Although interior design is a creative field it has a very complex business model. For years, people have associated interior design with fluff and the affluent demographic.

To us, being an interior designer is about being our client’s life activist. We are about design and quality, not just about selling furniture. We are not here to tell you what kind of style you are, or make you stick to a specific trend. Ultimately it is our mission to make your life easier, more fun and more functional. It is our job to bring your dreams to life and visions of where you call home. It is through our 30 years of proven business practices and special technical and creative knowledge that we can be curators and innovators of good design. We are qualified by education, experience and examination.

According to ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) interior designers should receive their education from a CIDA (Council for Interior Design Accreditation) qualified schools. ASID’s website has a wealth of information about selecting accredited schools  and picking the right interior design program. Here are a list of CIDA accredited schools in North Carolina.

All of the interior designers at Design Lines come from accredited schools and are members of ASID. Molly & Ashley hail from ECU, Judy calls Florida State her alma mater, Lauren received her degree from Meredith and Brittany graduated from the interior design program at BYU-Idaho.

Check back next Tuesday for {Part 2} on “Why You Should Hire an Interior Designer?” We will help you identify your goals and determine what you would want to achieve when working with an interior designer.

Judy, Ashley, Brittany, Lauren and Hilaire traveled to High Point, North Carolina yesterday to hear a talk on “The History of Luxury” by James Caughman, who is currently the senior marketing executive for the Kohler Interiors Group, responsible for the Baker, McGuire, Ann Sacks, and Kallista brands. This event was an ASID Carolinas CEU Community event. Thank you to the team at the Baker Knapp & Tubbs Showroom for hosting such a wonderful event!

The talk was very informative and further explored the history of luxury. Below are four great takeaways that we thought you might be interested in knowing from the presentation.

• What is luxury? Luxury is about good design, wonderful materials, crafted by artisans but most importantly luxury is about an experience.
• In the world of luxury we (Americans) look to the so called “captains” for aspiration and emulation.
• In the past, luxury was reserved for the court, but today luxury is much more accessible. It’s changing from conspicuous consumption (buying because I can) to conscientious consumption.
• “We live in an opaque world. We need to create transparency.” As in, it is our role (interior designers) to educate on quality and to share our knowledge.

What is your perspective on interior designers and the history of luxury? To you, how has luxury evolved over the years?

Last weekend, we headed to Wrightsville Beach for ASID Carolinas Chapter Fall Conference. The weather was absolutely beautiful! We spent time taking continuing education courses, meeting with vendors, catching up with old friends, and relaxing by the pool. The Gala on Saturday night featured an awards ceremony, which we’ve been looking forward to since entering the competition!

Ashley, Lauren, Molly, and Judy pose for a picture just before the gala.

We’re proud to share that we took home an award for our work on the model at Balmoral Estates! Our work was selected among submitted projects from interior designers in North and South Carolina.

Brittany was unable to be there to recieve her award as she sat for the NCIDQ (the professional exam for interior designers). On the right, Judy accepts her award from ASID Carolinas President Emily Walser.

The Living Room we designed at Balmoral is shown above. To see more photos from the competition, click here.

I thought you would like to learn about the good work the ASID Foundation is involved in. I am on the Board of Trustees and although I have held many positions with National ASID, this by far is the most rewarding. One of our new initiatives will help the brave men and women who return home from war.

“Through a new partnership with the organization Rebuilding Together and its Veterans Housing Initiative, the ASID Foundation is helping to provide safe, sustainable and accessible housing for active duty and retired members of the Unitied States Armed forces who own homes, yet are in desperate need of assistance. The fact is that many of these men and women cannot afford the cost of home maintienance and often times are physically unable to modify or maintain their homes.”

31,000 service members have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan…the need is huge and will be even more dire as they return home.

Designers have stepped up and have contributed thousands of dollars to the Foundation to begin this important work. You do not have to be a designer to contribute.

Contact me at jpickett@designlinesltd.com or malin@asid.org to learn how you can support the ASID Foundation.