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FeedDesigning From the Ground Up
The hand of a good designer is everywhere felt, nowhere seen. This is how one does her thing.
Giroso checks out New
Moon Rugs at J.D. Kurtz
Photograph by Luigi Ciuffetelli
www.luigic.com
Designing From the Ground Up
The hand of a good designer is everywhere felt, nowhere seen. This is how one does her thing.
Interior designer Rose Giroso begins her day at Trolleywood hotspot Brew HaHa! Nestled in the heart of the square, the caf- is more than a source of caffeine and pastry. In the referral-driven business of interior design, it's the pulse point of Giroso's new daily self-marketing scheme. She knows almost everyone.
"People see me here writing or working on my computer, and they're curious about what I'm doing," she says.
But when the phone vibrates against the table, Giroso shoves it in her bag, drops her oversized sunglasses over her eyes, then flies out to her next stop of the day. Between visits to check ongoing projects, she hops from store to store shopping-this is the best part-with other people's money.
Sound glitzy?
"Try getting down and dirty with subcontractors instead," Giroso says. "We are all in dirty boots. I'm working with all the tradesmen: electricians, contractors, tile guys. I need to know my stuff."
Interior design isn't all about luxurious fabrics, furniture and art, after all. To designers who take their jobs seriously, there's a lot more to it. A whole lot more.
Television would have viewers believe overly tanned men with bullhorns whip together new homes in 72 hours without major incident. That's patently untrue.
"TV shows are a misconception," Giroso says. She cites -Design on a Dime.- -I've made it a goal throughout my career to make design affordable, but it costs money to have a designer. "Design on a Dime- is somewhat deceiving."
And there is another major misconception about designers.
"A perception is that designers come in and do what they want without considering the client's ideas and lifestyles," she says. "It's because bad designers spawn bad reps."
In fact, good designers leave no trace of themselves in their work. They help their clients realize their visions in a stylish and functional way. And they're very different from decorators.
"Designers address spatial planning, lighting and decor. Decorators focus on surface decoration," Giroso says. "I think of designers as having a macro approach, taking in the big picture, and decorators having a micro approach, sometimes just decorating a room or being concerned with making it pretty versus functional."
Rose Giroso meets with Ellen Kurtz of J.D. Kurtz to
discuss the design of a custom rug.
Photograph by Luigi Ciuffetelli
www.luigic.com
Many designers go to art school in lieu of typical universities. Giroso is a product of a now-defunct design program at the University of Delaware. Her boutique company, Rose Authentica, is infused with the skills she learned while studying at the Austro-American Institute in Vienna, in addition to studying architecture in Venice. Also certified in feng shui, she employs many of its principles in her work.
Today Giroso wears a flirty dress and matching wedged heels. Her long mahogany hair almost hides flecks of gold, and her makeup is perfect. She is every bit the designer. "People respond to the way I look," she says. As her black convertible weaves through afternoon traffic, a bright pink and green swatch of fabric, loosely knotted around the gearshift, ripples in the wind. The tag on the fabric says -Bling Bling."
"How fun is that?" she asks, gesturing to the colorful piece. It's a sample for the -tween-aged daughter of a client. "We're going to stop by his house. I want to match this against the curtains in her room and also check out a rug that we just fell completely in love with."
Giroso is bubbly and chatty as she switches lanes, borderline hyperactive as she discusses yoga and her heightened levels of spirituality.
"I'm a creative," she says. "We're different."
As the car cruises through Greenville, the question begs to be asked: How much does design cost?
"When I evaluate a new project, I go into the house, and the client may say he has [for example] a $100,000 budget. I will guesstimate the time it will take me to do that house," she says. "They can pay me a retainer fee, maybe $5,000, and that makes them my priority, and my hourly rate will go down."
In little Delaware, fee structures vary. In large cities, the American Society of Interior Design determines costs. One of Giroso's professional goals is to revolutionize how the industry sets prices. A $100,000 budget may be no big deal for some, but for those who want only a little nip and tuck-and for those who simply don't have a big budget-Giroso offers the Three-Hour Design Solution. For $300, she'll spend three hours giving the client advice on color, flooring, artwork, and accessories that matches his or her needs and budget.
"This is something that keeps me sharp. I get so wrapped up in my new construction projects that this is a nice refresher," Giroso says.
She prefers, however, to take on projects at the blueprint stage. That is, she gets involved with new construction the minute the idea for the home is conceived. "I am very active with the builder, his subcontractors and, often, the architect," she says. "Because design can be organic, we sometimes adjust the design in the field. Design takes on a life of its own, and that means changes on-site."
Giroso meets with new clients Eric and JoJami Tyler.
Photograph by Luigi Ciuffetelli
www.luigic.com
It can take from one to three years to complete a new construction project. And if you think Giroso reports for duty glammed out, think again. She does some intense work: tearing out floors, laying tile, making sure piping throughout the home is stable, etc., working right alongside the contractors. "I scare the hell out of these guys," she says.
Once a team of tradesmen squared off ceiling corners in a home she was working on. Because feng shui recognizes that squared sections create bad vibes, she had the team go back and curve every corner.
"I make them put holes in walls they think are impossible, make windows where they think it's too challenging," Giroso says. "They think I'm a pain."
Giroso is a hard-surface designer, so she has an excellent understanding of glass, tile and stone. Her ideas come from everywhere. "I have about 1,000 ideas a day," she says. "A leaf, my child's art work, fabric. I find inspiration everywhere. Sometimes I don't sleep at night because I can't stop thinking about an idea. We creatives are very process oriented."
When Giroso shops for clients, she hits the Marketplace in Philadelphia. "This is a mall exclusively for designers," she says. "Every major city has a design center. There are five stories, 50 showrooms. I'll go there with a client. We can pick pieces out, customize them. No average person can just walk in. It's regulated."
Arriving at the client's home, Giroso hurriedly pushes through the iron gate. "I can't wait to see how the rug looks," she says.
She opens the door and breathes in the space she brought to life. What once was an empty home with white walls has been transformed into tangible decadence. Rich Tuscan flavor radiates from room to room. Warm browns, yellows and velvety greens collide with rustic, authentic Tuscan furniture. A game table in the living room reflects the client's love of Scrabble. "I really get to know my clients," she says.
Giroso brings a graduate degree in psychology to her work, an element that pours through in her Lifestyle Profile, an in-depth discussion she has with clients. The profile asks questions such as, -How and where do you store your holiday decorations?" and -Where do you write bills?"
"Psychology and design are very intertwined," she says. "For example, after 9-11, design changed. People wanted to be home. They craved family connections, warmth and belonging. The things that happen in the big world affect the little world of design."
Giroso keeps a list of client concerns
and her solutions.
Photograph by Luigi Ciuffetelli
www.luigic.com
Though she believes in balancing her client's personality with the finished design, it's also important for her conscience to be clear. Giroso likes to be a ghost. She wants to leave no trace of herself in a home after she's finished. She stops outside of a pink and green room that will eventually boast the Bling Bling fabric.
"I don't want anyone to know I was ever here," she says. "I want my mark to be left on the way the client feels."
Bling Bling is, of course, a perfect match.
As she enters the master bedroom, she sighs in relief at the carpet and a chair that was recently delivered.
"I ordered it online. I trust my instincts, but sometimes," she strokes the chair lovingly, -sometimes I worry."
Satisfied with the room, she has one more stop on her agenda: a trip to J.D. Kurtz in Wilmington.
It's a frequent stop. At the store, designer John Kurtz creates original rugs that designers can customize. Giroso says hello to Ned Baker, the head of sales and marketing, then makes her way to the back of the store, where she runs her hands up and down the myriad rugs.
"You see this celestial pattern? Isn't that just amazing? Oh, look at this one. I've wanted to do this Persian nursery theme. This would be great. And this one!- she stops in front of a rich gold carpet shot through with metallic thread.
Baker joins her in the back.
"Well, this one, we're not quite sure if it has crossed the border between tacky and tasteful, but a deejay in Miami is interested in it," he says.
"It's totally tasteful," Giroso says, nodding her head in approval. "Gorgeous."
Giroso will often create a room around a rug she likes.
"You have to treat it like art work," she says. "Otherwise some people might not be able to justify spending the money."
(Expect to pay at least a few thousand for a 5-by-7 rug at Kurtz.).
"I feel very fortunate to have John and his right hand man, Ned Baker, in the community because at any time I can work directly with them," Giroso says. "I don't have to go through channels to get to the source."
Here to check on custom runners to accentuate the rug she placed in the Greenville home, she can't hide her excitement.
"[The client] is just going to flip for them," she says.
Giroso heads out into the balmy evening, her work finished for the day.
"I wouldn't say any of my days are typical. That's why I love this job so much," she says. "It's luxurious to be able to honestly say I love my job."
Maybe tomorrow she'll head to the Marketplace and do some shopping for a client. Perhaps she'll lead a Three-Hour Design Solution or scope out the first phase of a new construction home that is dormant, lying in wait for her touch.
Whatever the goal, one thing is for sure: She will leave her little corner of the world more beautiful than it was before.
