Take a Garden Walk on the wild side

Bringing Ideas By Tim Smith to Life

Design Du Jour clients include Staffords, Aretha

Finding the perfect décor and interior design for clients as diverse as the late, great soul singer Aretha Franklin and former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is what consumes Design Du Jour owner Sam Sobh virtually every waking moment.

“When it comes to interior design, we all have our own tastes,” said Sobh, a 15-year veteran of the field and Troy resident who last August opened his downtown Northville store at 184 East Main Street. “We have our own style, whether it’s in-style or not. I feel like my job is to give everyone the home they want.

“Everyone has a vision. The number one thing I get when people come in here is ‘I have an idea what I want, I just can’t bring it to life.’”

Although Sobh has a strong and sophisticated social media presence, he still depends on classic, walk-in customers. Fortunately, thanks to downtown Northville’s Social District, Design Du Jour draws in plenty of pedestrian traffic.

“To me, a wife and her husband are driving (through downtown),” Sobh said. “The husband’s not going to park just to come in and see a design store. But if they’re walking to dinner, that’s when I get them.”

INSTANT FIT

In fact, the district was a catalyst for Sobh’s decision to relocate his business (which was in Grosse Pointe from 2017-2020) to Northville’s Main Street. He had been considering Birmingham or Rochester. “I came to Northville for lunch one day and I saw the space,” Sobh recalled. “It was May (2021) when I walked through here. And it was still pretty busy, people were out and about. The The Design Du Jour showroom includes plenty of products used in restaurants their interior design projects. were all in the

Design Du Jour owner Sam Sobh in his downtown Northville showroom.

streets. I loved the idea that the roads were closed and people were just having fun, walking around. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I can see myself here.’”

Although only about 40 percent of Design Du Jour revenue is from retail sales at his showroom, he never knows when a random store visit might turn into a multi-milliondollar job. Most of his jobs are residential projects. Sobh said he can work on up to 10 projects at a time, although he plans well in advance. “Each client is in a different stage, I do lots of emails and texts.”

Even though Northville is his new business home, he has a far-reaching reputation which precedes his arrival in town. Clients include local residents who have second homes elsewhere. He has clients in Naples, Fla., San Francisco and Traverse City -- to name just a few.

The inside of Sobh’s showroom looks like an interior design catalog sprung to life, filled with unexpected visual treats and plenty of opportunity to – at the very least – peruse the luxury home furnishings and accessories on display.

Even better would be having time to chat with Sobh about a potential residential project, to plant seeds for what could be a fruitful collaboration. The discussion could lead to a first-hour consultation fee of $150, and from there let the ideas breathe, grow and become reality.

Sobh – owner of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the International Academy of Design & Technology in Detroit as well as a career jump-started by seven years (2008-15) decorating gilded mansions for the reigning royal family in Dubai – said the trick is to not be overly pushy with budding clients.

“I’m never going to push,” Sobh said. “Because I know we’re never going to make a decision in one hour. Some people are good. They’ll sit down and go ‘What do you think?’ I’ll be like ‘put the gray sectional here, boom, boom, boom, done.’ Those are very rare clients. Some just can’t make up their mind.”

STAR CLIENTS

Sobh’s honest approach won over Matthew Stafford,

before he was traded to and won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams –and his interior design-savvy wife Kelly, who took DESIGN DU JOUR the lead on the Owner: Sam Sobh project. Address: 184 East Main Street,

“He’s a great Northville guy and he couldn’t care less Phone/Email: (248) 308-3895; ssobh@design-dujour.com what we put in the home,” said Sobh, Website: www.design-dujour.com with a smile.

According to Sobh, a friend told him Kelly Stafford was hunting via social media for someone to do the interior design on two family bedrooms (including one for the couple’s twins Chandler and Sawyer, born in March 2017).

“So I just sent her a message and she asked me to send her my resume and portfolio,” Sobh said “We started with the twins’ bedroom and the guest bedroom. Then, she was pregnant with Hunter, so we did Hunter’s room. And then we re-did their master bedroom. So yeah, it was quite a bit. And then they upped and left.”

The Staffords departed for southern California after the Lions traded Matthew Stafford in early 2021. The family’s spacious, lakefront home in Oakland County was sold about one year later for a reported $6.5 million. Sobh still maintains communication with the Staffords through Instagram.

From that high-profile job alone, he picked up some impressive contacts for future business.

“I met a couple people that worked with the Detroit Pistons, through Matthew Stafford,” Sobh said. “A lot of the wives (of pro athletes) know each other. I realize they are really close friends and they hang out together when there’s games and parties, especially during the fall season.”

As for Motown’s legendary “Queen of Soul,” Sobh said it was close to 15 years ago when Franklin (who passed away in 2018) hired him “right out of my internship” at the International Academy of Design & Technology.

“It was a fun experience, but it was different,” Sobh said. “She was very hands-on.”

Sobh worked hard for Aretha and the job turned out to be stressful but fun and successful.

That exactly is his goal with any customer, famous or not.

“I want my clients to appreciate my hard work,” Sobh said. “I’m very protective of what I do, because this is all me.”

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(Left) Dave and Bev Raub’s garden includes many reclaimed items, including an old cellar door from Bealtown and (top right) a headboard Bev snagged from a neighbor’s trash that now overlooks a waterfall and pond.

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Northville Garden Walk will feature woodland oasis

Aheadboard as a garden ornament?

It’s true, it’s part of a backyard pond, and it’s one of six featured gardens on the 28th Annual Northville Garden Walk, to be held July 13 by the Country Garden Club of Northville.

Dave and Bev Raub, the creators of that eclectic garden, live in what people call “Noville” – that area with Northville schools and Northville mailing, but actually in the Novi city limits on a quiet cul-de-sac off Nine Mile. The Raubs have attended the garden walk every year for more than two decades. So when Bev learned the club needed volunteers to show their gardens, she jumped at the chance.

“I saw their post on Facebook, and I said, ‘We can do this,’” she said. “Then I thought, ‘What have I done?’”

That was back in December. Several women on the committee promptly came over and did a walk-through of the Raubs’ yard. But there really wasn’t anything to see in December, “so they kind of took us on faith,” Bev laughed.

Six months later, the garden lives up to the hype. It feels like ‘Up North’ -- and that’s the goal. A trickling fountain burbles in its stony bed. Quirky, colorful treasures peek out from amidst lush plants. Big old trees tower above, and behind it all, a wooded path lined with ferns practically begs for a stroll in the cool shadows.

It wasn’t always this way. Twenty-five years ago, when the Raubs moved in, it was grass as far as the eye could see.

“Every year, we did a little more, and now it’s really out of control,” Bev said.

Out of control in a good way, of course. Most of the garden decorations are reclaimed items that Bev has salvaged over the years.

“We’re treasure hunters,” she said. “I find things by the side of the road. People give us stuff, too” she pointed to the yellow chair, the whirligig, the milk crate, and her favorite: an old cellar door from Bealtown, by the racetrack. “So we try to incorporate everyone’s offerings into our decor.”

Before Dave retired, he worked as a local contractor. The yard’s water feature is his baby. He started with just one little pond, and then ducks showed up.

“The ducks came back every year, so we kept expanding it,” he said. “In my construction work, I would bring home rocks and just keep adding.”

A lot of the materials there are repurposed, too. The pond liners are roofing material. There’s even an outdoor bench he originally made for a sauna. Sustainability is important to them, as is co-existing with nature.

Living in a wooded area comes with two big challenges: a lot of shade, and a lot of deer.

“We’ve had as many as 16 deer come through at once,” Dave said.

It’s becoming more and more the case as development crowds animals out of their

Story and Photos By Maria Taylor

Dave and Bev Raub’s garden includes a small pine tree they rescued and replanted.

natural habitat. Dave remembers when the subdivision across the street was all woods. Since it went in, he said, “wildlife just grew exponentially.” Eventually he called the City of Novi and got deer crossing signs put up on Nine Mile so drivers wouldn’t hit them.

The wooded area along Nine Mile and at the back of their yard is actually protected woodlands.

“It means you can't cut anything down,” Bev explained. “If a tree falls during the storm or for whatever reason, you have to leave it so it replenishes the soil.”

The Raubs have made the little woodland into a rustic pathway lined with fallen logs and tree limbs. Bev pointed out her plants, all shade perennials that she’s gotten from places like Barson’s Greenhouse in Westland, Farmer John’s Greenhouse in Farmington Hills, and the Northville Farmers Market. Bushy astilbe. Brunnera, with its variegated leaves. Lungwort. Allium, which looks like chives and has big purple globes of flowers.

“Ferns are always good too, of course,” she added. The Raubs have also planted seedling trees they’ve picked up at Novi and Northville Township’s Arbor Day giveaways. True to form, last fall they rescued a small evergreen that a neighbor had put out with their yard waste. Now the little pine is thriving as a center island for the wooded path.

Of course, the problem with shade perennials is that the deer love to nibble them. Bev has tried just about every repellent on the market. With consistency, they all help, she said “but if the deer get hungry enough, they’ll eat anything!”

Bev and Dave’s latest project is a bee and butterfly garden. The couple hopes people who see their garden on the walk come away inspired to take the first step toward starting their own, especially if it’s something they’ve always wanted to do.

“Start with one bed,” Bev said, “and plant what you like.”

The garden walk takes place Wednesday, July 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance (available at Gardenviews on 117 E. Main and online at https://cgcnv. org/tickets) or $15 day-of at the club’s staging area (corner of Wing/Cady, behind the library). Proceeds support local and national horticultural organizations, civic beautification, and Northville High School scholarships.

Dave and Bev Raub and their two golden retrievers.

presents the 28th Annual

July 13, 2022 9 am - 4 pm

Tickets in advance ($12) beginning June 11th, available at:

Gardenviews at Home, 117 E. Main, Northville, Eventbrite.com and online at www.cgcnv.org Tickets on the day of the Garden Walk ($15) available at: The Green Space (behind Northville Library), 199 S. Wing St. For more information visit www.cgcnv.org or call (734)788-9935