Lattanzio Blog

col·lab·o·ra·tion

col·lab·o·ra·tion

1. The action of working with someone to produce or create something. 2. Something produced or created in this way.

Pictured here is the “Sadie Settee”- The settee is made from furniture grade alder wood with mortise and tenon joints, wood glue, screws and painted with premium lacquer. The seat is hard foam on plywood and covered in Italian silk imported from a Swiss company. Nice- but how this settee came to exist is the story of collaboration.

A friend of mine- Kathy Hatcher, of Hatcher Design Group, called and invited me over to her friend’s home. At the home-Kathy and her friend walked me around the room they were working on. I saw a mini- grand piano in beautiful red lacquer, an abstract painting by my friend Christopher Martin hanging over the mantel, and a lounge chair that was going to be recovered. There was a need for a settee with certain size parameters that kept the flow and the line of sight in the room right. Ideas and stories were shared that explained the lifestyle of the homeowners; and a tour of the house further revealed the lines of this lifestyle. All told, our visit lasted about 40 minutes. 

Back at the studio I did a little research to make sure my idea matched their vision (a few pictures of settees with characteristics of line and style were sent to Kathy to lock in the right direction for sketching this settee). Upon confirmation, two sketches were completed- and from those the final design was determined.
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The finish on the settee was supposed to be an orange/red stain, but once the fabric arrived I immediately saw that it would not work- (too much grain showing that fought the fabric).  Rather than continuing with the project- I stopped, took the original stain samples (on extra piece of alder from settee wood) and also selected 8 paint cards based on fabric that ranged from orange through red-blue.

Kathy sorted through the colors and samples I brought- saving her time from having to run out and do this herself- and picked the deep, rich color you see on the settee. The color worked beautifully with the fabric as well as the other finishes in the room. And this collaboration produced a happy homeowner and designer with a piece of furniture that was on time and on budget. What more can you ask for?