Design Bloggers Conference 2013-Full of Interior Design Ah-ha's

by Lisa Peck, ASID
 

I attended the Design Bloggers Conference in LA recently and had one big ah-ha moment. I often speak about, write about, wax philosophical about many of the same key ideas the speakers (who were designers and writers) at the conference do. I was constantly tweeting key ideas that so closely matched my own. And I would like to share some of these ideas with you and tell you how LiLu Interiors in Minneapolis lives these ideas.

"Your life needs to work for you. Your home should support the life you want – not what a brand thinks your home should look like."- Sussanna Salk (author of Open House blog and the upcoming Decorate Fearlessly due out April 2014)

Image via Open House Blog

 
At LiLu this is a part of our core philosophy. "At LiLu Interiors we are different by design. Not a weird obsession with all things wicker kind of different. But a kind of different that places your dreams first. That accounts for every detail during the course of each interior design project. That engages your involvement throughout and your delight from within. And yes, a kind of different that would allow us to recommend wicker furniture if it was right for you."
With every interior design project. We start first and foremost with understanding the client, their point of view, their core values, what they dream their live could be so their home can support that. We aren't a brand with one look and a desire to impose that look upon our clients.
"I want to learn something every day so when I die I can be as informed as possible" is a quote from a comedian ( I missed the credit) that Charlotte Moss shared with us. She also shared this tidbit. " If you don't have time to read-you don't have time to write"-Charlotte Moss (author of A Flair for Living and A Visual Life)
 

Book cover by Charlotte Moss

Every Monday at our staff meetings we share inspiration, we endeavor to share, well-formed opinions and inspiration on our blog and I can often be heard saying that we learn something everyday. Hobbies of reading, visiting museums, travel (armchair and otherwise), the desire to grow, to learn and to inform are a shared passion with everyone at LiLu along with our love of design. Designers are observers of human nature and lifelong students.
"Like a bird sitting on a nest of eggs I wait for my ideas to hatch in their own time"-Barbara Barry.

Barbara Barry  Around Beauty Photo credit David Meredith

I often tell clients that I need time between meetings to let ideas bubble up, come into their own. That I get the most brilliant ideas when I am not sitting at the studio "working" but when I am showering, cooking, baking, walking, sitting and looking at an aspect of nature etc. It is hard to explain how the time in between is really the most valuable. How conscious thought, unconscious thought and intuition are a magic combination that bring about the most creative solutions to design problems. I so enjoyed listening to Barbara talk about her circular process and I felt a kinship with her as a fellow designer. I recommend reading her latest book Around Beauty to gain insight into one designers unique process and point of view.
The conference was so rich with inspiration both interior design and social media inspiration that #DBC2013 trended on twitter and made for an interesting read. I found I also was intrigued with the tidbits that others felt were tweet-worthy. Thanks to Adam Japko of Design Sherpa for the great conference and to all the presenters.