INTERIOR by: design
QA
&
with: BEN BRANNAN
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Ben Brannen, owner of Bespoke Design, believes that design should reflect
personality and relies heavily on listening to client needs and brings options
to a design that allows for personal choice. At any given time, the team at
Bespoke, a Victoria based design and home furnishing retailer, is working on
several renovations and decorating projects at various stages of completion.
Bespoke Design | 1844 Oak Bay Avenue | 250.298.1105 | bespokedesign.ca
AHV: What aspects of this redesigned home are you
particularly proud of?
BB: I think my pride comes from switching the use
of the rooms and opening them up to each other.
After interviewing the clients, it was clear they were
casual entertainers so I gave the smallest, oddly
shaped room the duty of hosting the dining table.
Now it offers a nice sightline between the living and
family rooms, but does not take up a tremendous
amount of space. It replaced what would have been
a small den that the clients could not imagine using
at all. We tucked the office into an organized space
about the size of a walk in closet.
was more contemporary than I was used to working with. One of my minimum
standards is always to create rooms that people feel comfortable and warm in.
Even with concrete floors and minimal decor, I feel this home is stylish and warm.
AHV: Your favourite designer DIY creation?
BB: The fireplace was a creative, rustic one-of-a-kind feature that came together
because Patti trusted me to try something different. I used the four shades of
gray that we used as paint in the home, created stains by diluting them with
water and alternated the stain colour on each board, which we dry fit first and
then laid out on the floor to stain before nailing them up. I love the result!
AHV: How did your design philosophy influence this
project?
BB: I always try to approach interior design with
the concept that the client’s tastes and design style
should come out 90% and I have a 10% influence
over an arbitrary angle to the design concept