A Designer’s Approach to Curating for Clients
“We try, as a design division, to push our clients a little bit outside their comfort zones,” says Brea Valenzuela of cityhomeCOLLECTIVE’s award-winning design group. A California native based in Utah since 2011, Valenzuela’s distinctive layered, textured, and self-described “gritty” style has been informed by her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design, international travel, and a deep respect for the ways in which cultures all over the world utilize materials and spaces. “I like to evoke a sense of surprise,” says Valenzuela of working with her clients. “We like to introduce them to things that they might not normally find through conventional sources,” by incorporating vintage/modern juxtapositions, custom-designed pieces, rich colors, and layered patterns and materials.
“With art, people are a little more open to being risky,” says Valenzuela of cityhome’s typically design-forward clients. “Our clients generally hire us because they know we’re not going to go with traditional, safe choices for them.” The designers use particularly distinctive furniture items judiciously based upon their client’s needs and prefer to avoid repeating those choices for other projects. Says Valenzuela of this client-focused philosophy, “As a result, we end up doing some really cool, funky, unique things.”