Ken Gemes is the owner of Ken Gemes Interiors in Bronxville, NY. He is a talented interior designer that we have had the pleasure of working with for many projects. He attended HCC University earlier this year where he met the nearly 550 artisans and craftsmen that make our wood and upholstered pieces to order. He recently asked the help of Hickory Chair's craftsmen to create a custom sectional for a client in our workroom. The client had enlisted Ken to create a special place for their children. We asked him to share his experience with all of us.
"I was having trouble finding a very tailored sectional, with small arms to make room for more seating capacity – so when I saw the slender arm of the Leigh (Leigh Sectional by Suzanne Kasler for Hickory Chair), I thought it was the perfect candidate for a sectional. My clients were building a pool house on the water in Westhampton Beach. They are an active family with three children, ages 3, 5 & 7, so they wanted a fun room where the kids could hang out, eat lunch and crash on the sofa in front of a movie or a game. The pool house could be no larger than 800 square feet in order to meet code, and we were trying to accommodate a powder room, with an exterior shower, a laundry room, small kitchen and a hang out room with a bar and a large flat screen TV. We did a small peninsula with bar stools to break the Kitchen from the Family Room.
We wanted the sectional to butt up against the back of the peninsula and sit just below the stone top which was 35” from the floor. By squaring up the back of the sectional, still leaving a slight pitch for comfort and having the hard back hit just below the stone countertop, we managed to get optimum seating without crowding our multi-functional hang out
room. The Jim Thompson “Funny Fish” print provided the color direction – inspired with colors from the sea. The great mix of aqua’s, ocean blues and navy worked perfectly with our black countertops, white cabinetry and “Wenge” ceramic floor tile which gives the appearance of hard wood.
The clients wanted a sofa the kids could live on, so by using an outdoor Sunbrella fabric in navy, no one was worried about a wet suit or a spilled drink. The client was so in love with the “Funny Fish” and since it ended up being only one pillow on the sofa, I framed two panels of it, to brighten up
the interior and save on the “art budget”.
To help Ken achieve his objective, our craftsmen took Ken's instructions, measurements and wishes to create this sectional. Special construction modifications were made to insure that the custom sized sectional would perfectly fit the space. The Alex M2M Cocktail Ottoman from the Alexa Hampton Collection was scaled for the room. Ken chose a Hickory Chair fabric named Pom Pom Sapphire an exclusive from the Hable Construction collection. Each of these pieces were Made 2 Measure (M2MTM) in our Hickory, NC workroom. Our craftsmen were proud to create these pieces for for Ken and his client. For over 100 years we have been trusted to make special pieces for families. With your support we can continue this tradition for generations of families to come.
Made to Order. Made to Last. Made over 100 years.
Ken - what a great palette of Navy and great use of space. I love how you made such great use of the space. Wonderful ideas and a talented designer!!
Posted by: Denise McGaha | October 01, 2012 at 05:10 PM