wilkens design studio

Objects & Space: Collaborating with Interior Designers for Customized Projects

We can imagine the interiors of our homes and places of work not solely as boxes for the containment of objects, but also as landscapes in which the tensions of scale, texture, and color function as a unified whole. If we allow space and furniture to engage in dialogue, the resulting story behind the design becomes rich, inventive, and meaningful. Partnerships between designers and architects, focused on a conceptual approach toward collaborative custom projects, can result in the design of environments that have plasticity and break down our conventions of floor, wall, and ceiling.

Artists, designers, makers of furniture, and architects speak a common language of volume, form, and proportion. Studio makers are particularly aligned to conceive of bespoke projects; engaged in the production of one-of-a-kind or limited edition handmade pieces, they bring the potential for unique expression and exceptional executions on ideas. Forging mergers between these viewpoints will open new doors of exploration in our experience of space.

Creating spaces that feature bespoke design features demands a fluid client-designer relationship, But also critical is the collaborative relationship between interior designers and the furniture designer-makers or artists commissioned to conceive and build these features.

Working with a limited timeline and budget, Wilkens Design Studio and Jennifer-Navva Milliken collaborated on the curation and definition of a booth for the Furniture Society at the 2017 IDS in Vancouver. Taking the basic premise of furniture and space, our booth design's focus uses furniture as a means to define space itself. Many thanks to Jennifer Navva-Milliken and the Furniture Society and to participant furniture makers and designers: George Simons, Fin, Hinterland, Codor Design, and Kurva Design.