New ways of interior design.
Tea Time with … Julia White.
Tea Time with … Julia White.
To understand how wit & voi revolutionised interior design you need to take a quick look at “classic interior decoration”. Unlike the way it’s done at wit & voi, conventional interior design services involve a rather elaborate and tedious process. The designers not only create a customised layout for their customers, they also select the appropriate decorations and accessories, discuss and finalise them with their customers and either buy all the furniture items or have them custom made. The last step in particular costs the interior designer something very important: time. And this extra time and effort often also involves high costs. It is here that the wit & voi concept comes into play. Julia White and her team create a flexible model for each customer – customised according to their specific requirements.
The experts design the customer’s desired space or even the entire home in their unique, individual style by creating mood boards and spatial layouts and researching the best-suited furniture items. There is, however, one crucial difference: “The fundamental aspect of our interior design concept is to keep it affordable, which is why the customers are able to order items themselves and at their own pace.” They are also the ones who decide whether or not to accept a particular suggestion and how many hours the designer should put in. “We remove ourselves from this last step because it is this very process of ordering items that usually makes the services of an interior designer so expensive.” The consultation service covers home styling concepts, interior design and office design.
We wanted to know some interior design tips which anyone could apply in a few simple steps. We didn’t have to ask White twice. This pioneer in the interior design industry places great emphasis on creating a big impression with less effort and expenditure. Colour accents or even complete accent walls. This works beautifully with the new Milano style of design as well -- through colour blocking or mixing different shapes and interesting materials such as terrazzo. “The internet is a wonderful source of inspiration, for instance the work of the Herz & Blut team.”
The current colour trends are rust red, dark blue and mustard yellow. If this is all too awkward for you, White has a more flexible tip: “I love drapes and curtains”. These help to create large colourful zones easily and conveniently. “Curtains move easily and are an extremely soft element. Because of their vertical alignment, they also make a space look larger. And when you’re tired of them, you can simply swap them or even take them down altogether, – without having to repaint half the house. Another option could be hanging drapes in front of a wall.”
One of White’s favourite interior design items are bookshelves, which needn’t necessarily be stacked with books. We had to ask: What does a bookshelf without books look like? “A shelf stacked with books from top to bottom looks quite massive and overwhelming. So, you need to create a sense of space by placing some photos or vases of your choice which give the whole unit a homogeneous appearance.” This way you can give a space a completely new look.
Sometimes you can create a completely new sense of space by making small changes in the setting. The expert interior designer not only knows how to transform a space but also how to draw all eyes to your favourite decor pieces. She explains how our Avoury One tea machine perfectly fits in with any space – it is, after all, more than just a kitchen appliance, it conveys a lifestyle: “Its modern and fluid design is very appealing.” It fits perfectly in an open, design-oriented interior concept. For those who value that certain “je ne sais quoi” quality in a kitchen. “Classic colours make it easy for this tea machine to blend in with any decor.” Because of its stylish design Avoury One could very well also sit on a sideboard as a trendy designer piece. Versatile design that goes perfectly with masculine as well as feminine styles – a true eye-catcher.
What is the future going to look like for wit & voi? The future is bright and promising, “the projects are going to become more extensive”, says White. The dark-themed kitchen for instance, which is one of her favourite projects, was custom made – something that is increasingly becoming a trend of its own. This talented designer is happy about it because this gives her the opportunity to stay true to her roots in architecture while making long strides in the field of interior design.