Victoria is already well served by a cadre of creative and award-winning home interior designers. To break into the market, two new design firms have set out to use their unique backgrounds to differentiate themselves from the crowd in their quest to attract new clients.

One company's niche is to help parents create stylish, yet healthy, spaces with children in mind. The other uses experience gleaned from work done for clients in Hawaii and internationally to bring a fresh take on interior design.

SAM & OLIVER

Sam & Oliver is a new business in Victoria that helps parents create healthier spaces for children. But don't bother asking for Sam or Oliver. Oliver is only three years old and Sam's just 10. Instead, the phone will likely be answered by Jennifer Gray or her business partner Michelle Kohl, two friends and the mothers of Sam and Oliver.

Just a year and a half after arriving in town, the two young women's new venture targets a generation of parents who have committed themselves to a healthy lifestyle and wish the same for their children.

"We're not just interior designers," says Gray, who has a background in art and design. "Instead, we help parents shift through the ever-growing number of green and sustainable products."

While they create stylish home environments, their primary goal is to eliminate potentially harmful furniture and choose only the most eco-friendly, non-toxic and organic materials available.

"Recycling, reusing and repurposing existing pieces will play a big role in typical Sam & Oliver room design," says Gray. "Creating inspiring spaces for children is more than just colour. It's also about air quality for young lungs."

As much as possible, the partners plan to source locally made items, which supports local businesses as well as reducing the environmental footprint.

Their services don't stop at the bedroom door. They will also work with parents to optimize and detoxify all the common areas of the home, including family rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and even outdoor spaces.

The business is still in its infancy, but future plans include their own line of products, such as a line of eco-friendly textiles and fabrics.

INTERIOR ACCENTS B.C.

Roger Ingram and Richard Rombach are the two principal designers of Interior Accents B.C., which has just opened a storefront design studio on Fort Street. The pair most recently moved from Hawaii and still have business interests there.

"We joke that we now have a foot on both Islands," says Ingram, who sees parallels between the two disparate islands on the Pacific Ocean.

"We chose to set up in Victoria because it is a different, yet delightful island."

He says there is a distinct benefit from working in Victoria because there are greater choices of styles to draw from. Also, he now has the ability to incorporate antiques into the mix. The heat, humidity and salt air environment -- typical conditions in Hawaii -- are not kind to antique furniture. Here he can mix old and new pieces together to create unique settings. He will finally be able to introduce Asian black lacquer coffee tables to balance rooms with vibrant colours.

Fabrics are also affected by the intense sun and surf in Hawaii. Ingram adapted to the tropical environment with the use of indoor/outdoor fabrics and floor coverings in his designs. Here he plans to use his experience with these durable materials for outdoor living rooms.

But despite the differences in locales, Ingram says people's tastes are actually quite similar. The common misconception is that people in tropical places like vibrant colours more than others. He says that in fact, he found his Hawaiian clients share a lot of tastes and preferences with clients in Victoria.

"Clients in both places ask for colours that are interesting but not garish," he says. "They don't want a colour shouting in your face."

If there is a difference between the two, Ingram says, it is that in Hawaii the doors are left open all year round, whereas in Victoria, we can do that only in the summer months.

Partner Richard Rombach's family has been involved in the furniture business for three generations, with a family store in Medford, Ore. Ingram is a psychologist by training but does not practice professionally.

"I joke that in an earlier life, I helped people rearrange their lives. Now I get to help people rearrange their furniture."

parrais@tc.canwest.com