An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Antiques and Vintage Items — Find something old and make it new again. We love antique sourcing and we love a time worn vintage piece for your home. By purchasing something old that speaks to you — you are able to add layers and texture to your home and make it rich with character.
As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kalah Talancy.
Kalah Talancy is the principal residential interior designer at KT2 Design Group, a full service Architecture and Interior Design firm based in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and serving most of the New England area. Kalah prides herself on her ability to hear clients wants and turn them into a well designed, original home.
Thank you so much for joining us in this series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Kevin and I have always both been very artistic in nature. We actually took painting classes together in high school and worked on our college portfolios together. For us a balanced and well designed home is like a work of art. We also are both fueled by human connection — and being able to help our clients live a well designed and beautiful home is beyond rewarding.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since
you started this career? One of the most interesting things that I was not anticipating with this career is growing with a client’s family. Some of our favorite clients are ones we have worked with for over 10 years. To design a home for them when they are expecting their first baby, to then be asked to help them carve out a space for that baby-turned-teen’s hockey gear, to then be asked to help them dream up a forever family vacation home for when they have grandkids — those are the relationships that fuel us. We are always honored to help set the stage for all of life’s evolutions.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
A mistake I made once that will never be made again was when a client’s curtains that had a horizontal stripe in my presentation showed up as a vertical stripe in person. Never again did I fail to call out the directionality of a stripe on a purchase order.
I also learned that dropping off a bottle of wine with an apology note makes a world of difference.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
One of the most interesting projects we are currently working on is designing a second home for a client in the mountains. Designing a second home is thrilling because you are often designing for different daily habits. Instead of worrying about where all the backpacks are going to go — you get to carve out artful spaces that have moments of peace and solitude. A second home is where a client goes to recharge — where they escape their stresses.
Often times a second home has the backdrop of the mountains or the sea — and adding moments in the home where those can be enjoyed in all seasons is always beyond rewarding.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You do you.”
Is a big quote both in our business and in our family. In a world where we are bombarded with what our professional peers are doing — you really have to be able to turn off that comparison mode. The creativity that they have is theirs, and the creativity that we have is ours. My creativity might help inspire somebody, but it should never be used as a measuring stick.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
We are both forever grateful to our roster of professionals we work with daily. From carpenters to painters to photographers. Our business is a team sport — one that has to have many moving parts that work in sync — and we are beyond thankful that we get to work with the people we work with.
Thank you for that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
From my point of view — five things you can do to spark more joy all have to do with enhancing your surroundings to be a reflection of your happiest self.
1. Antiques and Vintage Items — Find something old and make it new again. We love antique sourcing and we love a time worn vintage piece for your home. By purchasing something old that speaks to you — you are able to add layers and texture to your home and make it rich with character.
2. Splurge — you know that wallpaper/fabric/light you have always dreamed of using, but the price point makes your heart beat too fast? Save up and do it. Home projects can wear on people, and if you’re not careful you can be stuck on budget and making safe design choices. A splurge in one part of the home can be a constant reminder of how happy a design element makes you.
3. Durable and Washable — Life can be busy and chaotic and a forever clean up act. Putting durable surfaces around your home lets you live your daily life without fear. Picking a tile for your Mudroom floor? Think about what winter looks like in your region — if you are always coming in with salt and sand on your boots from a snowy winter — a lighter more textured slate will help hide things more than a dark surface. Same goes for fabrics. Don’t be afraid of using light tones on upholstery if it is what you have your heart set on — just make sure it is a slipcover or a sunbrella fabric. I always say — houses get a lot of wear and tear — kids have messy hands and pets have dirty paws. Let that dirt exist without fear — just make sure you are able to clean it up afterwards.
4. Travel finds — If you are on a trip and return home with a new tapestry, or a vase or a clock — that item will forever remind you of your trip and those visceral memories are priceless.
5. Art — Don’t be afraid to buy art. Not all art has to break the bank. Go to farmers markets and frame shops. Poke around on Etsy. Find a artist that speaks to you and support them. Even if the piece is semi-precious in the end, there is nothing as authentic as having an original piece of artwork in your home.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
In this industry we can see a lot of waste. Clients often take out functional items (cabinets or countertops) to trade up for something new. We work hard with our contractors to make sure usable items can find a home somewhere. In a perfect world — we would be able to find a new home for every single item that gets swapped out of a client’s new home.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
They can visit our website, KT2DesignGroup.com, to see our portfolio and learn more about us and our services. We are also on Facebook and Instagram.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Kalah Talancy of KT2 Design Group: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.