Local designer Brendan Flanigan merges aesthetics with utility
Brendan Flanigan has always been an interior designer, even before he could put words to it. He remembers gathering accessories in his parents' European arts and crafts home in Troy as a 5-year-old and arranging them on the mantle.
The youngest of seven children, Flanigan worked as a teenager at Emma Dux, the restaurant his parents owned in Malta.
"It gave me an understanding of what service should be from the guest perspective," Flanigan says, and it has stayed with him throughout his career in food service and later as a designer. Years later, as his design business has flourished, he often takes on commercial clients looking to redesign restaurant spaces.
Flanigan majored in business at Siena College and worked in restaurants in Saratoga Springs, Albany and Newport, R.I., while he was in school. His first job out of college was in accounts payable for a local company. It was part of his job to check on properties the company managed as the spaces were being updated, and he found himself making suggestions. He discovered he had a knack for colors. Then came the aha moment, when, while he was ordering a large amount of drapery fabric, the person taking his order asked if he was a designer.
"'Well, yes,' I thought," Flanigan says.
Flanigan started Brendan Flanigan Interiors in 2006. He started with event planning, florals and weddings. Over the years he has lent his talents to raise money for Universal Preservation Hall and the Yaddo artists' colony, both in Saratoga Springs. Referrals led to more work, both locally and downstate. He splits his time between Saratoga Springs and New York City.
"This is a passion I enjoy. I never roll in thinking I know everything," Flanigan says.
When describing his personal style, Flanigan, 42, describes himself as an art collector....