Do you love it?” This is a question that Lexington-based interior designer Isabel Ladd asks her clients often. A true believer that things that do not bring you joy might be weighing you down, she is a fan of the author Marie Kondo, whose philosophy, as outlined in her popular 2019 book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” proposes that you should only surround yourself with things that spark joy in your life. Ladd wholeheartedly agrees: Whether designing a home, an office or a movie set, she believes that, more than asking “Does it go together?,” the question “Do you love it?” should best determine whether or not something belongs in your life.
“A curated, organized, beautiful, calm or energizing space can inspire you,” she said. “It can lift you up, emotionally and mentally. Your home is often the most expensive purchase you make, and to me, it makes sense to invest in the inside.”
During these past several months, the coronavirus has seen many of us spending a great deal more time in our homes and home offices, leading many people to invest in professional assistance to help create spaces that are more efficient, functional and aesthetically pleasing. Despite initial fears that the pandemic would cause a major slowdown in the design industry, Ladd has been pleasantly surprised to have experienced an uptick in business instead.
“As people became confined to their homes, some of them realized how important their home surroundings are to them,” she said. “They wanted to feel good – and good design absolutely makes you feel good.”
Born in Brazil, Ladd has lived in Lexington since she was 6 years old. She has two boys, ages 8 and 6, with her ex-husband, with whom she remains close. After attending college at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, she returned home to the Bluegrass, launching Isabel Ladd Interiors six years ago.
“I have collected fabrics and paper designs my whole life,” Ladd said. “In college, while studying textile design, the field of interior design opened up to me and I found my career.”
The “collector” in her has largely informed Ladd’s design aesthetic – if she has a signature look in her designs, it’s probably that almost anything goes.
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This photo of Ladd’s own living room, featuring art from Cross Gate Gallery (her in-laws’ business) and a mix of bold and classic prints, was taken five years ago; the self-described “serial designer” says she has completely redone everything about the room since then. Photo by Andrew Kung
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Ladd designed around an existing blue sofa for a Fairway living room remodel. Photo by Andrew Kung
“Whatever is a contradiction, a juxtaposition – that’s what I like,” explained the self-described “maximalist,” who’s fearless in blending patterns, styles, colors and textures (wallpapered ceilings, anyone?). The result is an eclectic, playful-yet-elegant mix that she brings to the homes of her clients – as well as her own home, in which she has curated every inch with favorite furnishings and art.
When finding or designing the perfect pieces for her clients’ needs, Ladd loves to scour furniture shows or check in with the many sources she has cultivated to find or design the perfect pieces to bring together. A tour of her home studio reveals loads of well-organized samples of fabrics and wall coverings, as well as collections of furnishings and accessories that have caught her eye during her shopping forays and travels. Ladd sees her studio, which she will soon be moving into a new space on North Limestone near Sayre School, as something like a creative laboratory, where spaces can be reimagined and items can be repurposed, refinished, reupholstered and designed anew.
The designer is quick to say she owes much of her success to the army of people who work with her on many design projects. “I am the person most visible to my clients, but a big part of my business is really a collaboration with a team of these great craftspeople: carpenters, a seamstress, an upholsterer, a landscaper, a photographer, antique and vintage dealers, a furniture maker, painters, wallpaper hangers and more,” she said. “It takes a village.”
One such contractor, wall-covering specialist Robert Steele, has worked extensively with the designer and says her work ethic is admirable.
“Isabel has a great temperament for this work,” he said. “You have to come to it with great creative instincts, keep a lot of moving parts well organized and stay calm when unexpected things happen. She can do all that.”
Ladd believes one of her most beneficial skills is maintaining a positive attitude. In life as well as in business, she contends that a key to her success is her ability to seek and find the lessons and the silver linings in every situation.
“Of course, I get frustrated by life – I’ve been through a lot, like anybody else,” Ladd said. “But I always see how these things bring blessings and important perspectives that end up, ultimately, becoming something positive. It really is important to my success that I focus on that and see even the challenges I encounter as opportunities.”
Ladd is a strong believer that “curtains make a room.” She enjoys employing custom trim, weighting and other details to window treatments. Photo by Andrew Kung
Writer Celeste Lewis recently spoke with Ladd to learn more about this Lexington designer.
How do you find a balance between your career and your family? What is the most challenging part? I’m divorced, but my former husband is my close neighbor and my parents and my former in-laws also live fairly close by. The boys love spending time together with all of them, so I am able to have days when I can totally focus on work and then days where I totally focus on my kids. There is balance in there somewhere!
What would be a dream project for you? Why? My dream project would definitely be having my own home design TV show. The things I can get myself into are funny. I would love to bring my viewers along for the ride as I meander design shows and great vintage shops.
How do you recharge creatively? The best way for me to recharge creatively is to travel to home and design shows. I travel to Highpoint, North Carolina, the furniture capital of the world, where so many vendors from around the world showcase twice a year. Just when I feel like I’m about to go into a downward spiral of feeling depleted, I drive 10 hours round-trip in my empty Suburban with the seats down, and fill ’er up with all sorts of inspiring goodies. It’s such a social scene and a “who’s who” of the design world. Few things recharge me quite like buzzing showrooms and lectures – I love a good lecture.
What are some favorite places of yours in Lexington? Two of my very favorites are Scout Antique & Modern and Liberty Hill Antiques. Few things get me as excited as finding pieces to completely re-cover, re-paint and re-purpose. My creativity goes wild in those kinds of settings, where things with a past can be loved hard again.
What advice would you give someone starting out in design? My advice to someone starting out in design would be to find a mentor, and to seek out other interior designers and become friends with them. One of my favorite quotes is “collaboration over competition.” There is plenty of work to go around for everyone. If you collaborate with other designers – whether by traveling to trade shows together, referring them clients, asking for and returning favors, talking with them, being friends with them – all you do is improve your professional relationships and your business. My closest friends are all interior designers, and people ask us all the time if we work together in the same firm, because we are so often together. But, nope: We all have our own firms, but are super-duper tight.
Who or what inspires you? What are the influences on your personal style? I’m a maximalist. The combination of bold prints, happy hues and ‘patternpalooza’ is what inspires me. I don’t like to see just one awesome print – I like to see loads of awesome prints together. I don’t want my eye to ever stop on just one great thing; I want my eye to keep landing on the next, and the next and the next great thing. That’s what inspires and influences my personal style: lots of prints, patterns, colors and things jiving together.
That being said, there is a balance to all of this. To me, finding that balance is intuitive. I can’t always explain it, I just know when to stop and when to keep going. There is a mantra in fashion: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” I’m not trying to be adversarial, but I always look in the mirror before I leave the house and add one more thing. One of my most-often quoted quotes is, “Is this too much?” That’s always a rhetorical question, and the answer is always, “Never. It’s never too much.”
What’s on the horizon for design? Any innovations or trends on your radar you’d like to share? On the horizon for design is maximalism – it’s actually here! Layer it on! Practice this mantra: “Beige is not a color. Beige is not a color. Beige is not a color.”
What changes do you see coming for our home interiors as a result of the COVID-induced self-isolation? The changes I see coming into home interiors as a result of COVID-19 include an explosion of decorating, especially for people who have not worked with a designer before. Those who didn’t place value on a decorated, finished interior space before will perhaps seek it out now, after having been stuck inside for so long. My business has skyrocketed these past few months, with people coming out of the woodwork to decorate their homes. We [have been] able to effectively work together remotely – via Zoom meetings and mailing samples – and it is keeping my workrooms busier than they have ever been, sewing and upholstering away.
What advice do you have for people who are now spending more time than ever at home and are looking to positively improve their surroundings? The shutdown has reaffirmed to me how your surroundings can affect your mood. Your home should be your haven, your escape, your safe and happy place – so make it feel good and transform your mood.
For people who are homebound, I have a few suggestions to positively improve your surroundings. Take a look around your home and ask yourself: “Does this bring me joy?” Forget about trends, or what you see on TV or Instagram. Just ask yourself, quite simply: “Does this inspire me? Make me happy?” If not, do what you can to change it. This doesn’t mean having to buy all new furniture. It could mean changing out the fabrics, painting furniture you already have or wallpapering. You can do things a step at a time to feel it out. You can schedule installers to come into your home when you’re in another room or outside. Stores are selling goods via social media and doing curbside pick up. Seamstresses and upholsterers are working out of their homes. Another way to bring new life to a tired room is simply moving around furniture to a new layout. Live with it for a few days or weeks to get into a new groove, so you know how the new layout feels. There are so many ways to bring new life into your space, all while following social-distancing guidelines. But my first and foremost suggestion is always this: Surround yourself with only the things you love, the things that bring you joy, the things that inspire you.
For me, that’s pattern, color and really fun fixtures and furniture. But you do you.
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Bold florals, stripes and clean-lined, mid-century furniture flow together to create a fun and cohesive dining nook in this bold-yet-traditional Colonial home. Photo by Andrew Kung
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Photo by Andrew Kung
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Ladd likes to mix and match “high and low” design items when working with kids’ rooms. In this Fairway home, affordable curtains and a statement side cabinet from a department store mesh with a high-end oriental rug. Photo by Andrew Kung