It’s Not About the Trends
Designing Spaces That Feel Like You
By Jill Butterworth
Susan Fiore is sitting in her sunlit interior design studio in Scituate’s Greenbush neighborhood, surrounded by kitchen plans and cabinetry samples. Her dog, Maisie, is sprawled across her desk, napping ever so sweetly as I try, once again, to talk about design trends.
“Everyone wants to know the next big trend. It’s all about the latest trend. This is hot, this is not,” she said in a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
It's kind of hard to get Susan and her husband and business partner, Tom, to talk about their favorite interior design trends. It's not that they don't have a strong point of view when it comes to kitchen remodeling. From the moment I met them, though, trends have been a challenging topic to nail down with either of them.
The more I get to know them, the more I understand why.
“It really doesn’t matter what the latest trend is. Sure I can talk about the trends we’ve seen over the last year designing and renovating kitchens in New England, but it all comes down to what the client is comfortable with in their kitchen,” said Susan.
I pressed further to get some specifics.
“It’s really hard to get away from white kitchens when you live on the coast of New England. White kitchens are still dominating but the shift lately is that it’s not all white. White kitchens are blended with white oak and natural stone surfaces,” said Susan. “We are also seeing a less stark white. It’s a softer, creamier, neutral tone in cabinetry and accents.”
Then she calls across to Tom on the other side of the room, “What inspires you Tom?”
“You do honey,” he said to Susan. Susan smiles and giggles.
Tom is often huddled at his computer working on schematic designs which he loves to talk about. For him, inspiration seems to live less in a particular color or material and more in the puzzle of a space. Solving space issues is where the real inspiration lives for both Susan and Tom.
“Susan is right. We continue to see clients choosing white cabinetry. I personally like combining white with light wood tones along with another soft color in accents. The idea is to combine colors in a softer, casual, but sophisticated manner,” said Tom.
The thing with trends, they both said, is that they don’t matter. It will always come down to what the client wants and feels comfortable with. It’s not only their job to listen and understand what a client wants, but to also pick up personal style cues during their meetings. This, Susan explains, is how she begins to decode a client's preferences and develop a design concept.
'“Trends are cool, but it is all about who the client is and how they want to live in their spaces,” she said. “I also think that the real trend is a strong movement toward personal style. There’s such a wealth of options available to a homeowner, they’re no longer limited to what’s trendy. We can make so much happen when it comes to kitchen and interior design.”
Colors and materials may change from client to client, but when it comes to solving the challenges of a space and making it work better, that’s where Susan and Tom have stronger opinions and can talk for hours on. After designing countless kitchens and interiors, they see one of their strongest roles as turning a disconnected space into a harmonious room.
“Sometimes the client’s expectations don’t always meet the realities of the space. This is why we often present two different design concepts in order to demonstrate how the space can be optimized,” said Susan.
So while Susan and Tom keeps an open mind when it comes to colors and material options for her clients, you can rest assured that they will have plenty of options, colors, and accents to present to a homeowner as you embark on your design journey with them.
To start a conversation on kitchens and renovations, you can set up a call or meeting HERE. To get some ideas, check out their portfolio page or their Instagram.