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Sunday, January 17, 2010

One Smart Designer


"In 2007, Grant K. Gibson, an interior designer, offered his future landlord a deal: in exchange for two months' free rent ($3,000), he would renovate the San Francisco apartment. Above, Mr. Gibson sits before 18-century architectural drawings of Rome from an old book that he mounted in $20 frames."


So, he  sanded the floors and stained them walnut.


"Mr. Gibson installed mirrors at the back of this cabinet, which is built into the wall, to create an illusion of depth."
Brilliant.
I think I may do the same thing.

"To make the room more dramatic, Mr. Gibson placed sculptural fig tree branches on a table in the bay window"



"Mr. Gibson bought an iron canopy bed at Pottery Barn Teen on sale for $500, but he attached a headboard his seamstress made by padding and wrapping a sheet of wood in caramel-colored mohair that cost $20 a yard. "If I buy something at a retail store, I try to think how I can make it even more comfortable, more functional, more beautiful," he said. "



I love the classic detailing on the leading edge of the drapery panel.

"Mr. Gibson spent several weekend afternoons retiling the bathroom with 99-cent, black-and-white linoleum tiles. An aversion to toilet paper holders prompted the purchase of this $50 silver-plated trophy from eBay, which hides the roll."
This article was taken from The New York Times

I was cruzing my normal blogs and found this blog that looked interesting on the sidebar at one of my regular haunts.
The blog was called Grant Gibson "The Blog"
I hit it and am looking around .... then I decide, this guy looks familiar, the black and white floor looks familiar, and suddenly a dim light bulb goes off in my head.
I run over to my files of a post I am working on and what do you know.....?
It's the same guy.
'Gibson' is Gibson !!! The blogging world is a small one.


#1. Don't you think that his idea 
to trade 'rent' for fixing up the apartment was genius ?
(The reason why I think he is brilliant is because he would have fixed it up anyway, but his business head was in full gear)
#2. How small do you think the blogging community is?



Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....
Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design,
Design Center of The Americas, D.C.O.T.A.,Grant K. Gibson
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18 comments:

  1. Gosh, I love everything he did. And I might try that mirror in the cabinet shelves trick, too!

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  2. Very clever... and very talented...

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  3. Isn't he great?! I had the "ah ha" moment too. I have a magazine clipping of a beautiful elegant bathroom--guess who did the design work--yep, Mr. Grant Gibson. He's a nice guy to top it off--and a fun blogger too!

    I think the world definitely became smaller once I started blogging. I feel quite connected to all of you!

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  4. He is smart and talented.

    Great blog. It's been a fun visit.

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  5. brilliant idea and lovely apartment... he is very talented... and so are you my darling... xx pam

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  6. Hi Renee
    I think everything he has done is sheer genius. You know I read his blog a few times when I first started blogging.. he was travelling in Venice at the time.. but then somehow i lost the link so thanks for reminding me.. I will be over his way to read more...

    Well this apartment is amazing and he has done a wonderful job with the floors also... no red/orange floorboards there!! I wish my landlord would trade rent for renovation.. although... he wouldn't get something fabulous like this...!! so yes and yes to your questions... genius and small world...

    Thanks for the great post and links.. have a tremendous week convincing the public they can sit where they want!! haha xx Julie

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  7. Love that apartment. Didn't know he had a blog, am heading over to check it out! :)

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  8. Brilliant idea...If only my landlord would go for that...but in new York...they could get a brand new apartment for 2 months of my rent....I am always struck how ingenious some designers can be with a tight budget. i really have to learn from that as it is not my Forte at all, only when it comes to my own humble adobe..

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  9. I think that I really like Mr Gibson, Renee.
    I love the way that he got such beautiful results for not a lot of money. If you told me that the frames were $200 each, I would have believed it.
    I think that this is testiment to a good designer.
    I love that Pottery Barn canopy bed and the additions that he made.... and two months free rent. A clever man is Mr Gibson. XXXX

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  10. Perfect idea with the rent...I worked a similar deal once. The landlord DID NOT get what his landlord did...however.

    But looky...we have similar subway rolls in our bathroom!

    Small world? You bet!

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  11. Amazing use of reasonable priced materials combined with just plain, old good taste. Love the black toilet seat; I have one installed in a water closet in my home.

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  12. now i'm love with this guy too!!he's truly a genious..love this post Renee..have a good day.xx

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  13. Will have to go and have a look now. We done something similar in our first rental. We offered to paint the whole house and change out the ugly lace curtains with white linen roman shades and raw linen side drapes and fixed up the garden...my reason was if I have to live here, it has to feel like home.
    Thanks for the link Renee.
    Ness xx

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  14. Now this I could move right in...although I don't like the headboard he added. Love the bathroom, I hate built in tp holders too, (unfortunately they're all over my house!)

    The blogging world is an interesting one for sure...there are some wonderful peeps out there!

    xoxo

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  15. Grant is my new BFF. I admire his business savvy,& his creativeness. I idolize those that are so incredibly creative and do so on a minimal budget. That I think, takes real design mastery and cleverness. People such as Grant I hail down to. Thanks Renee for showing him off. Yes - this blog world of ours is getting smaller, and oh so fun.

    xx Good week to you me dear - deb

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  16. Hi everyone and THANK YOU to Renee for such a wonderful post.
    THIS is why I love blogging. "Meeting" all of you nice people out there. Thank you for your nice words. I really thank you.

    Thank you Renee! You are TOO SWEET!

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  17. Hi Renee, thank you for your kind comments. Hope everything is going well for you. I have not been able to leave comments for some reason? I'll try this again. Grant G. is my kind of guy. I'm so affected by my surroundings too, what a great idea and it looks like they both won on the deal. I like his style and it helps to have great rooms!

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  18. Such a small world, 6* seperation!
    Leslie

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THE COMMENTS ARE WHAT MAKES A GREAT POST!!!

Thanks for participating!!

About Renée Finberg

I have been in this business since the age of 22.

I love what I do and cannot imagine my life without Design.

Design Challenges are great.

And because of those challenges

I have imported fine antique pieces from Paris,

Designed and Manufactured Furniture,

Created Fantastic Window Treatments,

And solved all kinds of spatial & architectural issues

With my unique style.

If I can't find it, I create it.

My rooms would make excellent movie sets.

I am a visual, tactile and audio sensitive individual.

Creating is what I live for, not math, not spelling, not science.

Just Great Design.

Just imagine how it would be if each of us,

If only for a few hours of everyday,We could be in a space that is our very own.A place that is exactly the way we want it to be

Surrounded by all the things we wanted to see,

The atmosphere we wanted feel, smell and the sound we wanted to listen to.

Private Paradise

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Creative Commons License

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Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her Adventures in Design by Renee Finberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.reneefinberg.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at reneefinberg@gmail.ocm.

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