"When Elena Vinarsky was looking to decorate her new apartment in Zurich, Switzerland, she surprised her friends by hiring Val Nikitin, an interior designer based halfway around the globe. A consultant who sometimes travels as often as three weeks per month, Vinarsky wasn’t able to schedule regular face-to-face meetings with a local decorator. She met Nikitin on a trip to New York, where he lives and works, and the pair agreed to collaborate on her Swiss home via e-mail.
During online brainstorming sessions, Vinarsky showed Nikitin examples of art and furniture that she already owned, as well as sending him “before” pictures and a floor plan. In return, he sent her sketches and ideas for furniture and lighting options. Using her laptop and BlackBerry, the globe-trotting Vinarsky was available to reply anytime, anyplace. The process was much shorter than working with a client in person, says Nikitin, because instead of setting up live meetings, he and Vinarsky were able to quickly bat ideas back and forth. “It was a match from the very beginning—that was most important,” says Vinarsky. “We’re still in touch. I write him whenever I buy something new, asking him where to place it.”
