Boston Design Center Experience

Boston Design Center Trip Experience – January 30^th, 2017

By: Rhiannon Sulik

Century Furniture Custom Table

Inside the Duralee Showroom

            When I first heard that we would be taking a trip to the design center for our first residential design project I was thrilled. My past experience with the building was attending a Career Day held by the firms and show rooms to demonstrate all the different career options you truly have with an Interior Architecture degree. But going in to the design center this time was more of a tutorial as to how I would come in as a designer with real world problems and how I would find exactly what my client wants, custom or not.

Statement Piece Outside of Showroom

Ann Sacks Tile Selections

            That morning we started with a tour to Ann Sacks http://www.annsacks.com/ which the main focus here was to look at all the different tile selections, bathroom fixtures, and vanity options. This tour was extremely helpful for us young designers because I honestly had no idea about how many different materials are used and how diverse all the patterns are. Knowing that this showroom is in the design center makes my job so much easier. I can walk into this showroom knowing I can get all the tile I need, find all my fixtures, and get help from someone who knows their stock.

Century Furniture Bedroom Set

            For the remainder of the day, we toured through a couple different showrooms such as, Grange Furniture https://www.grange.fr/en-US/ , Duralee https://www.duralee.com/ , and Century Furniture https://www.centuryfurniture.com/ .Looking through these rooms I was able to find certain pieces that I felt would be appropriate for my client, and also find pieces that I can customize just right so I can fill all of my client’s needs. My favorite part of all these tours had to be Grange Furniture. This showroom was staged with many different pieces to show all the custom finishes of each piece designed. You could see the vintage inspired couches, coffee tables, and my personal favorite was the all purpose bookcase. This one book shelf could be designed vertically, could include sliding shelves to incorporate an entertainment center, you can add a sliding ladder, and include three different finishes in one piece. This all sounds so immaculate but then I was told that these bookshelves custom, run up to around 20 thousand dollars and can take 6 months to construct and ship. Having these realities dropped on me was important because I need to pick certain show rooms if I have deadlines but also how important budget is.

Ann Sacks Bathroom Fixture Options

            Overall, my trip to the design center was one that was a huge stepping stone in my design career. I am extremely thrilled to be able to network so early on and develop the best habits to create the best relationships with suppliers. I will certainly be making my own trips to the design center one day and look forward to learning as much as possible in the Interior Architecture Program at Mount Ida College.

Amanda Lombardo, Michael Moriconi, Mary Richards