Q&A with Ginny Snook Scott
As a former successful design consultant for California Closets, Ginny Snook Scott, now Chief Organization Officer (and Vice President, Sales and Marketing), for the company, has a true passion for design. Lucky for us, she was willing to share a few of the exciting new trends she spotted during Milan Design Week, held in Italy recently…
LIP: Tell us about your role at California Closets and why you headed out to the Milan Furniture Show.
GSS: I am the Chief Organization Officer. My role is to help educate our franchisees, their staff and our customers on the best ways to creatively store, organize and display their personal belongings. The Milan Furniture show is all about design and inspiration and my role was to seek out new and beautiful products to integrate into our product lines.
LIP: What were some of your favorite trends?
GSS: Within storage systems we saw a strong trend of working with basic color schemes for the “shell” of the storage system and then using a splash of color to provide visual interest. For example, we saw several entertainment systems designed in basic black, shades of brown and wood grain materials—but utilizing a bold blue or red sliding door in a small section of the design to catch attention. There was also a lot of use of LED lighting with changing color tones that could be used within glass shelving or behind a storage section that could be used to change the mood of the system design for an evening dinner party.
LIP: That sounds so fresh! How does visiting trade shows like this one help with your work at California Closets?
GSS: Our company originated the home-storage industry more than 30 years ago and as innovators we are always looking for products and ideas to expand the thinking in home storage systems. Our clients look to us to understand design trends and to provide recommendations in their home, so attending trade and design shows allows us to be well educated on the newest trends.
LIP: What are some of the new and exciting products we can look forward to seeing from California Closets?
GSS: We are looking at expanding our core product offering with textured laminates in various finishes and wood grains. Additionally, we’re working on new hardware for door/drawer pulls and new insert materials for doors/drawers, which are all always exciting for our customers. These details really allow someone to add their personal signature to a design for a closet, entertainment system or home office!
Design Tip: In a recent California Closets survey, 95% of respondents said closet space is either important or very important when looking for a home. While house hunting, be sure to bring a measuring tape and digital camera to take photos of the closets!