Get to know laura
founder of Cavé studio
Q
what do you love most about being an interior designer?
I love that every project is unique, meaning that my work never gets boring. It’s always exciting and new to me. I’ve been in this career for 20 years, and still don’t know everything. With this career, there are so many details and nuances which means you’re constantly learning. Despite handling many diverse project types, I I learn something new with each unique project. I enjoy the evolution of continuously learning and growing as designer.
The other aspect that I absolutely love is the relationship that’s built with my clients. Design is such a personal process and often I work with my clients for a long time, sometimes one to two years for a large scale renovation. During that time, you really have the ability to build a meaningful relationship.
Additionally, clients are often coming to me at an exciting point in their life, such as building a new home or starting a new phase of life.. I love being part of that transformational journey in their life. I enjoy helping my clients to up-level their living environment, and their entire lifestyle in the process.
what inspires you most as an interior designer?
I’m continually inspired by fashion and putting together unique colors and textures. I love building an interior that is easy to live in and effortlessly looks chic and put-together, with a low maintenance aspect. I love an interior that is livable, easy to maintain and evoking a sense of style that appears effortless. I believe this can be achieved by planning ample storage, pairing down to essentials, and highlighting architectural focal points. This “Glaminimal™” approach allows me to achieve a dramatic look that is low effort to maintain. Every element has its place and everything functions beautifully with your lifestyle.
what are your favorite types of projects?
Each one of my projects is near and dear to my heart, because I am so intimately involved with all the details. For this reason, I love all of the projects I wok on. The projects I’m most excited to work on are projects that have a modern and minimalist aesthetic. I love clean lines and introducing unique sculptural pieces that spark visual interest and drama. I love coming into contact with a client who needs help putting their aesthetic together to create a cohesive Interior.
HOW DO YOU CREATE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH CLIENTS?
Many of my clients truly do need some help with visualizing, and getting through their feelings of overwhelm in order to pul their interior plans together. I find that the best partnerships are with clients who truly feel comfortable delegating this responsibility to a professional. By that I mean, a client who is willing to trust the process.
The best partnerships, I find, are formed when there’s a trust and understanding that they’ve hired a professional to guide them. It is definitely a collaborative process, in the sense that our detailed Onboarding Process captures all of our clients wishes, visions and desires. However, in the end, the more the client is able to trust the process, the more smoothly the process will go.
how can clients be the most helpful during the design process?
As I mentioned, it is a collaborative process when you work with our firm.
Our firm has a detailed Onboarding Process during which we capture all of your ideas, your design style, and the direction you would like to see the design go. This part of the process requires a minimal time commitment on our clients' part. However, it is absolutely essential to a successful project.
We take detailed notes of all of your inputs, and we often reference these notes at different points during the project as we’re developing your design. Clients are often surprised at the level of detail to which we listen to their requests and inputs. The best way for clients to be helpful is to communicate honestly from the beginning. From there there is really little that they need to do, other than trust us to create our design magic for you!
Decisiveness and making timely approvals also go a long way to making your project run smoothly.
what skills from your professional background assist you today?
Prior to starting my business, I held a few different positions with architectural and design-build firms. I would say each one of them has become an asset ito running my business.
My first job in the field was an internship as a resource librarian for an Interior Design firm. Even this position helps me with organizational skills and administrative skills that I draw on to have an organized process.
My later full-time positions taught me project management for large scale projects, and the interpersonal skills required to lead clients through a design process. For several years, I worked as a kitchen designer which really helped me hone my skills in working with married couples in the art of compromise and reaching successful decisions together.
How does being a yoga teacher help you with running your business?
Practicing yoga has been an entirely transformational thing for me. It helps me cope with stress and difficult situations that are out of my control. There are many things as an interior design designer that are out of my control as it relates to a project. (ie: contractor schedules, product lead times, items coming in damaged, etc.) My yoga practice teaches me skills to stay in the moment, breathe through it, and realize that a positive solution is available.
In any project, there are going to be issues. It’s just a fact. I have never had a project that had zero problems. So then the issue becomes, how do you handle those difficult situations? How do you problem-solve?
For me, when these problems arise in a project, even before I present you with the problem, I have already brainstormed possible solutions. So if I come to you and say “Hi client, we have this problem.” I am already ready to offer X Y or Z as a solution. And then it’s the clients opportunity to choose which solution they prefer.
why is glaminimal™ your style?
I love the idea of combining minimalism with Glamour. I am attracted to the concept of minimalism in the sense of paring down to the essentials. Infusing the glamour into this is what keeps it interesting and creates a visual statement.
In todays world, we are constantly bombarded by information and stimuli, and it can feel overwhelming. To my clients, home where everything has it’s place, and coming home feels like a giant sigh of relief from the chaos of the outside world. Typically, when you think of minimalism, you may think of somewhat stark, cold or sparse environment. And with my Glaminimal ™ aesthetic, this isn’t the goal. Infusing a sense of glamour not only adds to the character, but also makes the space warm and inviting.
When I speak of glamour, I definitely don’t mean over the top - there has to be a balance. The glamour comes in edited statements. A luxuriously textured rug, a bold light fixture that makes a statement, a sculptural coffee table in a unique shape that is a conversation starter, or a patterned wallpaper that steals the spotlight.
Overall, its a balance of determining which components of the design will take center stage, and which will be the supporting characters, cohesively creating a balanced and stunning room.
what are your favorite places you've traveled to?
In my senior year of college, I had the opportunity to complete a Study Abroad course in Italy. The program focused on Historic Preservation and Building Construction Management. We traveled to some of the biggest tourist destinations - Rome, Venice, Milan and Florence. However, there was a less known place we traveled to called Trento, a charming university town located in the picturesque Italian Alps. I instantly fell in love with Trento, and could hardly wait to return. I loved the fresh mountain air and authenticity of this region of Italy.
