Also, be sure to visit the VW Home display at booth 829. I’ll be there for most of the day and would love to say hello.

Comment:
Dear Vicente,

First, your design is truly inspirational.  Although I am not a designer,  it appears to my untrained eye that you have a gift for creating the perfect retreat.  I have saved all of your articles and use your books as references for decorating my first home, a new loft style condo in the city.

My question concerns the problem room in my condo, the room my mother refers to as “the deal breaker room,” my bathroom.   I have attached pictures for you to see that the current lighting causes the bathroom to be so dimly lit that I use a hall mirror to get ready in the morning.

However, I am at a loss as to how to improve the lighting. It seems like the long mirror should stay to make the room appear larger and reflect the light.  I know that I need to change the cement colored paint but I am really at a loss as to how to handle the lighting.  There is no natural light coming in to the bathroom and given the layout of the condo, this cannot be altered.

Thank you so much for your time and providing this outlet for requesting assistance.

Sincerely, Megan

Vicente Responds:

Thank you for the kind comments, Megan. I suggest adding two recessed lights in the ceiling and then also change the light over the mirror to a fixture that throws more light. Sometimes just changing the light bulbs also work wonders – your current lights throw quite a warm, yellow light. Find a great lighting shop and find something that works with your style and taste – good luck!

To me it is a very naive way of thinking, because you are dismissing the fact that to produce whatever it is that was produced required time, energy, education, employees, insurance, social security, retirement funds and other things that are components within running a business. So thinking that the commission could be negotiable or is an imposisiton is off the wall. Designers cannot just live off creativity alone. We are commercial components and the creativity feeds the soul while commercial pays the rent and one cannot live off one without the other.

In this industry we all have different ways of working financially, which I wish was different with a best practice that everyone subscribed to, but unfortunately everyone do what they think is best. If we had a standard way of billing, clients would question it less. But would a client say, “Can you reduce your fees?” at Tiffanys? To their dentists or lawyers? We are no different and we really should not give in, unless the profits from a certain job are so huge that we can make adjustments.

What is your take on commissions?

• Selling Design in a Changing Economy – Thursday 12.30 – 1.30pm
• Fusing Two Worlds – Mixing Antiques with Contemporary Object - Friday 4 – 5pm
• The Zen Home – Sunday 11am – 12pm

Naturally I’ll also be spending most of my time at the booth – would love to see you if you’re in the area. Be sure to pop in and say hi!

I also saw Equivocations which takes place in the 15th century and it’s a fictional story about the Lord Shemberland coming to a then-poor Shakespeare and asking him to write a play about an attempted assassination (which really happened) and how the conspirators planned to blow up the House of Lords, but they caught them just in time. It was great fun.

Another play I saw was Time stands Still with Laura Lenny and Eric Bogosian, Brian d’Arcy James and Alicia Silverstone. It’s a compelling story about a war photographer who returns from Afghanistan after being blown up by a road bomb and her recuperation and desire to settle down in New York. It plays on the trials and tribulations about the decisions we all make about our future. Laura Lenny was really wonderful and completely believeable as a war correspondent.

Most recently I went to see Elton John and David Furnish’s Next Fall. This one was all about relationships that are not always accepted by society and the prejudices that people hold to those who are different to themselves. In the play one half of a gay couple ends up in a coma in hospital and his deeply religious family won’t allow his partner to be with him and don’t acknowledge him at all. The play relates to Proposition 8 in California and the injustice of not accepting people who are different to who you are.

These shows always offer me so much food for thought and are truly a highlight in my week. What have you seen lately that made your mind’s cogs work overtime?

Comment:

I have watched you design many of my friends’ apts over the years. I love all of your projects.. I am trenovating my new apt but can’t afford a decorator. (my friends have a lot more money than I have) I need your guidance….I love your signature HUGE mirror “look” and I have a huge Foyer, 9ft x 42ft long. I want to put one of your huge mirrors in the foyer. Any suggestions as to size? (I have 9ft ceilings) also, do you know where I can get one made?

Also, while I love the idea of a large mirror, how do you get them in an elevator…  Do you have to hoist them through a window??  please say ,”no.” thanks, Dana

Vicente Responds:

Dana, these large mirrors arrive in pieces and are put together on site. 8′ square always works well, but I suggest hiring a creative designer to help you decide which size will work best for you. In the long run it will save you money because you are going to make mistakes and those are usually costly. Think of what your budget is, approach somebody and see if they are able to work with you. If not, be prepared to pay for mistakes. Sometimes a designer’s showroom, like mine does, will provide you with some designing assistance at a fraction of the designer’s cost. Why don’t you contact Trudi at VW Home and see what she can do for you?

Here’s a photo from the bedroom we did last year for the Metropolitan Home Showtime House where we wrapped the room in Hunter Douglas blinds and projected a moving garden onto the bare wall to create an effect of being in a cocoon. I thought it was beautiful.

Comment:

Hello Mr. Wolf,
I was wondering if you could give me some advice. A friend and I have started our own design consultation company (two months ago). We encounter two problems: 1. Our clients disagree with our aesthetic opinions, believing that their own ideas are better than the ones we offer 2. We have a difficult time explaining to our clients that we must be paid for our services; we don’t offer colour consultation or finishes selection for free. Did you ever run up against these problems or did your clients respect you as a business person when you first started out? We feel disappointed and disheartened and we want to feel excited and inspired. Your designs DO inspire me; I feel refreshed and renewed when I view your books. Jessica Schiedel

Vicente Responds:
You must not be putting yourself across as a professional. Because when dealing with professionals, one expects to pay. And maybe you should take some lessons in how to sell your concept. Are you clear in what your concepts are before you present them to clients? I think it is better for you to analyze what it is that you are doing wrong in how you present. Are you giving your fees before you start? Are you sending out a contract? Are you presenting a complete concept? These are the things you need to analyze in running your business.

I strongly urge you to employ a business advisor who will be able to negotiate contracts on your behalf and help set you up for success. I’ve been working with Sean Low for many years and he has proven invaluable to me. Sean has helped me secure many of my big projects to date and he always offers sound advice when I’m presented with new opportunities.  (Sean also worked as the President of Preston Bailey’s company and was one of the reasons Preston managed to turn his business around and grow it into the international success it is today).

Sean has a mentoring program that helps small business owners get on the right path. Of, if you are like me and want to turn your successful business into more, you can retain him as a consultant. If nothing else, be sure to read his blog and get in touch with him if you have any questions. It’s worked super well for me over the past eight years.