intdefine

The author grew up in the Southwest in a family that lived and breathed design. His father was a real estate developer and his mother a novice interior designer and artist. Furniture was continually shuffled within their home to experiment with new room layouts. He developed a reputation as a perfectionist (psychopath?) when it came to his bedroom. e.g his parents and sister would move items in his room to see how long it took him to notice. His father learned to exploit this skill to monitor his mother's purchases. He shelved his interest in interior design when he moved to college, trading a well appointed bedroom for a well-used liver. It wasn't until after college, when he purchased his first condo in Chicago, that his interest in interior design was reignited. While he was happy to be an amateur interior designer, i.e. just mess with his own place, friends and family began asking for his amateur advice. As he navigated the big box stores, he realized that his options were limited. There was a lot of very nice furniture at the major retailers, but after purchasing just a couch and a table, his place began looking like the page of a catalog. Nice...but generic. And then there were the high-end design outlets. Again, some very nice things, but he couldn't figure out who could afford these stores? An $8,000 couch? Seriously. He began Interior Define to address alternatives to these two options, i.e. where can you find truly unique furniture and accessories that aren't absurdly expensive. The author currently attends graduate school in Chicago.