Robin epstein
In my first career, as a journalist, I uncovered truth. As a designer, I reveal beauty. In both roles, I’m a storyteller. Now, I design environments that tell stories about the way people live and work in those spaces, stories told in color, pattern, scale and function.
My job is to help clients discover what they love and to create interiors that respond to their aesthetics and meet their parameters — of style, space, budget and time. I love hunting for solutions to design puzzles: choosing hues and materials that complement one another; drawing a kitchen floor plan with elegant spatial relationships; combining ambient, task and accent light fixtures to illuminate a space.
I specify high-end, to-the-trade items, bargain flea market finds, and everything in between. I design pieces for specific projects, including custom millwork and upholstery, and have commissioned a glassblower to manufacture to UL standards a collection of pendants I designed to hang over a dining table. I’m a sleuth. I don’t give up until we find the perfect reclaimed wood flooring, sensational backsplash tile or antique hardware for the front door. And I’m just as exacting when I specify the stuff that’s not sexy but needs to be durable and reliable, such as thermostatic valve rough-ins and exhaust fans.
I enjoy engaging with clients throughout the design process, and helping them reach decisions about what mood they want to evoke and how they want their spaces to look and feel. I thrive on the creativity, focus and attention to detail that interior design requires, but also value the collaboration with clients, vendors, artisans, architects, contractors, engineers, expediters and tradespeople that the work entails.