Interiors

Balancing Planning and Serendipity in Design

Laura Medicus Interiors

Careful, small decisions made incrementally within a project add up and will get you where you need to be. Pace yourself! There’s no need to decide everything in one day. This seems like it might apply in some form to life, but my brain doesn’t feel like any deep thoughts at the moment.

I’m a big believer in spacing things out so clients don’t hit decision fatigue. I also love to build and layer design choices on top of the original decisions. I like deisgn to look and feel fluid and I’m a huge chaser of serendipity. You can’t get serendipity if you’re too rigid with your approach. As a minor control freak, I have to use self-talk a lot to achieve this. I like to plan things in advance; I like to know what I’m up against and I really don’t like surprises which makes me just a ball of fun. Working in older homes is a fine balance of planning and then being flexible enough to pivot when something unexpected happens.

I love the addition of this stained glass transom as a transition from the open part of the home to the private areas of the home. The stained glass piece is vintage that the GC saved from another home.
This is a large format, porcelain checkerboard tile going into a mud/laundry room in a home in South Dakota. Yes, that’s right. I have a job in South Dakota!! If you haven’t been, it’s probably not at all like you think (I’m guessing you’re thinking about Fargo?) South Dakota is stunning. Check out Custer State Park which is one of my favorites.

I’ve been fighting the “grown and flown” blues recently. Not sure if that’s a thing, but it should be. Parents of college age kids might identify. I looked up some tips and the number one tip is “Get a Hobby.” I can’t even tell you how annoying that was to me. You think? My life is a series of hobbies and some might even consider my job something of a hobby. How many more hobbies do I need? And I’m not doing pickleball or Mah Jongg before you write in. I’m not cool enough for either.

Isn’t this blue tile pretty? I love the shades of brown in it. You can see the transom in the background. The fixtures are brushed nickel which maybe 10% of my clients go for every year. I don’t know if it will come back as a trend, but it’s always there for people who prefer it.
Here’s an exciting palette that I’m excited to see come to life. I’ve decided that Night Owl by Benjamin Moore is my new favorite cabinet color.

Books I’ve loved recently:

The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline. The famous conjoined twins, Chang and Eng, married two sisters in 1840’s North Carolina and had twenty one children between them. Based on a true story, this one sounds weird, but it has so much heart. Very moving, incredibly well done historic fiction. We got to speak to Christina about this book on our podcast and that interview will be out soon. Recommended for fans of Kristin Hannah.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum. This is a mystery/thriller and the romance at the center of this was so real and wonderful and moving. I couldn’t put it down. Fantastic debut novel. Disclosure, I had trouble at the beginning with the characters introduced all at once but it’s smooth sailing after that.

Listening to:

My girl crush Kacey Musgraves new album Middle of Nowhere mixed in with The Great Divide (still listening, week 2, and the song Dashboard keeps catching my ear.)

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Published by Laura Medicus Interiors

Laura is a Denver Interior Designer who runs an Interior Design Studio based in sunny Colorado with a strong commitment to livable and interesting interiors. She also runs The Colorado Nest, a Denver blog about Design, Art and Life in the Mountain West and co-hosts the book podcast "The Inside Flap" on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play.

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