We meet at 7 Rideau Gate, a spacious old house with a mix of Victorian and Georgian elements just outside the grounds of Rideau Hall.
As Ann Malone Bianconi shows me the rooms she's designed here, it strikes me that this place, with its four generous bedrooms, roomy living areas and elegant, historic feel, would make a fabulous B&B.
In a sense, it already is -- and a very exclusive one at that. The house at 7 Rideau Gate is owned by the government of Canada and is used to house dignitaries who come to the country on official business. It is, along with such places as Rideau Hall and 24 Sussex Drive, one of Canada's official residences.
Malone Bianconi has perhaps the most unique interior design job in the entire country. As the NCC's manager of interior design and the Crown collection of historic and cultural objects, her job is to keep the official residences looking good.
How did you get started?
"I have been drawing since I was a child and I still paint -- oils, acrylics and watercolours. I really wanted to become a designer, but other things were in the works.
"I met my husband, I had my children, and I stayed at home with them until they were in school.
"Then I went to the Algonquin College advanced interior design program.
"I worked for official residences as a summer student, and then I came back to it as a full-time job. It's been a privilege and lots of fun."
How easy -- or difficult -- is it working for basically one client?
The NCC, she says, oversees the official residences and manages them according to a life cycle plan so that in essence there is always something being updated.
The list of official residences includes Rideau Hall, the home of the Governor General; 24 Sussex, the home of the prime minister; Stornoway, the home of the leader of the official Opposition; The Farm at Kingsmere, the residence of the Speaker of the House of Commons; as well as 7 Rideau Gate and the prime ministerial country residence at Harrington Lake. Some items of the Crown collection she manages are at the Citadel, the Governor General's Quebec City residence.
Malone Bianconi says she oversees the decor in the public rooms in those official residences, but does not have a completely free hand.
In addition to working with a budget, she presents her design concepts to an advisory committee whose members include people with backgrounds in such areas as history, architecture and design.
She also works directly with the occupants of the residences, adding that the occupants are respectful of the fact the NCC has the mandate to decorate the public areas of the official residences.
What's the hardest thing about your job?
"I think the most difficult thing is making sure we're doing something that's worthy of everyone who sees the buildings. You are always thinking of the people who are going through."
And the easiest?
"The easiest part is developing the concept."
How do you define good design?
"Good design is managing to bring in colour and patterns and different fabrics and bring them all together harmoniously, without it being overdone. It's important to have restful design, elegance and a touch of drama. "That's the secret to my design: designing with neutrals and adding that touch of drama."
What, as a designer, gives you the greatest satisfaction?
"I get satisfaction out of developing a concept and seeing it through to fruition. There's a lot of hard work and planning involved, and to see that room, or those interiors, all come together -- and to see people enjoy them -- that's the biggest thing."
Where do you get your inspiration?
Malone Bianconi says she draws her inspiration not from magazines or designers or trends, but from the buildings she works with -- their architectural features, their history. She will ponder a problem and let it percolate away in her brain, until an idea bubbles up.
"Once I start a project, it never leaves my mind. Ideas even come to me in my sleep."
And she says she is very detail-oriented, particularly when it comes to colour: "I never let anybody mix my colours!"
What is your favourite room at home, and why?
"Our family room and kitchen combined," she says. "It's a place where a lot of our family gatherings take place. In my kitchen, I have mahogany cabinets, and a tumble-stone backsplash and large 18-by-18 porcelain tiles and a circular glass table with black upholstered chairs that invite relaxed conversation. It's a restful room. I work with so much colour that my house is very neutral, with a bit of drama."
Have you ever had any design disasters?
"No. So much thought goes into my designs in advance that when we are ready to go ahead, it's got to be just right."
What design project are you most proud of?
The redesign of the ballroom at Rideau Hall. It really was like doing the interior of a cathedral; it's so grand and the ceiling is so high.
The room's size presented special challenges, for example, getting the right colour of paint for the ceiling. She kept tinting and retinting paint and sending the painter up on the scaffolding to test the colours on a swatch of ceiling until she felt she had things just right. She ended up having to adapt the colour as they moved from the back to the front of the room so it would look uniform as light conditions changed.
She also sketched out a design for the rug for the room, and picked its colours from swatches of wool.
Where do you like to shop for design items?
Montreal and Toronto are awesome for fabric showrooms, she says, mentioning Kravet at 4269 Ste. Catherine St. West in Montreal.
Many fabrics are made outside Canada, but she likes to incorporate as many Canadian crafts into the residences as she can. The ballroom rug at Rideau Hall was made by a Canadian company, and a carpet in another room was handcrafted by women from Cheticamp, Nova Scotia.
Do you have a special design trick or something that helps you pull a job together?
Malone Bianconi says she relies mostly on having a good eye. She says she will start with one element -- a rug, for example -- and build from there. She will use her eye to study the details and create a design.
What advice would you give to a young designer?
"Work on your drawing skills. Because I have drawing skills and the ability to sketch something very quickly, I am able to get my concepts across very quickly. If you have drawing skills, you can pick up a pencil and give someone a quick perspective on a room."
"Also, it's important to remember that while the thoughts or ideas are your own, it's not your job to push those ideas onto a client who does not approve of them. In other words, you have at some point to give up ownership."
-- Postmedia News
