Curation

Complete home decoration from trade sourcing to final installation.

Curation is the Decor service for a residence that functions but has not yet been resolved. The layout works. The building is right. The space simply does not yet reflect the life and sensibility of the person who lives in it. That gap is what this service closes.

Investment

InvestmentStarting at 5% of property value
Timeline3–4 months
Notes

Lead times for made-to-order pieces are typically 12–20 weeks. Project timeline runs concurrently with procurement once specifications are locked.

In Detail

Every project at this scope begins with a full FF&E specification — a written record of every piece before a single order is placed. This documentation is not administrative overhead. It is the protection against a sofa arriving in the wrong fabric, a rug appearing two inches short, or a fixture being discontinued at delivery. Our specification prevents the vast majority of procurement errors before they occur.

What's Included

Overview:

Full decoration program: furniture, lighting, textiles, art, window treatments, accessories. No structural work. All sourcing, procurement, delivery, and installation managed.

Scope Details:

  • Space planning and furniture layout development
  • Furniture specification and procurement from trade showrooms (D&D Building, Holly Hunt, Kravet, Brunschwig & Fils and others)
  • Secondary market sourcing: auction houses (Doyle, Christie's), 1stDibs, Chairish for specific pieces
  • Custom fabrication: upholstery, drapery, and millwork from vetted New York workshops
  • Lighting specification (fixtures only — for complete lighting systems see Home Improvement)
  • Textile specification: fabric, rugs, window treatments
  • Art curation and placement
  • Accessory sourcing and styling
  • Full procurement management: purchase orders, delivery coordination, storage
  • Professional installation and final placement

The Process

Sourcing Playbook

  • Primary: Trade showrooms — made-to-order from the D&D Building showroom floor and sister showrooms across Manhattan. These are the largest selection of quality residential furnishings available in the US, trade-only.
  • Secondary: Auction houses and secondary market for specific pieces with provenance, patina, or character that new production cannot replicate. Doyle and Christie's for estate material; 1stDibs and Chairish for curated vintage.
  • Fabrication: Vetted New York workshops for custom upholstery, drapery, and millwork. We work with the same fabricators across projects — their consistency is part of the quality control.

What We Don't Do

We do not source from retail — not West Elm, not Restoration Hardware, not Wayfair. The furniture in a Signature Decoration program is made-to-order or individually selected, not pulled from warehouse stock.

Process Phases

Discovery
2–3 weeks
Site survey and measurement, lifestyle and brief development, budget framework, preliminary concept direction. This phase establishes exactly what is needed before any sourcing begins.
Design Development
3–4 weeks
Furniture layout plans, preliminary sourcing and selections, material and finish specifications. Client review and approval of direction before procurement begins.
Procurement
12–16 weeks
Purchase orders placed for all approved items. Trade lead times are typically 12–20 weeks for made-to-order pieces. Progress tracked and communicated throughout.
Delivery and Installation
1–2 weeks
White-glove delivery, professional installation, styling and final placement. Punch list resolved within 30 days of installation.

Ideal For

The Client

A client who has recently moved, is moving, or wants to refresh a space without undertaking construction. New condo buyers who need to furnish from scratch. Existing residents who want to upgrade quality and coherence without disrupting the building's systems.

Not A Fit If

If you need to reconfigure the kitchen, add built-in storage, or address the lighting infrastructure, Signature Decoration is the wrong starting point. See Home Upgrade.

Tier Evolution

Signature Decoration clients often return for Home Upgrade or Home Improvement once they've experienced the result of a curated decoration program and want to extend that quality to the architecture of the space.

Building Requirements

Applicable Architecture

Applies to all building types. Board approval not required — no structural or mechanical work involved. The only constraint is service elevator dimensions for furniture delivery.

Six SubservicesCuration • Bespoke • Upgrade • Improvement • Remodeling • Renovation
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