Tell us about yourself:
I started appreciating design as a young girl when I decorated my room over and over. I even painted my bedroom wood trim a bold color, along with my furniture.  Also, my mom was very creative, and I watched her create beautiful floral arrangements, cakes, paintings and more.

When I was a child, I learned about color, design and proportion first by observing. During my young adult years, I worked in high end department stores, so I was always around fashion, color and current design trends. I later attended design school and received a degree in Interior Design. I’ve had my own business – FaGalde Interior Design, based in Sacramento, CA – for over 10 years.

Favorite project?
I have many favorite projects, but one that sticks out happened several years back. The client was a widower. He and his wife had planned to start a remodel before she passed. After, he considered whether to move forward with the remodel or move back to his childhood hometown in Arizona. Ultimately, he chose to remodel and we began working together.

As the project progressed and he saw all the amazing designs come into fruition, the process seemed to change his demeanor. I remember how amazed he was with all the beautiful natural stones during a visit to the slab yard. It was as if the design process completely uplifted him and changed the direction of his life.

An added element to the story happened when a distant neighbor of his rode by on her bicycle and was drawn by the construction in progress. He invited her for a tour and shared how beautifully the spaces were coming together. It was a chance meeting that later turned into a marriage!

What trends are you seeing in kitchen and bath?
One of the trends I see now is in light fixtures. Bigger and bolder and amazing fixtures being a focal point. It almost goes against design school proportions in pendants and chandeliers both in kitchens, bars and in bathrooms. New innovations I see are the hands-free faucets and large-scaled industrial faucets too.

Why copper?
I used copper for the bathroom vanity in this project because it had amazing texture and I love the patina with the
mosaic tile. The tile was so unique that an ordinary white sink would have been too plain. Since it was a powder bath, it was going to be a room that all my client’s guests used, so I wanted the sink to make a statement.

Since Thompson’s Traders has so many different shades of coppers, many coordinate easily with other bathroom finishes. In the powder bath, I used a chrome finish for the faucet and lighting, and it coordinates beautifully with the smoky hue of the sink.

My design objective was to give the “wow” factor to my client’s bathroom. I wanted their bathroom to be timeless with a touch of natural materials, such as in the copper and quartz counters. In addition, I wanted their guests to have an unexpected surprise when they used this room. I wanted them to see something unique not only in the mosaic tile but also in the Thompson’ sink. It’s just so different than what they see in other people’s homes.

What drew me to Thompson Trader’s products was the detail they use in their products. Each sink on display looked like a work of art with so much design and thought going into their products. They are really jewelry for the home!

 What was your Thompson experience?
I purchased the Thompson sink through Premier Bath & Kitchen. They had a beautiful display there, and once I saw it with my client’s tiles in hand, I knew it was going to be the perfect complement. The craftsmanship of the hand-hammered sink was superb. The patina and texture was amazing and the sink looks like it’s one of a kind piece and it will change and get only better with time.