Rob Bowen never set out to become an interior designer. That wouldn’t seem unusual until you consider that, only a year or two out of diapers, the precocious aesthete had already drawn up a space-planning diagram for his bedroom. The following year, he improvised wall coverings from construction paper when his appeal for a crisp new paint job was rebuffed.
Rumor has it he had more than a few suggestions to make for the rest of the family dwelling as well.
Decades later, with a perplexing degree in business and communications under his belt, Bowen’s professional raison d’Ãtre found him through a serendipitous turn of events. By then a grown man with rarefied tastes and a voracious appetite for world travel, Bowen had leveled up his materials game to the point that his self-styled home had become the subject of a splashy pictorial feature in a local publication which landed him his very first client. Completely unproven in the design-for-hire arena, Bowen took on this initial job gratis, and by word of mouth, his profile and his reputation steadily grew.
Now the one-time furniture salesman is in high demand, with a full complement of professionals on his team who leverage his time and his talent. They complete a large and growing number of projects each year both locally and elsewhere; fully half of the work is done outside of Florida, some of it internationally.
A confirmed art collector himself, Bowen is extremely proud of the fact that for many, many years he has only used original artwork in his designs. In fact, art is one of the first topics he broaches with potential clients, to gauge its importance in their lives. For the record, he has converted non-collectors into collectors, which is a practice the Artisan can fully get behind.
Bowen sees art as an essential accessory, the “DNA” that expresses the client’s personality and style. Consequently, choosing artwork is an early part of the process, and for a team that often starts with a completely raw space, that’s saying something. Bowen has also designed projects around preexisting artwork. In some cases this has required careful strategizing to incorporate significant collections gracefully into environments with little existing wall space.
One thing Bowen requires of all his clients is an opinion. “I’m not designing for me,” he stresses, so if a client doesn’t know what they like or don’t like, it becomes impossible for him to deliver a properly-tailored space.
A man of many ideas but not a fan of clutter, Bowen says editing down is the hardest part of his job. His spaces are purposeful, precise, and free of extraneous objects, but also thought- provoking and full of character. A frequent international traveler, he finds it to be an excellent source of both new ideas and new materials. France is frequently on the itinerary, but Australia is also a favorite. “I could move there tomorrow,” he muses. But ideas can also arise in more mundane settings. “I can get a flash of inspiration at the gym, or just from interacting with different people.”
Wherever the headwaters of Bowen’s creative fount lie, they have instilled in him the unerring confidence and versatility to tackle nearly anything. From sleek, marble-clad spaces that are elegant and refined, to mosaic walls that resemble candied python skin, anything is possible just don’t ask for construction paper.
