September 14, 2024 - Aren’t I Wonderful!
Technically speaking, the title of this Blog is really a question but I decided not to leave anything up to the imagination and instead create a statement. I have concluded that publicly praising oneself is a unique social media phenomenon of modern life. I’m not sure if this would be considered the same as ‘boasting’ or just a natural result of ‘persona creation’. The interesting thing about social media is that it’s really a one way conversation unless you consider getting ‘liked’ or getting an ‘emogi’ a substitute for a conversation?
I realize that I take the risk of sounding out of touch, going against the grain of what’s popular. Or maybe I’m just old and crabby (even though I don’t think I am either of those things)? I have reflected on this matter and finally had my ‘aha’ moment. Here’s the thing…..for better or worse, I studied art throughout my entire education and in art class we would have regular ‘critiques’, sometimes just one-on-one with the teacher and sometimes it would be the entire class critiquing one student. Conversations included both positive and negative comments and they were stimulating and pushed us to experiment and grow. What is especially interesting is that the person being critiqued was usually their own worst critic!
I feel a lot better now that I had my rant! And I don’t think anyone should rant (or critique) without providing an idea to change the situation. So in conclusion, I think we should all work on having a positive self image, but also realize that whether it’s art, interior design or just life, it’s always a work in progress. Enjoy the journey, enjoy the process and thanks for reading!
robin muto interior designer
January 8, 2024 - The Flip Side
The holidays delight with all the pretty lights and the decorations are so magical that I hardly notice how short the daylight is becoming. As much as I love the gathering of family, gifting and feasting, I also love when the holidays are over, flipping my calendar page to a new year, a fresh beginning and the slow but sure ascent into longer days. I love the peacefulness of a fresh snowfall, the coziness of home that creates the perfect setting for turning inward, allowing space for fresh ideas to germinates.
For me, the stillness begins to set in as soon as Christmas is over and lasts until New Years celebrations are over. I like spending this time at home, hybernating and catching up on reading my favorite design magazines, watching movies and cooking large batches of soup to freeze and enjoy throughout the winter. I also love having my afternoon coffee break while leisurely staring out my kitchen window. The bare trees, unraked leaves, gray skies, the stillness of it all, allow me to experience the beauty in ordinariness.
robin muto interior designer
Nov 5, 2023- Fast Food Design
Bing goes my phone on a Sunday morning alerting me that I have a new text message. My client just sent a picture of fabric that inspired her to have drapes made for her bedroom, because it “offered a lot to a reflective imagination”. She asked me if I could order some fabric samples. The text message ended with.. “oh boy, couldn’t I just be asking for a Wendy’s no. 1?”
I was quite taken with the comparison of Interior Design with fast food even though I knew this comment was meant to be sarcastic because there is nothing about the design process that is fast. One could argue and say that there does exist ‘fast design’, for instance, when franchising a design for a national food chain or retail store but there is still a considerable amount of work that goes into creating the initial prototype. That being said, I think most people who are attuned to the inner spaces of their home, desire something both unique (which is a process that takes time) with the comfort of familiarity (which is easy to do because its been done before).
Truth be told, I get an enormous amount of satisfaction from the process of developing that unique ‘secret sauce’ that blends all the right flavors in all the right amounts and my clients smile because they know that the design is exactly what they were looking for. I also realize that many potential clients are looking for a more ‘nuts & bolts’ process of getting it done and if the end result is tasteful and functional then they’re happy and if they are happy then I’m happy!
robin muto interior designer
Oct 1, 2023 - Slow Down Sunday
Although Buffalo is only an hour and a half drive from Rochester, my husband and I drove to Buffalo on Saturday night to stay at a hotel, sleep late Sunday morning, leisurely drink coffee and read the newspaper as we prepared to spend the afternoon at the new Buffalo AKG Museum.
As we approached the museum, the distinction between the original museum and the new addition is extremely vivid, but once inside, the transition between the old and new galleries was seamless.
The AKG has built its reputation with its contemporary art collection and it’s always a pleasure to view the ‘modern masters’ in the permanent collection.
For the grand re-opening, the museum’s kick-off exhibition was the work of Clyfford Still, an abstract expressionist painter. The paintings were large and emotive in his use of color and its application. Every painting emanated a distinctive vibe. I decided to make a mental note of paintings with color combinations that had potential for interior design projects…. I mean, after all, doesn’t art inspire design? I might not ever have a project with an adventurous client who is willing to interpret one of these paintings into an interior but it made me think outside-the-box and stirred my imagination.
robin muto interior designer
September 5, 2023 - Life in the Fast Lane
Yes, there are moments when I experience the storybook version of being an interior designer. Those days when I can go-with-the-flow and experience the natural rhythm of ideas with uninterrupted time to execute them. Those types of days, I often fantasize myself as one of my favorite interior designers, frequently seen in Architectural Digest…and it is delightful 😊
I really should not be complaining about juggling several large projects at once, but the myriad of interruptions require a lot of discipline to stay focused. Yet I’m very grateful that my contractors call and text me pictures of work in progress so that I can catch discrepancies right away. I’m grateful that my delivery people immediately call me when they notice something is damaged or missing parts. And I get annoyed at reps who show up at my studio ‘because they were in the neighborhood and wanted to drop off the newest samples’, but the flip-side is that these impromtu visits reduce the time I would otherwise have to spend on traveling to source samples for my projects.
The problem is that it’s hard to say no to favorite clients from the past who need help with a new house project but it has to be done within their time retraints and I don’t want to say no even when my schedule is full! So I work harder, longer hours and sometimes on weekends and I get the job done. People that I meet often say to me…’it must be so much fun doing what you’. And it is! But I also work really hard to acheive the results that I want.
robin muto interior designer
August 16, 2023 – Shoppe Object
Shoppe Object is the reimagined gift-show that happens twice a year in NYC. This 3 day event is attended by retailers, designers and anyone in the business of home decor, personal accessories, bath & body, giftware and stationery. There are similar shows in other cities, but Shoppe Object is my favorite because of the quality and focus on artisan centric makers. This year, I am most excited about meeting a maker who uses recycled plastic to create 3D printed bowls, vases and vessels. The forms are both sculptural and functional and the textured surfaces give the appearance of woven glass threads. I ordered about 20 pieces and I can’t wait to have them in my showroom.
robin muto interior designer
July 31, 2023 – My Day Off
According to my ‘Google for Business’ page, my studio is closed on Mondays. The truth is, that I always work on Monday but I try to avoid meeting with clients. At times it’s unavoidable, especially when coordinating 3 people to meet my metal fabricator to review my design of a metal stair railing and balusters for their home. My general contractor is scheduled to begin the demo of the first floor in 2 weeks and I need to get my ducks-in-a-row. Scheduling different tradesmen and keeping the project running efficiently is challenging but I prefer to be my own project manager. Although it makes my life more stressful, it takes a lot of the worry off of my clients because they know I’m taking care of things.
robin muto interior designer
July 27, 2023 - Full of Surprises
Today was was a good day because I met with a past client who proposed an interesting opportunity to me. Several years ago, he and his wife hired me to join their design team for their home renovation project to join their design team. But this time it was to discuss his new hotel which just opened a month ago. I knew he owned a lot of hotels and worked with an architecture firm that also did the interiors. But this hotel is a new concept for him and it’s also right across the street from the new Strong Museum of Play. The hotel is very contemporary and he wants me to make it feel more inviting by adding art and accessories. I’m already thinking about which local local artists would add that uniquely Rochester vibe to the space. I’m so excited for this opportunity!
robin muto interior designer