Client Spotlight: Stephanie Brown Inc.
Client Spotlight: Stephanie Brown Inc.
In 2012, Stephanie Brown founded her boutique interior-design firm in Vancouver based on the principles of excellent design and personalized client service. From small renovations to custom new builds, Brown specializes in residential interiors with aesthetic styles that are both contextual and unique to each client, telling their story through meaningful and tastefully executed design details. Brown generously answered a some questions and shared a few projects featuring our lighting!
CL: How would you describe your style?
SB: Personally, I’m a less-is-more advocate. I like my own space to be modern and airy, with interest coming from clean forms and varied textures. While we work on projects of all styles, I do bring this streamlined and pared-down approach to all of our work.
CL: How you got started and what made you want to become a designer?
SB: When I was young, about 10 or so, my parents began building a new house. I fell in love with looking at floor plans, imagining the spaces, and helping select the fixtures and finishes in the house. I knew early on that design was my calling!
CL: How do you collaborate with your team on each project?
SB: We begin by understanding what the client is drawn towards, then work together to further refine that concept, through inspiration images or sketching. As a small firm, I remain highly involved and work on the various design tasks for each project, along with my team.
CL: Do you have a favorite space to design in a house? If so, what makes it a favorite?
SB: Kitchens. I love finding creative solutions amid all of the ‘restrictions’ that architecture and appliances can impose. It is possible to have a functional yet beautiful space, if you know how to manipulate the forms, materials, and fixtures into something special and inspiring.
CL: What do you love most about your work?
SB: The opportunity to take our clients’ vision and ideas, and build on it to create something unique and exceptional.
CL: What is your greatest source of inspiration?
SB: The design community, both near and far, is a great source of ideas and inspiration. Whether I’m attending the Salon in Milan or simply out for a walk in our local design district, I’m continually taking in the architecture, design, and products that I see.
CL: What design elements do you find most crucial to a space?
SB: Good bones. If the architecture, materials, and fixtures within a space do not support the concept, no degree of furniture or decor can solve that.
CL: Where do lighting selections fall in your design process?
SB: We consider light fixtures to be the jewelry of the home. Whether they are subtle elements or the focal point, their forms and materials are instrumental in supporting and enhancing the aesthetic of the space. In some cases light fixtures may inspire the entire space, but most often they are chosen towards the end of our process, and provide the final element the design needs.
CL: Do you have a favorite light fixture?
SB: Too many! At the moment I’m loving the Mira Medium Stacked Table Lamp by Kelly Wearstler. It’s simple, angular form and combination of materials are the perfect mix for a modern-eclectic living room we’re working on.
Visit stephaniebrowninc.com to view more of her projects!
