Present2Sell - Devon Today Aug 2007
Eagle eyed shoppers will have noticed the August hiatus in malls and high streets while everyone waits for the new collections to arrive. Why not use this time to express your individuality?
Working with a design maker to commission a bespoke piece of furniture has several advantages. It can enliven our personal space, enable the fun of creativity without the hard work, provide a great investment and even embody some aspect of ourselves, from wistful memories of a delightful island holiday to a distant Celtic ancestry. One visit to the Devon Guild of Craftsmen (www.crafts.org.uk) confirms that the south west is home to some of the finest designer makers in Britain.
A bespoke piece can be site-specific, (illustration A shows Jackie Sears' triangular table designed around an L shaped sofa) or stand-alone (illustration B shows Christain O'Reilly's Walnut Manuscript www.christianoreilly.com ).
Site-specific pieces create visual impact and cohesion, providing an articulate focal point in a room to which all other objects refer, either in complement or counterpoint. A good designer maker will clarify for you which of two design options to pursue. Should the piece be the dominant element in your room, around which everything else must necessarily revolve? Or should the design have enough aesthetic flexibility to to look at home in a variety of interior schemes? Working with an expert makes this kind of decision fun.
Owning a beautiful stand-alone piece is possibly a quieter but more rewarding experience because rather like a kaleidescope, the piece can express itself differently in different locations around the home, and will also change the feel of those different places once in position. A good starting point for this option is to research the many excellent designer maker websites in Devon (devonfurnituremakers.org.uk ), establish your preferences and then work with your selected designer to refine the piece to your taste.
If this process is just not your thing, designers often sell through galleries. If you buy a piece costing between £100 and £2,000 bought from a participating gallery, could buy it through Own Art. This is an Arts Council scheme that enables zero interest loans on such purchases. For more details, see www.artscouncil.org.uk/ownart
A bespoke piece will not only keep its value, it can add value to the price of your home when you its time to move. It acts as a lifestyle marker for a way of living the house can represent, and will set your property apart from similar ones also for sale. Too many properties on the market these days suffer from "blanding" as a result of unskilled de-cluttering, often giving the effect that the owners have "bought-the-shop". This destroys the spirit of a place, its uniqueness, the very thing people are looking for when they come into your home with the thought of possibly buying it. There has to be a balance between that unique nature and enough visual openness for buyers to imagine themselves living there.
Illustration A
Illustration B