Winston Carney :: Interior Designer
Often, it is the unexpected joys that bring the greatest pleasure, the greatest inspiration.
Late one afternoon, I missed a phone call from a client. I quickly checked the message to see what fire I had to put out. She had phoned, breathless, in the middle of her workout, to say that she just had her first party in her new space and that her house was a great success. She sounded so excited, so proud. Her guests had all raved about her vision for the house, and she herself gushed over how wonderful the space made her feel each time she walked through the door, again and again, like a great romance.
She said that the space had captured who she knew she was. I kept that message on my phone for almost a year.
That is why I am a designer - to help people convert those inner impressions gathered from life experiences into a statement that reflects who they are and what they value. My satisfaction comes from helping a client both articulate and realize that dream.
I've been surrounded by the creative process all of my life. My mother is a painter, landscape designer and inveterate gardener; my godmother, a talented interior decorator; my grandmother, an accomplished potter. Many of my parents' friends have been artists, architects, designers, writers, curators and gallery owners. My father has been a developer as well as an educator, building and creating homes and communities my whole childhood. He remains an aficionado of interior design, and both parents are avid collectors as well as varsity travelers.
Through all of this creative energy, I grew up learning that the world was my studio; I love the ventures, the discoveries, the differences. I have found inspiration in the journeys: sailing up the Yangtze River with my 80 year old grandmother and Chinese friends before the Great Dam; hiking the Himalayas in Bhutan; hunting tigers in Rajasthan; or witnessing the great migration in Tanzania. The rich and lasting impressions splash against my inner eye, melding singing people with silver snaking rivers, and green muted ruins with the deep red earth of Kenya and of Vietnam, Indochina, and Thailand.
My inspiration has been multifaceted in its making, encompassing an eclectic range of experiences including the Museum School of the MFA,
...the studios of Isabelle O'Neill, living and studying in Florence, the sun flowers in Andalucia, the golden pampas of Argentina, and the soft fields of Provence - and all those people along the way who helped me to discover what's important to me. I learned early that I could take life from all over the world and use these impressions to create my own unique vision.
Working with a client is so much like another journey, and I love going along on the adventure with the person. It is so exhilarating to capture all those impressions and to help weave those life experiences into their own particular vision which their home will eventually reflect – taking what they have gathered in their heads and converting it into a statement in their home. They choose the destination and off we go. This is why I love the design process. It's tactile, interactive: choosing fabrics, building furniture, working with suppliers for fixtures, working with contractors to build the idea, and filling my car with all the accessories that will complete the vision.
I love the creative process. I love sharing the creative process. And I love the joy that comes from the realization of a creative dream.
