The Path to Confident Design
I have loved design for as long as I can remember. So much so that there was a brief moment in college where I considered a double major. I can’t pinpoint exactly where this love came from, but I know that it started early.
When I was little, around 7 or 8, I had a HUGE stuffed animal collection. The collection of assorted animals lived on the top bunk of my large heavy wood-frame bunk bed. My mom didn’t trust me to sleep up there as I was — and still am — a restless sleeper, but it made the perfect home for my many plush friends. My earliest memory of putting my design skills to the test was the very important task of Stuffed Animal Location Management.
I can’t remember if I actually played with any of these stuffed animals but what I do remember is how serious I was about organizing them. Not just by size and color — these things felt so obvious to me — but by which animals I thought would and should be friends and neighbors.
Obviously you can not put Dreyfus the Lion next to Popper the Penguin! Not only is one a predator and the other prey, but in the wild they don’t even live remotely near one another. How then, could they possibly line up next to one another on my bed?
The arranging and rearranging of these animals was something I spent a lot of time doing. Little did I know this would be the beginning of a lifelong affinity for design. As I got a little older the next design challenge came with the introduction of Barbies. Playing Barbies was a staple in my life. Countless hours were spent “setting up.”
For Christmas one year, my grandfather, a contractor, gifted my cousin and I matching doll houses that were not your typical Barbie Dream House. Construction of plywood and 2×2 molding made our 2-story spec-homes ripe for exploration of our own design and aesthetic. And explore we did!
As I recall, my cousin Madison and I never got to any plot lines. Barbie never had a date to go on. Skipper never had any kids to babysit. We were way too busy deciding on how to set up Barbie’s house, what outfits everyone would wear, and how we should style everyone's hair. This was far more important to us than creating a story. If stuffed animals and Barbie were my appetizer, then television design shows were my main course.
My design obsession was solidified in the late 90s when I was introduced to my new design guru, Christopher Lowell. His show Interior Motives, was the fuel to my design fire.
While there were a handful of design show personalities on television at the time — Martha, Bob, Norm, etc — none of them were as playful and fun as Christopher. He didn’t take design so seriously, he had a good time, told jokes, and played piano. This joyful energy combined with a use-what-you-have creativity spoke directly to 12 year old Claire. I hung on every word he said and poured over his book, Seven Layers of Design. I still love a great up-light moment.
About this same time we moved into a new home and with a new room as my blank canvas, I made big, bold design choices. A loft bed. A wicker swivel chair. Hand-painted ivy walls with three different shades of green. I begged for an indoor fountain with floating candles — a look I saw at a local health food store. Paint was one thing, but water and fire were a boundary that my mom wasn’t going to cross.
Putting my creative stamp on that room was the first time that I experienced a sense of ownership over my space. Yes, I was still a teenage girl with piles of clothes all over the floor but when I did clean my room, it was exactly the way I wanted it to be. Including the fabric covered bulletin board and the plant in the corner that I’m pretty sure my mom secretly watered for me.
Exploring my design sensibility was and still is a creative outlet for me. The elements of shape, size, and color are things that I use every day in my own home and in my career as a Realtor. Not to mention, skills I studied daily during my college days as a dance major. The time I’ve spent solidifying my own personal design eye is what now makes it possible for me to help others find their own individual design voice.
As I look around my home today I see how Lowell’s fearless, fabulous decorating has influenced how I approach creating inviting and personalized spaces in my own home and those of my clients.
Through his show and his books, Lowell showed us not just how to craft a stylish room but gave us tools to uncover our own creative personalities.
He famously believes “If you can put together an outfit, you’re already overqualified to put together a room.” I don’t disagree.
Revisiting his book after pulling it off the shelf again for reference, has been a great reminder that while styles and fads come and go, it is our unique personalities that make a home look and feel like us.
The heavily upholstered rooms and taupe color pallets of the late 90’s are not looks that have stood the test of time. However, if you strip away the trends and look at the text, the outline of how to build a room is still just as relevant today as it ever was.
Today, I am still organizing and reorganizing my space. I am constantly changing out little tchotchkes, and I still kind of want that fountain with floating candles in it.
In a time when our homes have truly become our havens, I am reminded more and more that our environment should be a reflection of who we are. When we put care into our space we are putting care into ourselves and our well being.
And, if everything that goes in is then reflected outwardly, I guess it is no wonder that my motto of “Love how you live” is so close to a quote from Christopher’s book: “We are how we live.”
Being able to create your own personal style doesn’t mean that you need to obsessively arrange your stuffed animals or spend hours setting up your Barbies. There are things in your world that make you uniquely you, and when you tap into them you can create spaces that look and feel like home. The best part? This can and should change over time. If you are evolving and growing, your space should too.
