One of the current dominating trends in home decor is customization. The new wave of furniture and furniture design is based on the premise that every home has a personality and no two homes need be the same. I am a true believer in this concept, as I feel the consumer should decide what they think the perfect piece of furniture is for their unique home. The world of Pinterest, Instagram and the like have opened the world of interior design in a way that has not been accessible to the public before. Now we can all be inspired when sitting in our own living rooms, flipping through inspiration boards and a myriad of beautiful interior design imagery. This has dramatically changed the world of interior and furniture design, and there is no going back. I believe customization and personalization have added an entirely new dimension to the design industry, and it has never been more exciting than right now.

Who are we to tell the customer what is perfect and what is not, what is trendy and what is not? It is our job as furniture designers to inspire the consumer and provide the tools necessary to create their own story and vision. This category may be considered a new trend for most furniture designers and manufacturers, but we have been designing furniture this way for the past 17 years. We design for the consumer and always have.

Our new Style Your Own collection is one of our largest furniture collections to date, and it is extensive. It is designed to be a true collaboration between the customer and designer. It is a concept which features adaptability to whatever lifestyle needs the end user desires. The days of “one-size-fits-all” furniture is over, and thankfully, those days have been over for a long time.

So what does all of this mean for the consumer moving forward? It’s a game changer—it allows the customer to be the creator and the furniture store/manufacturer to be the facilitator. All of this results in the best of both worlds. Certain consumers want the furniture store/designer/ manufacturer to make the design decisions for them, and rely on them to create furniture that works for their needs. Other clients want to be involved in creating furniture pieces and they come equipped with plenty of their own inspiration before they even step foot into a furniture store.

How do you know what category you fit into? Is there a person who fits into both categories? If you are an individual that loves everything about home décor and cannot wait for the newest trend report to come out every year, it is likely you already have a very strong idea of what you want from furniture design. However, many consumers fit into both categories. When they step into a store or start browsing online, they already have an idea of what appeals to them. Customers will often say “I will know it when I see it.” Those tend to be the people who fit into both categories. They are specific in what they are looking for yet have a very hard time finding it. The result is when provided with a variety of different style elements to select from, they easily have success choosing unique elements to create their concept of a perfect piece of furniture.

The future of furniture is about collaboration. The more designers, manufacturers and retailers engage in collaboration with customers, the more success (and certainly the more fun) everyone will have.

For those who are passionate about being able to collaborate and contribute to the design process, it is important to find a retailer that offers these services. There are not many that do, but a little bit of research, in the beginning, will be well worth it in the end. I am happy to assist; please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. Our new boutique will be opening within the year and we will be specializing in Style Your Own on a scale never seen in Canada. In the meantime, I can help guide you through the process, and just think of the fun we will have.