Wilds studied theatre in university, working as an actor before starting a master’s in counselling psychology. While he never formally studied interior design, he feels that his current career brings elements of his life together in one collective role. “My mum has an amazing eye, and a huge part of my influence comes from her: I remember as a kid being dragged around to fabric suppliers, tile suppliers, antique fairs, and things like that,” says Wilds. “[I was] introduced to materials and elements of home from a very young age, and that always stayed with me. And it really ignited something in me, and then I took this sort of detour around doing more overt performance and fine arts in a different way.”

“My work is always about a mashup of putting elements together unexpectedly, where there is a sense of calm, a sense of elegance, but also a sense of humour,” he explains. “The minute that I have something that’s really clean and serene, I want something primitive and rustic or historical on it or by it. The minute I have something that’s masculine, I want something feminine by it or on it. It’s just the way my brain kind of jumps back and forth, and it’s played out over and over again in this space, which is partly why I even created the space.” This philosophy is exhibited by the contrast played out between the skull and vase on Wilds’s coffee table.

Wilds prefers to source furnishings and accessories as he finds them, instead of searching for items once a need has been established. This way, when he requires a certain piece, it is already in his reserve. The bookcase motif paper lining one of his studio’s walls is a succinct illustration of this practice. “This is paper that I found about six to eight months before I actually found the space, and before I went into business for myself,” he recalls. “This is a prime example of finding something that I love and putting it in the arsenal and holding onto it.”

To further personalize his space, Wilds included a small gallery featuring photos with his parents, as well as two illustrations by New York-based artist Hugo Guinness. “He does these limited-edition pieces, and I just like how simple they are,” he says of Guinness. “And I wear glasses that are sort of similar, so I mean, there’s a whole personal story here.”

Wilds believe that “yes” is the most important word in our vocabulary, so he had a neon sign made in his handwriting as an emblem of the attitude. “There’s the cheesy aspect of, ‘Say yes,’ but I often say, ‘Go where people say yes, go where the opportunity is,’” he explains. “I love those moments when for some reason you’re compelled, and you say yes to sitting down [with someone] and you start talking and you’re like, ‘This person is amazing, and I never would have imagined that I would have had this conversation with them, or I would have learned this from them.’”

“I am known as the dude who works with white a lot, and it’s not just a default choice—I just think it’s sort of a perfect backdrop,” says Wilds. “I do work with colour—if I feel inherent that it’s the right choice, I will do it—but I do respond to just whites on white on white. And then when you do bring in colour or neutrals, I think it’s just sort of timeless in a way … I love it, I love charcoal, black, icy grey, tans, taupes, whites, I just love those all those classic neutrals.”

“One thing I’m never a fan of is in red with wood tones,” Wilds declares, motioning to the fir floor, which has been painted. ”People [said that] it was so sacrilegious that I wanted to paint the floor. And I just was like, ‘Paint it!’ I think there are five coats of paint on this floor—it was that exposed, very orangey fir, which I can’t stand—so before doing it everyone was just like, ‘You can’t, you can’t! You’re going to destroy the space!’ But as soon as I did it people were like, ‘It looks amazing!’”

The designer feels the urge to thoughtfully place every object that fills his home and studio, and encourages his clients to create “frames” with the curation of their belongings. “There’s nothing in this space that’s random,” he says. “I’m sort of setting things and creating worlds. Everything is an area that is a frame. So if you’re going to create a frame, it’s about what’s going to go in the frame: what are you going to feature?”

Wilds describes this curio cabinet packed with his collectibles as “a little mixture of little objects, kind of little shrines to things. It’s a way of showing people things that I’m sentimental about.” Sticking to his rule of only showcasing objects in frames, everything is strategically placed and every object has meaning.

“My work is not just about making a pretty space—of course I do want spaces to be beautiful, and I want them to be effective, and I want them to be functional for people—but I want them to be spaces where people are living their lives,” says Wilds. “And that is paramount for me, and it really does drive the work that I do, the relationships that I have, and how I approach [design].”

“I love what I do, I really enjoy it,” Wilds says. “It’s super stressful, it’s very challenging [with] the level of responsibility, the pressure, the timeline, the amount of money that’s involved—especially in an environment like Vancouver, where housing pricing is so ridiculous. I’m working with people where this is their primary investment, I am connected to the thing that they are going to spend the most money on in their lives. It’s the real deal.”