“To us, it is all about creating spaces that are both visually stunning but also functional and comfortable for everyday living. Achieving this delicate balance between sophistication and livability requires a thoughtful approach that seamlessly integrates luxurious elements with practicality and common sense.”
Trish Knight and Nicole Varga are a match made in interior design heaven. They joined forces in 2019 to start Knight Varga Interiors, a multi-award-winning design studio based in Vancouver specializing in bespoke residential projects.
This power duo sat down with Cosentino for an exclusive interview where they gave us an inside look into how they strike the perfect balance between sophistication and livability, their creative process, and so much more.
Creativity Is In My Blood
Trish: I grew up in a family of creative women – my mom does everything well from sewing and cooking to drawing and singing. My sister is an art teacher, and my grandmother was a jewelry designer. Creativity is in my blood. To balance this, my dad was very practical, grounded, all business, and a big believer in formal education. I moved to Vancouver from the prairies to go to university and studied International Relations. While this is not design-related, it taught me how to think, how to listen, and how to understand what is not being said to come up with my own opinions.
An Organic Calling to Design
Nicole: I had a more straightforward path to design than my partner Tish. I was always a creative kid who loved to dance, draw, and redesign my room time after time. My mother is a painter and my father designed and built furniture and they encouraged me from a young age to express my creativity. My only brother is a firefighter and an amazing chef. Our paths often cross when his charity, Fire In The Kitchen, cooks at design events.
The Product of a Creative Family
Nicole: I had a more straightforward path to design than my partner Tish. I was always a creative kid who loved to dance, draw, and redesign my room time after time. My mother is a painter and my father designed and built furniture and they encouraged me from a young age to express my creativity. My only brother is a firefighter and an amazing chef. Our paths often cross when his charity, Fire In The Kitchen, cooks at design events.
We work on all our projects together from concept to completion and naturally gravitate to different aspects of the job. For example, I love big-picture planning, and getting to know our clients and how they live in their homes. Nicole is great with all the details that go into a successful project and loves the finishing touches. We play to each other’s strengths and the combination of our creative processes has proven to be a recipe for success.
Forever Home by Knight Varga Interiors | Silestone Et. Noir Backsplash & Dekton Uyuni Countertops | Janis Nicolay Photography
Forever Home by Knight Varga Interiors | Silestone Et. Noir Backsplash & Dekton Uyuni Countertops | Janis Nicolay Photography
A WINDOW INTO OUR CREATIVE PROCESS
Every project begins with getting to know our clients and their goals, familiarizing ourselves with the site, native landscape, natural light opportunities, and views. From there, we review the architectural drawings and make recommendations for changes to better align with our client's wishes. At this point we begin brainstorming in a very unstructured way, opening our minds to concepts, ideas, new materials, colors, and textures. These brainstorming sessions can happen anywhere: in our studio, over a glass of wine at a restaurant, or out for a dog walk at the beach. It is a very fluid process where we do not put limitations on the ideas brought forward.
Ultimately a theme will start to develop as we layer in materials and not yet commit them to specific usage. We then start to sketch concepts sometimes by hand, or AutoCad, or in Sketchup. We sit down together and pull all these ideas into specific areas of the home to determine what works best and how they will flow. From there, a cohesive presentation is made to the clients to confirm they love the direction we are taking their home. Once approved we are back to the studio and focused on the technical aspect of the job – a full set of construction drawings and specification package is created for the builder and we then focus our attention on finalizing furnishings, window treatment details, art, accessories, etc. Our projects typically run 2-3 years from start to finish, so there are lots of site meetings and opportunities to check on the progress before we get the house turned over to us for the final installation.
Forever Home by Knight Varga Interiors | Dekton Kovik Flooring | Janis Nicolay Photography
Jumping In With Both Feet
Nicole: I wasn’t aware of interior design as a profession and long-term career until I met a friend of my mother’s who was a designer. That encounter propelled me to enroll in classes and explore if this was the path for me. Safe to say I jumped in headfirst and never looked back.
A Match Made in Design Heaven
Nicole and I met through a mutual friend when I was looking to hire someone part-time for my first design firm. We worked well together and became fast friends. At this point, Nicole was working with another firm full time but when she was ready to leap into entrepreneurship, we partnered up and formed Knight Varga Interiors in 2019.
We work on all our projects together from concept to competition and naturally gravitate to different aspects of the job. For example, I love big-picture planning, and getting to know our clients and how they live in their homes. Nicole is great with all the details that go into a successful project and loves the finishing touches. We play to each other’s strengths and the combination of our creative processes has proven to be a recipe for success.
From Canada To The World
We are based in Vancouver, Canada but are lucky to work on projects around the world, from New York to Singapore, London, Palm Springs, and beyond. Our international projects are typically second or third homes to our Vancouver clients, making the process even more special.
Sophistication & Livability
To us, it is all about creating spaces that are both visually stunning but also functional and comfortable for everyday living. Achieving this delicate balance between sophistication and livability requires a thoughtful approach that seamlessly integrates luxurious elements with practicality and common sense. We achieve this by getting to know our client’s preferences and lifestyles to create a highly personalized and tailored design that is unique to their family.
First Home by Knight Varga Interiors | Silestone Serena Fireplace Hearth | Janis Nicolay Photography
Incorporating Sustainability
We focus on integrating quality materials and craftsmanship with a strong emphasis on longevity. This is a very simple sustainability objective and a way to encourage our clients to ultimately, over time, buy less! Better for the planet and better for people. We create warm and welcoming spaces with a focus on comfort in our furnishings and textiles. We take into consideration natural light, maximizing views, and integrating indoor and outdoor living.
A Passion for Turnkey Projects
We love turnkey projects where the client asks us to source every item going into the home right down to the cutlery before the big reveal. This is more likely to happen with second homes or vacation homes whether in the city, the mountains, or the beach.
Giving Back To The Community
Homes For The Holidays is a local event in Vancouver that we have been involved with since 2018. It takes place in November and brings the design community together raising funds for youth mental health. The original concept was a self-guided tour through five homes that had been decorated by designers in holiday themes – whether Christmas, Hanukkah, or even just winter! Most recently, we have switched to a single home format with designers decorating a room each in a stately mansion at the university. This allows us to host evening events for additional fundraising and creates a real sense of teamwork with 30 other designers working on different aspects of the home in the days leading up to the event. Trish currently sits on the board which meets every month to organize the next event.
Inspiration Is All Around
We find inspiration everywhere! We make a point of visiting our local showrooms, meeting with our reps, and traveling to tradeshows. We live in a beautiful part of the world and spend time in the mountains and at the beaches. We both love dining out and checking out new restaurants and hotels. Our clients are typically very well-traveled citizens of the world and often come to us with stories and photos of what they have seen on their journeys. If you are open-minded and optimistic you will see wonder everywhere you go!
A Love Affair With Dekton
We love working with Cosentino products, especially with Dekton which is such a game-changer. We were first introduced to Dekton about seven years ago and used it for an outdoor BBQ area in Palm Springs, which is sweltering hot for half of the year. Ever since, we’ve used Dekton in several applications such as a beautiful big kitchen island in the color Bergen, walls, floors, and more. Dekton provides an incredible range including marbled and terrazzo-inspired designers. The portfolio, including a variety of thicknesses and finishes, makes it so easy to get inspired.
Forever Home by Knight Varga Interiors | Silestone Et. Noir Sink & Counrertop | Janis Nicolay Photography
“We play to each other’s strengths and the combination of our creative processes has proven to be a recipe for success.”
Knight Varga Interiors
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