a real opportunity to create beautiful, standout environments from start to finish. Design plans, architect's plans, consultation on building plans, and/or project management in coordination with a contractor are delivered on a flat fee. Please call for more information.

stunning composites: effortless green design by cami zelevansky

'Green building' is not just a trend, but now should be standard practice in architectural design. Though there may still be razed-harvested wood from South America and Indian granite readily available, innovators in the United States and Canada have been creating a wide variety of sustainable and beautiful composite products. Composites are materials that are engineered, often by combining a raw material with a binder. Many of these products surpass the beauty and durability of the traditional, though unsustainable, raw building materials.

Here are a few stunning green composite products:

When I began to specify radiant heat systems, common in kitchens and bathrooms, I warmed up to the benefits of engineered flooring materials. They don't expand and contract like solid flooring (minimizing gaps and buckling) and many can be spot-treated for damage instead of requiring a complete refinish. A beautiful engineered floor product is FUSE flooring, manufactured in Toronto of durable and sustainable woods. (www.fuseflooring.com)

Recycled glass terrazzo for countertops and flooring is another product that I love to recommend. The glass picks up and refracts light, adding energy and life to otherwise static kitchens or bathrooms. Brooklyn-based IceStone manufactures beautiful and unique varieties of colored concrete and recycled glass composites. I especially like the iridescence of their pearlized glass. IceStone is low-maintenance making it a great option for high-use areas of the home. (www.icestone.biz) Wausau Tile also offers a striking high-content recycled glass terrazzo flooring tile. (www.wausautile.com)

When it comes to products such as doors and windows, I specify a product best suited for each individual project -- however TruStile interior doors are almost always in my schedules. They are MDF composite doors of recycled sawdust and can be specified with a formaldehyde free binder. They are substantial solid doors that can come in almost any style you can imagine, but can also be customized to fit your needs. (www.trustile.com)

After so many years of use in our homes, traditional raw materials have well-known strengths and weaknesses. Though rigorously tested for suitability, durability and quality, many of the new sustainable products can have pros and cons. As new green materials become widely available, it is important to work with professionals who have expertise in these new options for your home.

Camilla Foulks Zelevansky, AIA NCARB
(www.studiovert.net)

inside look: how interiors come together at furbish

Interior design is very much an art form to me. Inspiration and intuition play a big role in how I approach my projects. Pictured to the right is one of the first vignettes I did in the Maplewood store. It was my favorite one because it captured a feeling I had absorbed while visiting Napa that spring of 2006. I was inspired by shops, architecture, the color palettes in the landscape, and flipping through issues of Western Interiors that were on display in our hotel/chateau lobby. Through this experience I had a feeling I so wanted to create as an interior, and I see now that this vignette was an expression of that experience. It combined texture, patinas, warm neutrals, and a variety of natural materials to create a look that was cultivated and natural all at once. Of course, I am an East Coast girl so I liked furniture that was softer and more classic in feeling than the styles in use out West. Now these elements have evolved into a style that I call my own. A visitor to the Millburn store unknowingly helped me to coin that style as "earthy sophistication."

Designing for clients works in a similar way. Meeting with new clients is truly exhilarating for me. I love getting a sense of the families and personalities and looking through their image files and hearing the words and examples they choose to use when describing what they want. It becomes a challenge for my intuitive brain to work this out and come up with the right scheme and signature pieces of furniture that will speak to their inner needs and fulfill their practical needs as well.

Specific elements of the design will always be inspired by the client. For example, a client I am working with right now seems to gravitate towards updated versions of classic English furniture (roll arms on sofas, serpentine chests, etc.). These are the elements that will make the room uniquely hers. I make clients aware of their own preferences and incorporate those preferences into designs. Then I use my own personal thermostat for color and material choices to create a space that is grounded in principles that I know lead to really good outcomes.

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