The method
Architecture leads. Styling follows.
Work begins with thresholds, framing, millwork, volume and sequence. Material and object choices answer to that structure, not the other way round. In practice, that runs in four stages.
Concept image of the design process: plan, fabrics, finishes and a room visualization. Not a photograph of a completed project.
-
One
Understanding the person, the property and the priorities
A walkthrough and a conversation. What the house already is, how it is actually used, what has to change first, and what should be left alone.
-
Two
Developing the design direction
The character of the house is set down in writing and in images before anything is chosen: the order of rooms, the intended feeling, the references worth editing and the ones worth ignoring.
-
Three
Resolving spatial, material and furnishing choices
Room by room: layout and sequence first, then millwork and finishes, then furniture, textiles and objects — each decision answering the structure it sits in.
-
Four
Reviewing decisions and defining next steps
Decisions are reviewed together, recorded, and the next phase is defined. A house developed in phases stays coherent because each phase is written down before the next begins.
Working at a distance
Remote Design Direction
Not every project begins in the same city. Remote Design Direction brings Avila's process to clients who need a clear point of view, a cohesive visual direction, and practical decisions to move a room forward.
Projects may include a focused room concept, material and finish direction, furniture and lighting selections, visualizations, or a decision framework tailored to the room.
History edited, never copied
Period detail is used where it earns its place and adapted where it does not. The aim is a house that reads as itself — not a reproduction of a decade, and not a showroom.
Begin with a reading of the house.
Tell me about the property and what you want it to become.