Interview on All The Best

The following is an interview posted today on me by Ronda Carman on her fabulous Blog: All The Best Profile: Patricia Gray by Ronda Carman

I adore the words of Jan de Luz, "Style…isn’t something that you apply like hand cream. It comes from within, as an emanation from your own being.” Vancouver based interior designer Patricia Gray is the perfect case in point. For those of us who follow her blog, we are well versed in Patricia’s inimitable style. Her designs are both studied and precise, while being completely livable and inviting. It is one of the main reasons Patricia never fails to excite and inspire. As I have alluded to numerous times, my design tastes run the spectrum. Patricia’s timeless and classic designs, with an undeniable modern edge, are the perfect prescription for my neuroses. Patricia received her training at the Parson's School of Design in Paris. She is a member of the Inter-Society Color Council of New York, the National Council for Interior Design, the Interior Designers of Canada and a certified Feng-Shui practitioner. Patricia's portfolio includes feature projects throughout the US and Canada, as well as in Japan, Singapore and Africa. A few notable design clients include John Travolta and Rob Feenie.

How would you describe your design style? I like furniture to have good lines, rooms to have good ‘bones',
juxtaposition of good antiques and artwork with modern design.

What inspires your creativity and designs? Travel, being around young people, the ocean and the desert.

What is your most prized possession? I don’t know if you could call her a ‘possession” but my 4 ½ pound Yorkshire Terrier, Nicole.



What is the one thing in life you cannot live without? My cup of coffee in the morning.

Who are your style icons? Interior Designers: Michael Taylor, Andree Putman, Antonio Citterio Fashion: Coco Chanel, Dianna Vreeland

Who would you most like to collaborate with on a project? The great Albert Hadley.

What is your favorite luxury in life? Travel. The best holiday I ever gave myself was a cruise from Rio to Barcelona.
10 days at sea crossing the Atlantic. It was the most relaxing time I have ever had. Nowhere to go, nothing to do….eat, sleep, eat some more.

What is your idea of earthly happiness? Clients that allow me be creative.

Past or present who has most influenced your direction in life? My Mother for nurturing my creativity in childhood. My Father for teaching me good values: integrity, self reliance, and perseverance.

Who would you most like to meet and how would you spend the day? The dowager Queen Noor of Jordan. I have admired her for years from a TV interview with Larry King. Her style and humanitarianism left an indelible impression on me. However she would like to spend it!!

Profile by Ronda Carman
To see this interview in full visit All The Best and please leave a comment for Ronda.
Thank-you Ronda!!!
Photos by Roger Brooks

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

Interviews

The Lisa Porter Collection

All The Best

Apartment Therapy

Architectural Digest

Life in a Venti Cup

Gaile Guevara

Radio Interview Part 1

Radio Interview Part 2

In Conversation with Patricia Gray

The following interview was graciously done by Ivan Meade who is an Interior Designer in Victoria BC.  He writes the 
Blog Meade Design Group.  I was so pleased and surprised when a beautiful orchid arrived by special delivery at my door
following Ivan's posting of his interview with me.  The note on the orchid said "Thank-you so much for the Interview" Ivan Meade. 
I am so honored to be interviewed by Ivan.  He has done interviews with other Designers that I admire.  Some of the interviews
you can read on his Blog are with:
Barbara Barry
Vicente Wolf
Thomas O'Brien
Kenneth Brown

In Conversation with Patricia Gray

Patricia Gray

Patricia Gray is an award winning, highly recognized interior designer from Vancouver, Canada, who finds time in her
busy schedule to update her interior design blog almost daily! and I know how hard this is. Her blog features her inspiration,
including other designers and architects that she admires not to mention sneak peeks of her stunning work. She has been
published in Architectural Digest, House and Home, Style at Home, Western Living along with other notable magazines.

Iván Meade - What was your first experience with design?
Patricia Gray - When I was 5 years old I remember rearranging the furniture in the Living Room.

Laurel Residence

Photograph courtesy of Patricia Gray

Iván – A client of mine sent me a link of your blog a couple of days after I launched my own blog last November – I have
to say that I still have a lot to learn . What does it mean for you to blog your ideas in design, your travel experiences and
basically open your personal life to the web?
Patricia – I started Blogging basically as a personal journal to record and catalog my inspirations. I thought it would be a
good forum to express myself outside of my professional practice as an Interior Designer. It has now taken on a life of its own.

Iván - What has been the best experience of being a design blogger?
Patricia – The other bloggers I have met all over the world. It is quite a network. I have made friends in Morocco, Houston,
New York. My readers are from all over the world and are very sophisticated and savvy. They keep me on my toes.
Sketch by Patricia Gray

Photograph courtesy of Patricia Gray

Iván – Your interiors definitely celebrate restraint and order. To what/whom do you owe this influence?
Patricia – My Professor, Terry Kutcher ,when I was a student in Design School inspired in me a love for design.
He was meticulous in criticizing all my designs and floor plans. I learn to edit, to be selective, and to create rooms that had
a focal point and were unique.  I was also very influenced in my formative years of study by the fabulous Michael Taylor, who
was at the time creating designs that were new and innovative and were totally suited to the times.

Gastown Project
Photograph courtesy of Patricia Gray

Iván – There is an European influence in your timeless interiors, they are not just beautiful and contemporary, but they are
also very livable. How do you archive that?
Patricia – Part of the European influence I think comes from the time I spent studying Interior Design in Paris. It is very
important for me to create spaces that are comfortable, functional, and beautiful. I make sure that when you enter a room
you feel comfortable, when you sit down you have an experience with the space you are in and that you have beautiful things
to feast your eyes on.  Editing is an important part of the process for me, because if you have too many things in a room, you
don’t appreciate any one thing in particular. Also important in editing is the details. They have to be executed to perfection.

Gastown Project
Photograph courtesy of Patricia Gray

Iván - It’s the big installation day. What could have gone wrong did go wrong. How does Patricia Gray deal with that?
Patricia - You deal with one thing at a time. It is also important to work with a good team that are each experts in their
field.

Gastown Project
Photograph courtesy of Patricia Gray

Iván – The popularity of the design shows on TV has brought interior design into homes all across our country. If you had a
show, how would you educate the viewers about interior design?
Patricia - That’s a big question. Design is a process and involves many steps to get to the end. I think that a lot of the detail
of this process is left out in the current shows. In a 30 minute show a home is completely finished. I think it would be educational
to follow a project week by week to completion.

Laurel Residence
Photograph courtesy of Patricia Gray

Iván – A decor fad you hope never to see again?
Patricia – Well, I hoped that I would not see a revival of the 80’s, but it is upon us now. I am now really starting to appreciate
it again in a fresh new way. For example the resurgence we are seeing in the use of wallpaper. I still have clients that cringe
when I say the word wallpaper because they lived through it and the horrors of having to remove it from walls that were not
properly prepared for it.  We go through phases in design and I think we become saturated, so we change and move on, then
a new generation comes along and loves the things of the past and breathes a new life into it.

South Granville Project
Project Photograph courtesy of Patricia Gray

Iván – You recently returned from a design course in Italy, what was that experience like and what is next on your design
journey ?
Patricia – I spent a month in Italy studying Contemporary Italian Architecture. It was an amazing experience. I lived in a dorm
and rode a bicycle to classes in the most Beautiful Medieval walled city. The Italians have an appreciation for Design that is in
their blood. It permeates everything in their lives. For my next experience I want to spend some time in Belgium. Some of the
top design in the world right now is coming from this country.

Laurel Residence
Photograph courtesy of Patricia Gray

Iván - Any words of wisdom?
Patricia – Take your time to make purchase decisions for your home. Buy fewer thing of better quality. Have only things
around you that you love!!

Yaletown Project
Photograph courtesy of Patricia Gray

Iván - Lastly, you have already created a stunning body of work with many mediums and styles, what would you like your
legacy to be?
Patricia – That I created spaces that were memorable, stimulating to be in, and stand the test of time.

To see more work of Patricia Gray please visit:

www.patriciagrayinc.com
www.patriciagrayinc.blogspot.com

Posted by MEADE DESIGN GROUP

Patricia Gray Interview

Vanessa De Vargas of Turquoise LA has done an interview with me on LA Apartment Therapy.Thanks Vanessa.

Apartment Therapy Interview / Patricia Gray

It's not everyday that you stumble upon a blog from an actual practicing interior designer. Which is what happened to me when I found Patricia Gray's blog. Patricia is an award winning, highly recognized interior designer from Vancouver Canada, who finds time in her busy schedule to update her blog almost daily!

Her blog features inspiration she finds via the internet, including other designers and architects that she admires not to mention sneak peeks of her work. She has been published in Architectural Digest along with other notable magazines that you can view here.
I wanted to find out more about Patricia so following are some questions I asked her about business thus far.

How did you come to be a designer?
I started at 5 years old rearranging furniture, at 10 sewing cushions & curtains. Whenever we visited I would come home and sketch the house floor plan in detail and then try and recreate the rooms using my cut-out paper doll folders. I played with fabric samples and color chips for fun. When I was in my early 20’s I found out that there was a profession called “Interior Design”. So I enrolled at a local college and loved it. I then went on to study History of Architecture and Decorative Arts in Paris through Parsons School of Design.

What's your favorite color to work with and why?
I usually start with a neutral palette and get all the elements of the space correct, and then I add in color through materials & paint. I love neutral backdrops that are classic & timeless, and the color usually comes in the artwork, accessories, area carpets etc. That way color schemes can be changed relatively inexpensively over the life of the home.

What color combinations do you see using in the future?
Right now the materials I love are earthy: limestone, travertine, wengee wood, teak. The fabrics are natural: linen, wool mohair, silk, leather, suede. For the accent colors I would choose Kelly green mixed with touches of black or rich cinnabar mixed with a warm mink brown and of course white, white, and white.

What are your greatest sources of inspiration?
The ocean, art galleries and SHOPPING.

What interior or furniture designers, past or present, do you most admire? Francis Elkins – she was the epitome of the evolution of the American Style in Interior Design and was the inspiration for such Interior Design luminaries as Billy Baldwin, Albert Hadley & Michael Taylor. John Saladino – His style is so classic, cultured and highly refined.

Describe your design theory in 4-6 words.
well detailed, beautiful materials, comfortable, memorable .

What is your signature mark that you always try to implement in a space?

I don’t know because I am always changing and evolving.Maybe others see what it is more than I do. I have been described in Architectural Digest as “being forward thinking and creating outside the box”.

If you could redo any space, past or present, what would it be?
I would love to be able to go back in time and redo my grandparents’ home or perhaps the Petit Trianon at Versailles.

What have you learned about having your own business that you wish you knew when you were just starting out?
Just to have fun and enjoy the process.

What are your best practices when it comes to client relations?
Love your clients, be kind and gracious at all times.

What 5 things does a well designed home need?
- welcoming entry
- a great kitchen
- easy maintenance
- beautiful art
- comfortable places to sit

If you hadn't become a designer, what do you think you would be doing now?
I'd be in Paris working at Chanel as a fashion designer.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Being better at what I am doing now.

Patricia Gray Interview

Franki Durban at Life in a Venti Cup has done an interview on her Blog on me.
Check it out here. Thanks Franki.

Designer Interview: Patricia Gray
Jan de Luz once said: "Style…isn’t something that you apply like hand cream. It comes from within, as an emanation from your own being. Life is the canvas and style is the grooming point of view.” In the case of Patricia Gray, style certainly does come from within. Her designs are studied and precise while being completely livable and inviting. Her stylistic point of view is timeless and classic, yet still maintains an undeniable modern edge.
Just where does this master from Vancouver, B.C. find her inspiration? Let's find out as we learn more about award-winning interior designer Patricia Gray in an interview with Venti Cup...

Like many designers, you found yourself decorating your family home as a child. When did you know this was what you wanted to do for a living?
I didn’t know that there was a profession of Interior Design until I was 20. I was helping a friend decorate her new home and she was reading the newspaper and saw an add for a local department store that was advertising for an Interior Designer and she said to me “That is what you should do.” I immediately knew this was what I had to do for my life’s work.

Who were your early influences or idols in the design field?
I had a wonderful teacher in Design School. The first class of his I attended was History of 18th & 19th Century French and English Furniture. I can remember being totally inspired. He was a graduate of Parsons School of Design and was my Mentor to go on and study History of Architecture and Decorative Arts in Paris with Parsons. I was also very inspired by the work of Michael Taylor, David Hicks and Angelo Donghia.

Your spaces manage to be at once modern yet warm, a seemingly difficult balance to achieve. What do you draw upon for inspiration?
My inspirations are so many and varied. I love fine antiques, beautiful fabrics and anything that is well designed and fabricated. I am also very interested in the design coming out of Europe right now by talented product designers who are creating and thinking outside the box. Also travel to countries that have different cultures than ours is very educational and helps me to see things in a new ways.

How would you define your style?
That is an interesting question to answer because my style is continually evolving and changing depending on the project I am working on. I usually start with a neutral pallette and get all the elements of the space correct, and then I add in color, texture and pattern with furnishings, artwork, accessories. I like to have a theme that runs through my work and I always start with something that inspires me. Sometimes I take my cue from the character of the house and or the clients. Right now I am just finishing up the re-design of an 80 year old Tudor mansion in Vancouver. I tried to stay true to the character of the original house but added in some modern elements like Wengee wood flooring in the kitchen and family room that ties into the color of the inlaid border of the existing antique oak floors in the living room and dining room. For the furnishings I mixed traditional pieces with very contemporary lighting fixtures to bring the home into the 21 Century.

You studied for a time in Paris. How did this influence your approach to interior design?
I learned about scale first hand, which you cannot learn out of a text book and this is very important in designing interior architecture. I got to see centuries old antiquity and fine materials and quality workmanship. The French have such a high regard for their artists. Having knowledge of history is a good background to have. To understand how we have come to the point where we are in history gives a context to create in ways that are unique and valid for the times we are living in.

The Gastown project is a terrific example of your commitment and use of innovation to meet a client's needs. What was your favorite aspect of the project?
I had a great client and a great team of skilled people to work with. My client gave me complete artistic freedom and his trust and confidence in me. That is a very wonderful thing to have in a working relationship. I had never done anything that was this completely Contemporary. It pushed me to look at everything differently and in the process I discovered a whole new way of approaching design beyond my current context.
I love the quote by Christian Liagre: “There are no great designers, only great clients”.

One of my favorite Patricia Gray spaces is the Yaletown apartment with its sweeping views of the city – and that glorious Moooi Dandelion pendant. Do you have a favorite project?
There are some aspects of each project that are great, but the Gastown project was my favorite and most memorable to date. The Yaletown apartment had a few givens when I took on the project. There was existing flooring and some furnishings already in place. It is a misconception that Interior Designers have to throw everything out and start from scratch. I started by editing what was already there and then judiciously adding in new elements to bring the whole scheme together. The wonderful Moooi Dandelion pendant was the final finishing touch to add a bit of whimsy to the room.

You are an award-winning interior designer who has just launched a (very popular) blog. What is it about blogging that interested you, and are you enjoying the process?
I started Blogging as a medium to catalogue, file and sort through all my thoughts, resources and inspirations. I enjoy it because it allows me freedom of expression that is unrelated to any projects I am working on. It is a good platform for me to acknowledge the artisans and design visionaries that contribute to and inspire me on a daily basis. The blogging community is very supportive, informative and continually inspires me.

If you weren’t designing exceptional interiors, what career would you love to have pursued?
I think that I could have just as easy have gone into Fashion Design. My dream would to be working at the House of Chanel in Paris.

Is there anything about your role as a designer that has surprised you?
Yes, the creative process is a small part of the project. The rest is about making it all happen the way it was envisioned. It is very important to manage the project and attend to the myriad of details that are involved in bringing the project to fruition. A good designer as well as being creative also has to be a good manager, which can be very challenging because it is left brain thinking vs right brain thinking all the time.

And finally, is there a dream project or challenge you wish to pursue one day?
I would love to work on a project where everything could be my own design: fabrics, furnishings, lighting fixtures, carpets, etc. That to me would be the ultimate as a Designer.

Patricia, thank you for sharing your inspirations (and aspirations) with us. I'm sure I speak for the audience when I say we look forward to seeing more of your exceptional creations for clients - not to mention your daily discoveries on the blog. Ciao!

What others are saying...

So great to be abble to read an interwiew of Patricia Gray .I was so honoured she wrote a post about my blog and me .She is so talentful and CHICMélanie
Posted by: Mélanie

Great interview! It is so great to learn more about Patricia the designer. It's been wonderful to "meet" such a talent in the blogging community.
Posted by: Suzy

Great interview, Franki! It's nice to learn more about the talented and gracious Patricia.
Posted by: Annechovie

Thanks for the interview. I ready Patricia's blog daily (with my morning coffee) and it always gives me inspiration for the day. It's nice to learn a little more about her.
Posted by: Dale

A wonderful interview with Patricia!! Thanks for sharing your innermost thoughts with us Patricia - I absolutely loved hearing what you had to say!XAnna
Posted by: Anna

Of all the bloggers I've had the pleasure to "meet," Patricia stands out in the field. Her style and taste are formidible, but it is her kindness, sweetness, and wisdom that I have most appeciated. She's a class act. Thanks for a great interview. Joni
Posted by: cote de texas

Fantastic interview. Congratulations.
Posted by: julie at BV

Great interview! I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Patricia. She is so supportive of all of the design blogs, and has so many great insights.
Posted by: Sarah Jennings

I really enjoyed reading and learning more about Patricia and her design process. It's great to learn more about a designer and fellow blogger, very inspirational :)
Great interview ladies!
Posted by: jenn

I just loved reading this interview of Patricia! She is such a wonderful designer and a down to earth person...a great blogger too! An inspriation for us women! Great post Franki :) ~Kate
Posted by: girlmeetsglamour

I so agree with Joni - Patricia is such a class act and such a generous spirit. I for one am just imagining the gorgeousness of a place that she designed with all her own fabrics and furnishings. ~sigh.
Posted by: maryam in marrakesh

Ladies, the comments have been fantastic. I am delighted (and appreciative) of the shared enthusiasm - not just for Patricia's designs, but for the designer herself.
Thank you for helping me celebrate her success!
Posted by: franki durbin

great interview. i love patricia. she's an inspiration and always has really sage advice. plus she could be a total snob but is so open and willing to support other designers.
Posted by: megan

Radio Interview

This is a Radio Interview with Paul Karchett in my office talking about my
"Career and Design Influences"


Part One Radio Interview
http://www.patriciagrayinc.com/interview/Part-1.html
Part Two Radio Interview
http://www.patriciagrayinc.com/interview/Part-2.html