Kimberly Grigg welcomes Andrea Cummins-Disbro of Lost Orchid Interiors to the podcast to talk about her love of color, repurposed furniture, and how she keeps her maximalist style from looking cluttered. Andrea shares the inspirational story behind Lost Orchid Interiors and gives a glimpse into how her passion for design leads her. 

 

Kimberly found Andrea on Instagram by way of a photo of a brightly colored striped consigned couch that featured in Andrea’s posts. Andrea uses the couch to highlight Lost Orchid Interiors’ brand: vibrant, whimsy, irreverent colors, sustainable design approaches, and good quality bones. Andrea, like Kimberly, is a fan of both color and maximalist style, and explains that the key to maximalism is layering, pushing textures and patterns, and being a bit eclectic. There is a skill to keeping maximalism from becoming cluttered, and part of it is personal by way of curating pieces that you love into the look.

 

Andrea shares the story of how Lost Orchid came to fruition after years of her working in corporate America and how the name came from a childhood dream. She details how she fuses her own aesthetic and signature of repurposed and vintage pieces into designing a space that clients will love. Kimberly and Andrea discuss how to get started on finding your own style, how to start getting comfortable with seeking consignment pieces, and agree that design and beautiful living are all about joy.

 

About Andrea Cummins-Disbro:

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro, founder of Lost Orchid Interiors, started her business in 2020 after leaving behind a 20 year career in corporate America. Andrea is a fan of the layered maximalist design style and vibrant colors. She has a passion for antiques and uses repurposed and antique furniture in all her designs. She named Lost Orchid after a childhood dream of owning a restaurant by the same name which proves that you should never let go of your dreams.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Lost Orchid Interiors
• Carleton Varney
• Chinoiserie

 

-- 

 

Contact Me:

Email me at [email protected]

Visit my website: www.kimberlygriggdesigns.com

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest

Check out my Youtube channel

You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

 

Transcription

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  00:00

I will definitely kind of look at a space and then pull everything out and then kind of redesign it again. Because over time you do sit something here, you collect it, it can start looking cluttered. And then the story that you're trying to tell or the interesting pieces that you're trying to kind of profile, they are hidden. So that's my approach.

 

Kimberly Grigg  00:21

Welcome to Decorate Like A Design Boss, a podcast for design lovers who want to create beautiful spaces in their very own homes. My name is Kimberly Grigg, and I'm a professional interior designer who teaches design lovers like yourselves how to decorate. And when I say decorate, I mean decorate like a design boss. If you're ready to create a space that your family loves, and your neighbors can't stop raving about, well buckle up, honey, because it's time to design. Well, hello there, Andrea, and welcome to the podcast! We're so happy to have you.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  01:02

Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here today.

 

Kimberly Grigg  01:04

Wonderful. So I want to set this up a little bit. Because one day I was scrolling on Instagram and - as I often do too often. And I came across this amazing striped sofa that I think has become somewhat famous, and it was on your feed. And I didn't reach out, I liked it. And then the next time I saw it, I'm like, I gotta know about this whole thing here. So tell me about that sofa. It's kind of like I'm having a love affair with it.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  01:40

Sure. So actually, the sofa, like most of my design, is something that I have sourced or found at local consignment stores or antique stores. So that sofa has a very interesting story, as most of my pieces do: it, aside from being really cool and amazing with the stripes, etc, I was the fourth owner. So the consignment store that had it, I saw it and I immediately loved it, I reached out to them, they said it was sold. And I think for the fourth owner, people had purchased it ,brought it home and it was too bright and vibrant for them. And so I like to say I'm lucky number four. And it also kind of underpins a little bit of what I kind of encourage my followers to do, which is persistence, right? If there's something you see, make people aware that you're interested in it, and then be persistent about it. So I am the happy recipient of this amazing piece, it is a covered piece. So underneath is an antique kind of furniture piece. And that is a covered fabric. But again, what's so cool about it, is it's an antique piece, it's sustainable approach, and the bones are good. And when you put amazing fabric on those old pieces, they have a second life. So everything about the sofa is kind of a homage to my brand - vibrant, whimsy, irreverent colors, on sustainable design approaches with amazing good quality, antique bones. So that's kind of Lost Orchid in a nutshell.

 

Kimberly Grigg  03:11

Wow. And I love that philosophy. And it's ever so important today, because the supply chain is all clogged, and we can't get things. So I think it's making all of us nod a lot more to going a little backwards, finding these pieces, and then trying to figure out how to repurpose them. I know I'm doing a ton of this. This is actually how I started my design career. And then in the middle, I got all caught up with furniture lines and ordering this and ordering that and when you have to keep minimums going for furniture lines then your order a lot of those products. But now I can't get them. So I'm kind of taking a side step or actually maybe a backwards step, which feels very forward all at the same time. And so I, you know, when I was kind of reading through all of your information, I believe you were in corporate America for a while. So how did you get into all of this? And what was corporate America? And how did that transfer to this cool design aesthetic that you have?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  04:14

Yes, so I have probably a very unorthodox background. I was in corporate America for 20 years. I was in change, transformation, and strategy. And I spent a big extent of my time, too, in human resources. So that is about as opposite as you could get, in my opinion, from interior design. However - I would say on the surface - however, everything that I learned in change management and transformation, I'm just doing it now on a micro scale. I'm doing it one to one change. Because most people when they finally get to the point where they're interested in reaching out to an interior designer, it's where they're asking you for help. There's probably a significant change in their lives. They either purchased a home, or they perhaps in all of the stuff that was happening with the pandemic, we're moving back into the homes, new family members were joining them, parents. Or they have parents that passed away and now they're trying to kind of reconcile their estates. So all of that is change. But it's just in a very different size change. So I'm able to kind of use those skills that I have in corporate America, in the interior design. And then, of course, you have to have a passion and love and general, like, curiosity for all things design. So it does require that love and that passion of design. And then I take that and add it to kind of my background project management, I did all of those things on a very large corporate scale for a large pharma, consumer and medical device company. So my last book of business was 9.2 billion. Now I'm dealing with much smaller kind of budgets, but, at the same time, change for people is so personal. It doesn't matter what the size of the budget, the amount of change is still very significant to my clients. And so what I love about this is I've always loved working with people, I've always loved story. So the story of someone's lives being pulled through. And I get to kind of apply that. There's nothing more vulnerable than someone inviting you into their lives to help them kind of build something and visualize something that they're going to ultimately live into. So, to me, I find great pride, and I'm very humbled by it. And when people do reach out to, you know, work with me, it's a very collaborative process. All of that is very corporate, right? I worked in a major environment for years. Now I work very collaboratively with my clients. So, yes, so it was actually... Lost Orchid was a dream that I had when I was little. And what I do tell people is never lose those dreams, because you don't know when they're going to pop back up again in your life. And so when I was eight years old, I remember my parents and I went on a trip. And it was like the first time I really remember seeing orchids. And I thought they were gorgeous. And I had always loved designing and I came back and kind of proclaimed to my parents, I want to design a restaurant, but I don't care about the food, I need to just design. I said I just want to decorate. And that - and I want to call it Lost Orchid. So fast forward, I didn't go to art school or design school - my background is in business school - and had been kind of living this career. And in 2020, a lot of personal changes happened for me as well. My role was impacted. We had just moved to the Northeast from the Midwest, probably 18 months, two years prior. We had been hit by a tornado, there was a lot of things happening personally and professionally. And I kind of got pulled back to that, like, what do I want to do? And what brings me joy? And then you had the backdrop of the pandemic and things that were happening, race riots were happening in Philadelphia and across the US. And I was like, 'where can I not only find joy, but where can I help people find joy'. And, for me, it was revisiting that dream I had when I was younger. That's where the name comes from, Lost Orchid. And also, at the time, I think I was also kind of searching out what I was going to do as a second career. And so it was very appropriately kind of branded, in addition to the fact that personally I love, like, that Hollywood Regency look, which is, you know, that orchids signify. But orchid also is very resilient. So I felt like it was a time in my life where I was kind of looking to kind of pull from my resiliency. So all that to say and 2020, I founded Lost Orchid Interiors. And it has been a wild ride ever since. And it's been fun. And I think I've applied a lot of what I've learned in taking risks in corporate America; you have to take risks with color, you have to take risks and help people to come along and try new things. And they, therefore, have this, you know, this great story they can tell with their homes if they're willing to step out of what they see in catalogs, and really think about what do I love? And what is my stamp?

 

Kimberly Grigg  09:01

Sure, it's so inspiring that you were brave enough to do this. And it's so - I'm trying, my mind is boggled that a) you did this and it's so well thought. Like, that vision at eight years old, the symbolism of the orchid, and it is so evident in what you're creating that I see on Instagram. It's very intriguing, I think. So tell me, I know Lost Orchid is physically located in Philadelphia. So you're open to the public - tell me more about, like, the services that you offer and what Lost Orchid, you know, truly is and what all it embodies.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  09:48

Sure. So I would say it's multiple channels, right? I definitely have a direct to consumer approach, business approach for all of my channels. But one of the things that I do is obviously interiors, where I'm focused primarily on residential, I have done a commercial project that was more nonprofit with a coffee house. But most of my clients are residential. So I do interiors. And then also another channel that I have is kind of resale. So I'm all about trying to create access for people to create unique experiences in their home. And so I love antiques, I love vintage pieces, things are not manufactured like they once were. And so I source and curate those pieces, and then host live sales as well. And so I would say that that's kind of a little bit about what Lost Orchid is. I do local, so definitely in person consultations, but I also do virtual. I have clients in Natchez, Mississippi, and Miami, Florida, because I'm able to kind of virtually consult as well. And because we are such a kind of global society, we're able to also source things nationally and be able to still provide support for virtual clients. So I would say it's kind of those three tiers as far as kind of my business approach.

 

Kimberly Grigg  11:08

So when you source, are you sourcing in probably a bunch of different ways? Like you, probably it's kind of everywhere, but like do you go abroad and bring things back? Or? Or how is that, how do you accomplish that?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  11:23

Yeah, so it's really... it's ABC. ABC is Always Be Collecting. So always be collecting so I'm always looking locally. And when we travel I'll do kind of trips to curate. And different pockets of the country, or the world really, have obviously different kind of pieces, right? You get these amazing kind of Palm Beach looking pieces in, of course, like the Floridian area, however, you also get really similar kind of pieces in the Jersey and New York area. And the reason being is because people have second homes, maybe they've transferred goods back and forth. You also have high population density. So there's more people in these kind of metropolitan areas. So it vastly variates but, yes, I do go on trips. I'm always curating. I'm looking in antique stores, thrift stores, consignment stores. I'm shopping people's homes when I go to their home, right? Because there's probably a lot of pieces that have just sat in the corner and they've looked at and not seen how significant they could be. If, for example, it were reupholstered or refinished. So yeah, so it's - and also it's creating a network. I think it's really important that people create networks to, you know, there's people that are in the estate business that I'm really good friends with, that also kind of come along and partner as well. So I would say it's probably all the above. I'm always looking, I'm always sourcing, always curating pieces.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  11:25

It's fascinating and it must be endless. Like, seems like you're curating in your sleep probably.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  12:59

I am. I need like a warehouse at this point.

 

Kimberly Grigg  13:02

Right? So you mentioned your design aesthetic has a Hollywood Regency vibe, which is very obvious. You also refer to yourself as a maximalist. So what is a maximalist?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  13:14

Sure. So for me a maximalist is layers. There's always kind of a layered approach to maximalism. I love multiple patterns. I don't like matchy-ness. I like things to - I can't remember who was the famous designer that said this, but I use it frequently - which is, you almost want things to slightly clash yet coordinate. So, for me, it is a little bit of kind of pushing, like, color boundaries and pushing textures and patterns. And maximalism is also, in my opinion, eclectic, because you're probably a collector of something, whether that's gallery walls, prints, whether that's actual collections of something or other pieces. For me, that's what maximalism is. It's like how can you really turn up the volume of the aesthetic in a space and have it very layered and have an interesting story in it. So when people walk into my home, I want them to ask about some of the oddities that I have in the home, so that it's just a great way to kind of reveal parts of your story if people are asking questions when they come in.

 

Kimberly Grigg  14:23

Very soulful. Yeah. But I'm curious. Because I'm definitely a maximalist in my own home. I have to run the gamut in terms of design and I'm more of a designer for people's personalities and not everyone is a maximalist, that's for sure. But, you know, as a maximalist, how do you keep it from feeling and looking cluttered?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  14:50

Well, I think that's always one of the tensions that maximalists, like, sit in, right? But for me, I do really try to... I will definitely kind of look at a space and then pull everything out and then kind of redesign it again. Because over time you do, you sit something here, you collect it, it can start looking cluttered. And then the story that you're trying to tell, or the interesting pieces that you're trying to kind of profile, they are hidden. So that's my approach, is just, you know, kind of taking it that way when I'm trying to design. The other thing that I do, because I do live sales, is I do believe in kind of catch and release. So when you love something, and it's been in your home for a while, and you've enjoyed it, and then you find yourself kind of de-prioritizing it, well then, you know, someone else might be interested in that piece. And so that's where I do the live sales and kind of, then replenish the pool, if you will, on antiques and vintage pieces where other people can purchase and then they can put them in their home. So it's a little bit of kind of this ecosystem in the maximalist world, and I'm sure you probably do it as well, where you love pieces, they've been with you for a while, your really special ones you never get rid of but there are probably some that are more ancillary that you can kind of, you know, release back into the vintage ecosystem for others to love.

 

Kimberly Grigg  16:12

I love to rotate, too. I just love to freshen things up. Sometimes I'll spend the weekend just redoing my bookshelves or redoing some vignettes in my house and that kind of thing. But, I don't know if you have this, but I have this and it is a very curious thing. I'm a bit of a chameleon. And I feel like, as a designer, it serves me well because I can turn into whatever style I'm working in and do a good job with it. I study it, I get into it, and I'm, like, I'm going, like, whatever it is. And I have some friends who have very minimal, minimalistic homes, and that kind of thing. And I'll go in and I turn into a chameleon, and then I go home, to my own home, which I love, and I take everything off. And I'm going to be a minimalist all of a sudden. And that lasts for about two days and then I can't stand it and I put it all back. So how do you deal, or do you? Like, do you design for a minimalist? Or do you stay strictly in your lane? And how do you, like, can you convert a minimalist to a maximalist, or why bother?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  17:21

Yeah, no, that's a great question. So I'm like you, I actually have clients that run the gamut. And I don't like just designing for people like me. Although that's really what you see on my Instagram. And you'll see the difference, right, because I'll post client photos from projects that are more minimalistic and they don't get the likes, because my followers are maximalist. And that's okay. But, for me, it's not about what I love. It's about what my clients love. And that helps sharpen and challenge my own skills, where I don't want to just be designing over and over again, florals, just because I love florals and using them in fabrics. I love how that kind of pushes me and then there are so many great designers that I follow and that I, you know, watch and learn from that are in other spaces as me. Because I want to surround myself with people that aren't like me, so that I can be exposed and curious to other things. And then my own design style evolves. But like you, I very much like chinoiserie and the bright colors. And you can see behind me kind of that maximalist sort of Palm Beach feel. But then I also have rooms in my home that are, it's almost like a palate cleanser. So my living room is a palate cleanser, it has no color, it is very kind of contemporary-modern, and it helps me to kind of, you know, that's where I stay with my family. And so, for me, I have children, and so their stuff can get overwhelming in a maximalist tone. So having a room that we gather that is minimalist, helps my brain feel organized, if that makes sense.

 

Kimberly Grigg  18:56

It makes such sense to me, especially when you work in color every day. Like one time I went through this phase, I wanted everything in my house to be white. And I'm known for color, color is my my gig. And I really felt like I was living in someone else's home. I did enjoy that I would work in color all day and I'd come home and I would be in white. I enjoyed that. But it ended up not being enough for me and I had to reinsert it in big doses and in big ways. And I'm, you know... and I think design is so artistic. And it's, and because I am an artist, a painting artist, it's vulnerable. And it intimate and it's vulnerable. And when you put it out there, it can be judged. And I think that we as designers, because I think most designers are always pushing the edge in some way. Like whatever it is, whether it's I'm going to insert more color into my work or whether I'm going to take color out, or whatever it is, it's easy to feel like an artist because, again, you're vulnerable and all eyes are on. And, you know, and you're known for an aesthetic, and it's just interesting to me to see how things run the gamut.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  20:17

Yeah, especially in social media.

 

Kimberly Grigg  20:21

So since you brought up this wall behind you, I gotta go there. Because my listener can't see this. But I'm just gonna sort of briefly describe what I'm looking at, which is absolutely beautiful. So first of all, this gorgeous pinkie salmon color. And then it's a really interesting gallery wall with a great lamp that is a chinoiserie lamp with a deeper tone of that pinky peach salmony color shade. And then all of these really exciting prints that you've, you know, it's great. And I love the birds. There's birds on brackets, and the brackets - of course, no detail unturned - there she has these really fun little deeper salmon colored tassels. And I don't know, I could just lick it. It's so cool.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  21:17

Thank you.

 

Kimberly Grigg  21:17

So tell me about how this happened. And the color of that wall. Oh, my gosh, it's beautiful.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  21:23

Yeah, so this is my office. So, to me, I wanted it to be as kind of reflective of me as possible and kind of creative. So everything you see here kind of represents me in some way. So what you can't see is my lamp, it's a pineapple lamp. But, again, it's vintage. It's like that classic vintage. You know, kind of iron, metal pineapple. I also love tassels, I love the details of just very feminine in some ways, right? And just, like, beautiful pieces. So the peacocks that you're seeing, those are vintage peacocks - if you can actually see those - and they were gifts to me from my mom. So that's very special to me. We've got some Mexican feather art down here. Again, that's, you know, kind of mid century art. And then you've also got this very kind of modern, eclectic kind of color piece that, to me, I like to tie in a little bit of modern because otherwise, I don't want it to feel - and you know, some people call my aesthetic grandmillennial, whether you agree or not - but I don't ever wanted to feel like it's getting too country or too, like, dated.

 

Kimberly Grigg  22:28

And can be sometimes, you know, and because I'm a maximalist and I work in grandmillennial style, I always worry, am I getting old ladyish? And by inserting that little piece of spark, that little piece of abstract, just absolutely makes the whole thing.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  22:48

Right. Right. It kind of is that curious piece, right? And then over here, we have kind of a piece that was done by a missionary in Mexico. So everything kind of has a story. They're all kind of, too, in a similar color palette. So they tie - again, it's that kind of tension between coordination versus clashing, right? And, you know, it's kind of all out there. And if you're someone who can, you can look at, visualize, if you're a visual person, maximalism might be a great style for you. If you look at my style, and how it's evolved from being in corporate America today, that it's vastly different. And I think people feel like they have to be one thing their whole life. And so I hope that in stories and things that people are seeing in Instagrams that they follow, they see this evolution, your home should be an evolution. It should be organic, just like you are, and it will change, you know, it might always center around a couple of key things that ground you, but you'll see it change. And for me, very much kind of embracing that color side of who I am, is definitely, it's definitely coming through in all my work.

 

Kimberly Grigg  23:56

Well since you brought up color, now is a good time to segue because you use some amazing colors in your work. And I guess what I, since I work in color, I think where people struggle is, first of all, maybe they're scared of color. And secondly, they don't know quite where to use the color. So do you have formulas or ways that you approach color that seemed to work for you?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  24:23

So I totally agree with you. I think people are very scared of color. I get that a lot, like, 'oh, I love it for you and I could never do that'. I don't know if that's kind of hangovers from realtors passing that you'll never be able to sell this home if you painted a certain color, I don't know. Right? But that is a deep fear for people. And so one way that you can kind of dip your toe in color is pillows are a great place to start. Those are fungible, you can, you know, mix and match those pieces. Lampshades are another place where you can add color and remove it if you're not comfortable with it. But I do try to encourage people to take risk, because it can always be undone. I think one of the bigger investments is certainly fabric. So, for me, if, you know, if I have a client that's a little scared of color, perhaps you don't want to sink a ton of money or investment into drapery, for example, because that is a long term commitment. But I think there's some things that you can, you can also have different lacquered pieces in your home that are less of an investment, and that are versatile. So maybe if you get tired of them in a particular room, they could be then applied to another space. So I kind of, you know, walk clients through that process a little bit. I'd be curious kind of your thoughts on how you also get people warmed up to the idea of color?

 

Kimberly Grigg  25:45

Well, glad you asked. Because it is a big subject. And right now, you know, the world has been white for so long, it was either white or gray. And actually, neither of those are favorite choices of mine. Have I worked in them? Absolutely. Have I worked in them a lot? To ad nauseam. But I tend to, like - in this phase in my life, interesting that you said this - like, I used to really gravitate more towards muted tones and softer colors and now I'm more of a clean color girl instead of a muddy color girl, if I have my preference. But when working with clients, I can quickly assess whether they can take color on the wall or not. And if they can't, okay, fair enough, then I'm going to pick more of a background color that's neutral, more neutral, might have a little, you know, something in it. But then I might give them splashes of color or help them embrace splashes of color in other pieces. I'm pretty successful, when I'm working with men, they tend to like blues, universally. And women typically can take greens of some sort. And those two can go together very well. So I can kind of sometimes create a palette based off of that. When I ask clients if there are colors they don't like - it's one of my questions - then I typically will get out of a man that he doesn't want to have pink. And I don't know why, men look beautiful in pink. I think that that's not a great choice, but, you know, who's going to argue about it? And I find that people are either lovers of purple or don't care for purple at all. But I personally love lilacs, lavenders, and purples because I don't get to work in them that much. So they've kind of become a go-to for me, especially when I mix them back to rich colors like cobalts or something like that. Yes, I love those combinations. And so that's sort of how I do it. Sometimes I end up with pretty neutral spaces. And, at least until someone really trusts me, that, you know, I'm going to give them, like, I might do some more color in a guest bedroom, and then they're loving it. And they're like, 'oh, I see what you mean'. But, you know, I don't really have a formula for where I start the color palette. Like, other than typically I'll start with a rug or a piece of art or a piece of fabric. And then I kind of branch from there. But I clearly have people that cannot do color on a wall. And no matter what I say. And I just decided at this point, it's not worth even, you know, the effort in terms of argument, I can find a color in a different way. I'm sure you feel similarly.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  28:34

I do. I do. I think that's a really good point. And I think, too, I will start, a lot of times I like to see what people's artwork is in the home. Because that is, I'm very fortunate because my business was started on a social media platform and it does afford me the chance to share who I am personally as well as professionally, that I draw some of those clients that are very, very much want to step out of the box, versus more standard clients that are just looking for, like, an interior designer. They know a little bit about how much risk I will take. So I have, I have multiple clients where you'll see it's this eclectic, very Victorian, almost moody colors, and I will start with their artwork. One client who I adore, she loves original artwork. It's very whimsy, it's very dark. It's got some irony to it. And so I know if that brings her joy, then that is what she's going to visually also want to see in the space. And so we took it that way in some of her designs where you see more of this kind of Neo-Victorian modern look. The other thing I think it's important too, is I like to see how people dress. Because how they project themselves to the world is also how they, it's like your home is an extension of yourself. So I can also, I also have clients kind of share with me some of our favorite outfits and will literally have them send pictures even if it's not their outfit. What do they love to see? And in that I can also see color, so I can see the themes of color that they present. There's no orange, the absence of orange. Orange is one that a lot of people don't like. Or reds, people have visceral reactions to red. And so, you know, I think that's also kind of an insight, but, like you, we're always consulting and always trying to pull out of people their tolerance for the design aesthetic.

 

Kimberly Grigg  30:14

Sure. And, you know, to date, every designer I've talked with does use the wardrobe as a key. And I think it, I mean, it's so indicative because even if it's not something, like I do have clients, sometimes they'll say, I don't really like anything in my wardrobe. I just wish I could start all over. And then I'll say, 'well, show me outfits that you admire'. And then we've got something, we're going, we're rolling. And I love your tip and idea about looking at the artwork. Because if it, or even things. Like sometimes I'll say to people, what do you really love in your home? Because very few people are starting completely all over. And I'll say, 'what do you love in your home'? And they'll show me a few things. And suddenly, I'm starting to see, are they muddy colors? Are they clean colors? Are they... or do they have a vision? Do they, like, what things do they feel comfortable with? And the next thing you know, you've you've kind of nailed them. And you didn't even know really, you didn't even know you were doing it? You just, it's instinctive almost, I think.

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  31:19

Yeah. Carleton Varney actually said something that I've kind of grabbed on to as well, which is, people's first memory - have you heard this? - people's first memory of a room that they loved, like, so maybe not the first room, but, like, the room that they remember, as young as they were, their earliest memory that they thought was beautiful, typically is someone's design style. It's that weird kind of imprint on your mind as to what joy looks like. And that is very much accurate for my own personal design. And I assume probably the same for clients. So I will ask them to articulate their earliest memory of a beautiful space. And what is it from that that they found beautiful. And that typically hasn't changed that much now as an adult.

 

Kimberly Grigg  32:04

Sure. And I think that is a really interesting way. I'm not familiar with that. I have, I do ask clients to describe their most, the space that resonates with them the most, the prettiest place they've ever been. And I kind of get all over the place with that, but it stretches them. Because when you think about the most beautiful place you've ever been, you have to stop and think. But if it moved you, and if a husband-wife or partnership agree on that, then, oh man, we are off to the races. Right? Yay, yay, and yay. So what kinds of things that - what kinds of things do you do that sort of are a signature for you? Are there things that you do that are a signature for you?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  32:58

Sure. I would say one of the things that I do really try to kind of encourage people towards, is I do love working in wallpaper. I think there's so many different types of wallpaper, you have wallpaper that has absolutely no pattern, it's just more texture. But there's something for everyone in that. And I feel like that's something that is very much kind of a signature of this generation. Where we are, you know, willing to kind of step into that. So, for me, you'll see a lot of wallpaper for clients. And, again, I caveat everything with saying and there I have clients that don't want to touch the wallpaper, they don't want to do wallpaper. But I would say that that's definitely a signature for me. Another signature for me, first and foremost, is repurposed pieces. So it would be very rare for me to never, to not use in any way, an antique or vintage piece in a design. And, I just - and there's a reason, as I said before, the value proposition of the pieces, the story of the pieces - but because they also really make it a focus for me to shop the home. I want that person, it's part of change management, where they can see themselves in this space by putting something that has been with them for a long time in the space so it doesn't feel like a foreign body that they're rejecting, it's part of them. So in every - I'm going through my mind and cataloging - and every single project that I've had, you will see those kinds of vintage, consigned, thrifted, antique pieces, because they just provide that beautiful story. Even in my retail clients that just want new custom pieces. We were able to pull in some of her family's Staffordshire collection, and do it in a very subtle way, that did not date the look, but gave it just enough of patina to where there was something interesting on the shelf. But that would definitely be a signature of mine.

 

Kimberly Grigg  34:57

I love that. So a lot of my, you know, I have students, in addition to my clients, and I teach people that is never going to hire, there are people that are never going to hire a designer for whatever reason. But they want a beautiful home, and they're enthusiasts, and they are, they're all about, like, learning and challenging themselves and obtaining information. Because the end goal for them is the same as the end goal for you and I: a beautiful space. So, first of all, do you think that creativity and design can be learned?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  35:33

Yeah, I do. I think, I definitely think you have to start with a capability, there has to be a baseline of interests. Right? But yeah, I think you can definitely learn and sharpen. I mean, look at my own career, right? Which is, there was that initial kind of aspiration or interest, and then stepping into the design world and having an intellectual curiosity where you're constantly learning and pulling and building. I do think you can build that muscle. But you have to have a muscle to start with. And that is that you have the interest to do so. And that you have a certain level of ability. And then when you add the aspiration and the opportunity, by studying and learning, I do think you can grow for sure.

 

Kimberly Grigg  36:15

So any simple tips or ideas that people can use to either train their eye, or strengthen that muscle? Simple things that, you know, not the average bear thinks about but would love to employ in their decors?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  36:35

Yeah, I mean, I would say definitely learn from the masters. Read those coffee table books, they're not just for pretty layers, they actually have content inside of them. They have beautiful pictures, but they also have the stories of the why. And then as you start learning about kind of these - at least for me, because chinoiserie is a big part of what I love personally - I like to understand kind of the whole historical aspect of, you know, the design industry, the aesthetic of chinoiserie, where did it come from? What, how do you validate, authenticate certain pieces, but all of that is through at least starting with reading and researching and learning. You can also do that, obviously, with who are you following on Instagram. So, you know, there's a lot of people, some are amazing. Some I would, you know, caution you against how they're, you know, there's - I posted the other day, please don't put tape on your windows and make it look like it's grids. Like, even though someone's doing that, let's not try that. Follow, you know, you have access to people for the first time, and a generation of access to these master designers that were only for the elite before. Now they have master classes, now we have podcasts, now we have Instagram brands and platforms. Tap into those and learn and then identify what do you like, and kind of give yourself some space to create. So start small, learn, research. And just try. I mean, just take the risk. So many people are so afraid just to just to try. When people ask me, how do you start, how did you start a business? I just did it. I really just like built a kind of question for myself around design thinking, which is my corporate background, which was, you know, how do I monetize on a social media platform to build a business? That was my design thinking question. It wasn't how do I become the best designer? Or how do I have the best, the most effective design firm? It really was around how do I leverage social media in order to build something, and then that kind of blossomed into really identifying and I tested a lot of things, but for me, it's the channeling or the channel of vintage and antique resale. And it's also interiors. So that's, you know, there's DIYers out there. There's whole other ways that people are using those platforms. But I would just say try. Give yourself a challenge question and try with your designs.

 

Kimberly Grigg  39:18

And I love that you've been true to your lane, even though you can branch out of your lane. Like, you know, you know what you love and you know how to insert it in a way that people can understand and embrace. And, you know, and that's why they come to you. Because I know that often people come to me, not because I'm just a designer, but because there is something that they do like about my aesthetic that they want to wrap their brains around in some way. So how would a person that isn't the normal collector, isn't the person always is looking for soulful items, but are kind of warming up to this - via because of supply chain or because they just liked the idea - how do they, how do they start this? How do they become better at finding these pieces?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  40:19

I definitely think the first thing they can do is join the sales, right? So there are a lot of different people on Instagram that do live sales, it is a way for you to start learning what are some of those pieces that you weren't even exposed to before, but that you connect with. And then from there, you kind of get the sense when you could maybe start at an estate sale. Or you could go to a local consignment store, where you kind of have a sense for what you're looking for. Otherwise, those places can be very overwhelming and difficult to kind of navigate. But I think by starting and following the right people, you're able to kind of, again, that whole process of learn from others, and then apply that.

 

Kimberly Grigg  41:03

So wow, I can't believe the time has flown by. And it's time for me to ask you my little signature question. And it goes something like this: if you had a hashtag that embodied your legacy, what would it be?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  41:24

Find joy in design. Because, for me, I found joy in design. And now I help others find joy in design. So #FindJoyInDesign.

 

Kimberly Grigg  41:34

I love it. So, Andrea, I've thoroughly enjoyed our conversation, I feel like we have so much in common I could just continue on and on and on. And I love talking with like-minded people and I also love that you're open to share with people how important it is to live in a beautiful space. And how important it is to let that be joyful. Because, you know, joy, life goes fast. And joy is that one route that we can hang onto, and finding it in our home is, to me, what my mission is all about as well. Like the reason I do all of this is because I really care that people live beautifully. And if they don't, how they can learn to live beautifully. Because it is a more inspired life. It's a beautiful life. And, you know, it's it's more soulful. And that's kind of a new favorite word of mine, because I feel like homes with soul are really what it's all about. And you are fast forwarding that with your own mission. And I admire it and I applaud it. So tell me where can people find you?

 

Andrea Cummins-Disbro  42:51

Sure. So you can find me on Instagram at Lost Orchid Interiors. And I am there, you can see my personal and professional side all in one space.

 

Kimberly Grigg  43:03

I love it. And I'm just telling you, the listener, you gotta hop on her space. It is really incredible. I've enjoyed watching it, I've learned from you. And I've been inspired by some of the things that you're creating. And, again, I can't thank you enough for spending and sharing time with us today. And, I guess I want to talk to you all day, but I can't, so I'm going to say to the listener 'bye for now'.

 

Kimberly Grigg  43:32

Thanks for listening to Decorate Like A Design Boss. If you want more info on how to decorate your space like a pro, visit KimberlyGriggDesigns.com. See you next week.