ON DESIGN
“I’m very visual. Anybody at any time can look at those documents,
see what we have selected, what we have, what we don’t have, and
what we need,” says Shannon, noting everybody has a budget whether
it’s five dollars or five million dollars, and things have to be based on
material, style, or details, not just a random number. Without this
information, she suggests, when budgets are strained “costs are often
cut from the worst place you can take it from: the finishes. The building
is the building and has to be beautiful, and it is important how it flows,
but what we see and feel and touch all day long are our floors, walls,
countertops, and cabinets. We know where to cut costs, and we can do
it from an educated standpoint.”
One would expect a designer to have a set look or style,
says Shannon, and “in Santa Barbara we have a lot of the Spanish
Mediterranean and Craftsman styles, but lately most of the work I’m
doing is much more industrial, rustic contemporary. The thing is, it
doesn’t matter what my personal taste is. I have opinions in each style,
but I’m there to find out what’s important to my clients for each space.
“Some people think if you don’t have their exact look in your
portfolio, you don’t do it,” says Shannon, who at this point has a
portfolio boasting projects comprising not only wine tasting rooms and
wineries, but also projects at Casa Dorinda, Montecito Inn, University
Club of Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Valley Marriott, Refugio Ranch Barn,
Rona Barrett’s Golden Inn and Village, Valle Verde, and more. She gives
a nod and a wink to consulting on a five-star, yet-to-be-named hotel
with rooftop pool, basement spa, boutique, restaurant and bar in Santa
Ynez Valley that has already been approved.
Shannon is currently designing three winery projects in the valley,
all of which grow organic grapes. She points to that as a trend that is
likely to continue and grow. “I think people are coming back to basics
again,” she proffers.
She says she is on a mission to find the heart and soul behind each
project and concludes our interview with the observation that, “People
want their homes to be a sanctuary, their own personal space that
reflects them or their winery or hotel. I want to tell their story. That’s
what excites me, because every space has a story.”
For more information, visit
call (805) 688-6286, or email Interiors@ ShannonScottDesign.com.
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