In the age of Instagram and Pinterest, everyone fancies themselves as an interior designer. Though these digital media outlets are certainly ripe with visual inspiration, professional interior designers take home design to a richer level, crafting rooms that are far more than just pretty pictures.
On this episode of our Live Beautifully podcast, we spoke with Lisa Brooks, founder of Lisa Brooks Designs. She divulged her creative process in designing homes and kitchens, and where she derives inspiration on a daily basis.
“I look to all kinds of inspiration,” Brooks said, a Georgia-based interior designer. Whether it’s the color of the sky, a moving song, or the feeling you get when watching an incredible sunset, Brooks always keeps her eyes open and pulls inspiration from the beauty in the world around her.
But more than deriving inspiration from the environment, Brooks is also inspired by the clients she works with.
“That’s what it really comes down to, getting to know your client,” she said.
Designing a kitchen for a pair of chefs versus a couple of world travelers is wildly different, and calls for a deep analysis of the homeowner’s lifestyle.
“I do try not to get too trendy,” Brooks said when confronted with social media trends.
As a classical designer, she aims to design a room that will age beautifully along with the homeowner. Driven primarily by lifestyle and function, she also takes into account the home’s intrinsic architecture.
Brooks is an award-winning classical designer but still admits that trends are creeping into the industry that are sure to change how we live in our homes, specifically with smart homes, connecting our home’s temperature and appliances to our smartphones. Additionally, she is seeing an influx of mixed metals, glass options, pops of color, and alternative countertop materials make their mark on new designs.
Regardless of what’s trending, Brooks takes all of her inspirations and funnels them into her designs, “because you’re creating memories,” she said of the designer’s role in making a custom space for the homeowner.
