Page 347 - Jan 2019 MM

MILITARY
PRECISION
Helping make duty stations home for military families
“A lot of \\\\\\\[clients\\\\\\\] are shopping on an IKEA budget, but they want a high-design quality and sturdiness,” she notes. That’s where AmericasMart comes in. She shops the showrooms for suppliers who can work within her budget and who make the types of products that can withstand multiple moves. “I can actually feel the quality of the products in person,” says Benitani.
Another requirement for Benitani’s vendors: “They need to be able to drop-ship to
my clients,” she says. Because she is a military spouse too, she can’t maintain a warehouse of goods. Since her clients are almost always in other parts of the country, or even overseas, Benitani only works with manufacturers who can ship furniture and other items directly to the clients. She also uses online retailers like Wayfair, AllModern, Birchlane and CB2.
She also prefers suppliers who have
low opening and reordering minimums. “I might not be able to buy $2,000 worth
of products for one client,” she explains. Fortunately, these types of flexible vendors have become easier to find at The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market. “In the last couple of years, more and more companies are open to
\\\\\\\[working with designers by not having high minimums\\\\\\\],” says Benitani. “When I first started, it was difficult to find vendors who would really work with me.”
Before she even arrives at the show, she’ll search the AmericasMart exhibitor listings for customers who offer lower minimums. Once there, she’ll walk the show floor
by floor, stepping into showrooms when
she sees products that interest her visually. “I look for companies who will really cater
to drop-shipping, offer lower minimums for designers, and have an overall aesthetic that I feel might appeal to my clients, who are usually between 25 and 40 years old." >
FURNITURE, RUG & HOME ACCENTS
Brianna Beninati knows firsthand the challenges of frequent relocations and the struggle of turning a temporary rental home into a cozy retreat. Since marrying an Air Force pilot, she’s moved from Oregon to Mississippi to New Mexico in just a few short years.
Trained in interior design, Beninati’s eureka moment came as she watched her fellow military spouses setting up their new homes, and trying to arrange existing furniture into an entirely new floor plan.
“Moving into a temporary home every few years, you have to make it work with the furniture you have, rather than buying new furniture every time,” she explains.
Defining the mission
Benitani started her business, Based
in Design, on New Year’s Day, 2015. Originally her main offering was spatial planning. Clients would send her a floor plan of their new home and dimensions of their furnishings, and Benitani would use a CAD program to design a complete layout before the client even moved in.
“That way, when they get there, they can just do a point and drop for the movers
and everything’s in the right place,” she says.
As her client base grew, Beninati’s services also expanded. Now she does everything from color consultations, to furnishings sourcing, to full-scale renovations. In many cases, she will offer solutions to clients that are temporary and can be taken
down without damaging the space.
But no matter how small or large the project is, it’s almost always done remotely. Benitani might do a video conference as her initial consultation, so she can “meet” her clients face to face and even get a visual tour of their belongings. She uses design software to create renderings and mock-ups, which she emails to clients for their feedback. This means her clients are not only all over the United States, but also in other countries, including England
and Japan.
Working through challenges
Since many military families also subsist on a single income, Benitani also ensures that her services are affordable, and the products she sources also are well-priced.
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