“Living in well-designed spaces does not mean not having a life. Interior-design professionals can make it easier. We have kids and pets; we know life gets messy.”
Award-winning interior-designer Lisa Peck has more than 20 years of experience and leads the boutique interior-design firm LiLu Interiors—not to mention she’s the current president of the American Society of Interior Designers Minnesota branch and a Girl Scout leader. Here’s her advice for the “un-beige-ing” of your home.
I live design. I’m always creating something: knitting, painting, designing furniture. Being creative is who I am instead of what I do.
I am as much about style as I am about core values. Who do you want to be? Let’s design around that. Design the life you want.
People don’t think about how something looks; they think about how they feel. Do you want your home to be peaceful? Energized? Party-ready?
Knowing what you like and having it be something that works for you are two different things. I loved Meg Ryan’s hair in French Kiss, but it wouldn’t work on me. My stylist noted the things I liked about it, then created that same feeling for me. We can reinterpret something to make it work for your home.
Unplugging and retreating are a big trend. People are spending a lot of money to vacation “off the grid.” We’ll see that hit the homes: creating an oasis—rooms without screens, electronics—to focus on art or yoga.
The way your home looks affects the way you feel. Just like you eat good food to support your body, you should have good design feed your soul.
I think we’re going to see cleaner, more spare lines, from traditional to contemporary looks, with smaller footprints and clever storage. Luxury is being reinterpreted in light of the economy. You might still use velvet on a chair, but it will have a lighter frame.
You need a focal point in each room. It can be a great fireplace, a fabulous couch, a painting. If everything is special, it looks like a parade.
LiLu Interiors, 275 Market St., Ste. 546, Mpls., 612-354-3271, liluinteriors.com
