Categories
Interior Design
RECOMMENDATION
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4.5
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WORK QUALITY
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COST EVALUTION
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VALUE ANALYSIS
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ADD YOUR REVIEW
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Services & Specialties
Minimal and understated yet warm and comfortable interior design
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FR Review:
Clements Design studies the client’s personal narrative, adjusts it within an architectural context, and brings the story to life with understated elegance. In the design phase, clients offer up plans for how they’d use the room—lazy Sundays, intimate dinner parties—rather than visions of how it would be decorated. Next, natural light, teak and swirls of marble brighten the bones while plush upholstery and hand-crafted woodwork set a warm, neutral tone. Smatterings of eclectic art, vibrant textiles and statement antiques enhance the scene as each room subtly becomes its own vignette.
Kathleen and Tommy Clements are the mother and son duo behind this West Hollywood operation. What started as Kathleen’s antique/custom furniture retail hot spot in New Orleans (the family relocated several times) has evolved over fourteen years into the seven-person, full-service design firm it is today. A partner for the last decade, Tommy came to Clements Design from heading sales and marketing at Architectural Digest. Clients say the dynamic is the best of both generations; Kathleen’s practices are old school but so is Tommy’s taste—yet Tommy offers a fresh, youthful perspective that Kathleen has the stylistic expertise to execute. It’s a balancing act of emerging talent and classic craft . While clients tend to gravitate toward one partner or the other, these self-proclaimed “control freaks” ensure every employee in the firm is up to speed on and lending a hand in each project. This lack of bureaucracy and a reportedly impeccable business acumen are crucial in the sizable projects Clements goes after.
Whether larger-than-life plans for a ground-up or handling an early Georgian estate going through its third renovation after a reboot in the 80’s, the firm has a reputation for handling twelve major homes (with a hotel or winery in the mix) at once. Though often collaborating with a roster of modern architects (Backen, Gillam & Kroeger, Rios Clementi Hale, and Marmol Radziner, ), this intimately involved firm has a hand in the sketching of the space so as to manipulate it for even the more traditionally-inclined. Clients tend to have both great taste and a willingness to surrender the process to the professionals. Many homeowners consider their Clements project their most expensive endeavor, yet admit the price tag was appropriate given the quality they demanded. However, with a 25% markup paired with a sliding design fee, all parties feel free to indulge for a look that’s lived in, not “decorated,” yet still one of a kind.
Representative Client Comments:
"My home feels organic; it feels lived in." "The team was intimately involved in the entire process, even the initial floor plans. They were able to pull the reigns on the architect when he was moving too strongly in one direction (stylistically)." "I'm going through withdrawals now that the project is over—I might need to buy some new property just so I can hire them again!" "There's a natural flow to the home. The design is modern bu the materials soften it up. It's understated, not overdone, exactly how we wanted it." "Hands down the best interior design firm I have worked with." "Tommy and Kathleen are a great balancing act. They share control, but the whole team is quick and sharp. If one person disagrees on something, they let the whole idea go rather than push it." "They are experts but they don't take themselves too seriously."
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