Contemporary Design with Patricia Davis Brown

Patricia opened Patricia Davis Brown Fine Cabinetry, Inc. in 1992. She specialized in whole house interior design, kitchen and bath design, lighting design, commercial design and universal design (designing for the disabled person or aging consumer).

In 2010, Patricia decided to close the kitchen and bath showroom to create a full design firm, Patricia Davis Brown Designs, LLC. Being a knowledgeable designer on product and materials she created an online store, www.PDBHomeStore.com, where she has sourced materials for the best price to offer to her clients or anyone. Through her design firm and her internet companies she has created an Interior Design Network of services.

Today, we offer you a  special interview with her where she shares her thoughts on her design inspiration, how lighting affects a room, shapes and colors, textures, and even where she looks for her personal touches with art.

Contemporary Design with Patricia Davis Brown

 In a contemporary design you will usually have a calm background and colors and shapes add a “WOW” factor to the room. My analogy is… imagine a white canvas and on the white canvas you add a different shade of white, would there be anything to draw your eye to the canvas? The answer is no, so it is important when dealing with simplicity in design to offer an exclamation to the design by adding contrast.

What I love about contemporary design is you see the architecture of the space and I like to play off of the architecture with repeated shapes. For example, when I looked at this house I thought the design of the front door was really saying what the space was about. The existing house had a contemporary front door and when you entered the home you walked into an attempt at a Mediterranean interior, which was all wrong.

So, I simply gave the house the consistency it so deserved.

The beauty of a well-designed lighting plan is the light is there, but you don’t see it. Lighting can be measured because each lamp comes with a beam spread and candlepower. You can direct the output and intensity of light on an object to focal point it. Lighting, if done wrong, can also add what I call noise to a space. No one wants to spend money on beautiful new cabinets where a beam spread from a recessed light fixture put too close to the cabinet intersects the face of the cabinet door, casting a bright scallop onto it. In contemporary design the only lighting that you should see is the decorative lighting, such as a chandelier or sconce for example. When selecting a contemporary lighting fixture you want it to act as a piece of art by simplistically adding an element of ah to the room.

Comfort is in the eye of the beholder. Each and every design I do is a reflection of my client’s vision of what they want and what gives them comfort. I think contemporary appeals to people that feel at rest in a non-cluttered space.

Through input from my client, I try to find out what they like in art and design and then shop for them. I look all over the world for unique accessories and artwork. I like to find artisans that bring a story to their work because it’s done with passion, and anything done with passion usually stands out and makes others viewing it feel good.

What inspires Patricia as a designer? The answer is …..”Everything!  As an Interior designer I get me inspirations from everywhere. I get it from architecture, art, fashion…the world around me.”