Design Inspiration: Colorful Places & Spaces
“Stick to the things you really love. An honest room is always up to date.”
– Billy Baldwin
As interior designers, we wear our hearts on our sleeves. Our creativity is out there for the world to see … and judge. So naturally, we can often question if we’re doing the “right thing.” Design is so subjective and nobody has a rule book for how to create beautiful spaces.
For a period of time, social media was filling my feed with homes designed with neutral, clean, soft palettes. And it left me wondering, should I be doing this? Is this what everyone wants now? And then I had to check myself. Since when do I let social media tell me what to do? I needed to stop the “white” noise (quite literally) and listen to my internal compass.
The neutral spaces I was seeing were beautifully curated by talented designers. YES to all of that! But … they are not me or who I am as a designer. And guess what? That’s A-okay. It’s not what feeds my soul and what I am good at. I had to remember that I have clients who seek me out for my ability to be unforgiving with color and pattern, served up with a side of quirk. My work hasn’t stopped. I am busy. I built my business on this aesthetic. I’ve designed bold, beautiful, colorful, eclectic spaces that have left me and my clients bursting with joy. I just needed a little self-pep-talk as a reminder to stay in my lane. We all have unique styles that are decidedly different for a reason.
Today, I’d like to share the work of a few designers who I look to for inspiration. Their work lights me up and reminds me that most simply put, color is my love language, and maybe it’s yours too!
I find myself smiling every time I see an image from this talented designer. There always seems to be a wink to her work and I LOVE THAT! Her rooms are sweet yet strong, quiet yet powerful, and all with an overall sense of effortless style. Old meets new and color and pattern are always center stage!
I was first introduced to Kit Kemp’s work by a client who said her work reminded her of me … what a compliment! Layers and layers and more layers are everything I love about a curated room. I find that our most successful rooms are the ones where the clients get excited by the details we bring to the table. Sometimes the trim on a pillow can feel like overkill until you install it and it adds that extra layer of special. Pattern play is all about scale and balance and I love nothing more than pushing that limit!
I’m including Miles in this lineup because of his bold and unapologetic use of color. He’s also the first person I ever saw upholster a door … which I have yet to find a home for! Sometimes all it takes is one small shot of color to shift your perspective of an entire room. He always keeps me guessing and I’m here for it!
These three uber-talented designers create spaces that are bold and unexpected and make you fee alive! Colorful, imaginative and playful. If their styles speak to you the way they speak to me, go ahead and grab their books! A great coffee table book or gift for the lover of color, pattern, and texture.
