As my entry to Roger Mucci's Be The Star of Your Own Movie contest, this post is based on the film Queen to Play, starring Kevin Kline (and not Sheraton Furniture's Flooring Guy) and Sandrine Bonnaire. Bonnaire stars in this 2009 French film as a chambermaid on the island of Corsica, who cleans house for Kevin Kline, an American doctor. As Kline teaches her the game and she improves, Bonnaire must deal with her growing fascination of the game and the tension it creates in her family.
Chess is an ancient game of strategy and power. Based on geometrical and mathematical purities, it is one of the most elegant games ever conceived. And yet, it is a battle, and as with any conflict, the tension rages back and forth as two opponents struggle for dominance. This combination of purity and dynamism, mixed with a rich and varied history, makes chess a wonderful metaphor for great design.
The art of chess consists of formulating a plan for the chess game and in arranging the chess pieces to accomplish this plan in view of the opponent's best response. The art of design is much the same: starting with a plan and expecting that the pieces will fall in line. But sometimes, NOT in ways that we can easily anticipate!
For example, I (The Knight) recently been working with a NYC client (The Queen) who bought just bought a co-op in Harlem. The plan is to completely gut and then remodel her top floor of this 1916 brownstone. The galley kitchen that I designed, while small, had ample storage capacity with my redesign and, by moving the gas stove to the opposite wall, enabled us to create a gorgeous peninsula to seat 4 with a great site line to the large common living space. Her balcony, right off the kitchen, is being enclosed and heated and will serve as a formal dining room with a table.
To my dismay, the building engineer (The Bishop) refuses to allow us to move the gas line to the opposite wall! And he is employed by the co-op board (The King) and these NYC co-op boards are notorious for their need for power! Since I can not fight "City Hall", so to speak, I'm really in a bind. Keeping the stove where it currently sits will present a danger to my client when she and her family sit down for breakfast!
And so, when I meet with her on Wednesday, with the Engineer and our wonderful contractor (The Pawn) I am going to suggest that we cap off the gas line and that she installs an electric range. While electric is not optimal for cooking and for economically, it does provide a good solution so that my client can retain her peninsula and the wonderful site lines I've created.
Since this is the first challenge that we have encountered, I'm confident that I can re-group. But of course, there are only so many moves you can make, particularly when the co-op board holds so much power.
Yup, interior design is just like a game of chess. The tension rages back and forth as two opponents struggle for dominance.
Comments(44)