"decor" and the conception of "interior design" have spread so widely that very often people forget their instinct for the things they really want to keep around them. . . . the artificial scene-making of "modern decor" is totally bankrupt.

-- christopher alexander et al., a pattern language (oxford university press, 1977)

interior design, and the subsidiary professions kitchen design and bath design, make up a large, structured industry. this industry is a marketing steamroller dedicated to selling premanufactured goods. this industry limits consumers' choices by promoting the idea that "design" and "style" are things one buys from stores.

suttondesign is diametrically opposed to the concept of "design" as a distinctive object that one can buy off a shelf and whose purpose is to impress strangers.

the architect and writer christopher alexander has lamented that designers and architects have become tyrannical dictators of "good design." we take our cue from alexander. our practice focuses on clients and their needs rather than on preconceived notions of what constitutes "style" or "good design".

suttondesign does not sell any particular, identifiable "style" because every one of our clients is unique, with unique preferences. our job is to exercise design skill to help clients build spaces that make them happy and comfortable.

it is, on reflection, a shocking concept nowadays that a design firm would seek to subordinate its image and stylistic imprint to its clients' needs and wishes. it's shocking because design has assumed celebrity dimensions -- designers are media personalities. but why should any client put up with someone else imposing a style upon them?

 

 

 

 

 

 

it is far more fascinating to come into a room which is the living expression of a person, or a group of people, so that you can see their lives, their histories, their inclinations, displayed in manifest form around the walls, in the furniture, on the shelves.-- a pattern lanaguage

design is a process that leads to the creation of living spaces that feel natural and habitable. but what feels natural and habitable to one person may feel totally alienating to another. the process of design involves many hours of interaction between client and designer so that the "natural" can be found.

suttondesign only offers fixed-fee services because we believe that it is futile to attempt to quantify the time needed to develop designs.

the arbitrary assembling of purchased furnishings is not design, it's retailing. designers who do nothing more than fill rooms with objects sold at markup do a disservice to their clients and do not practice design at all. clients deserve the highest level of personal service when the object is to help them make their homes personal, expressive spaces.

because clients determine the project budget that determines suttondesign's fixed fee, we have no incentive to pump products. we only recommend the products and services that fit the client's needs and budget.

the term "custom" has been appropriated by marketers to refer to things that are not truly custom at all. when the focus of the design process is the client, it often becomes clear that the client's unique needs cannot be met by manufactured retail goods.

suttondesign designs from scratch every sort of interior element and all kinds of furnishings. we can design anything that addresses a client need, and then we make sure that it gets built to spec from the appropriate raw materials.

sometimes, only specially-designed, hand-made work solves a problem; often, the client's own heirlooms and personal objects are central. finally, though, some things are not the proper province of designers at all -- the ordering of family photos on a wall; the display of children's artwork; the natural resting spots of pets; the draping over a chair of a beloved blanket; or any other thing that stems from the client's unique manner of inhabiting a space.

suttondesign helps clients create a place for comfortable habitation. we design spaces that come to life through their inhabitants' ways.