Designer Spotlight : Karen Linder Interior Design
Designer Spotlight : Karen Linder Interior Design
Karen Linder Interior Designs offers a full suite of services designed to reveal the unique personality and preference of each individual client.
Services offered include interior design, color consulting, space planning, lighting design, kitchen and bath design, window coverings, furniture and accessory selection, hard surface material selection and staging for home sales and new construction.
What Inspired Karen to be a designer why did she get into the business?
I have always wanted to be a designer back when I went to college the first time, it was part of the Home Economic department, no woman in the late 70s early 80s was ever going to be caught dead in home ec so I went the business route. In my mid 40’s I decided I really wanted to go back to school to become an interior designer! So I checked out a bunch of schools and chose PCC that had a 2 year design program and here I am!
PCC gave me the opportunity to meet people in the industry, introducing us to places like Area Floors, and places like Hexafoo that is a work room so it was a good balance, we found out about Pental, United Tile.
You also host a class now is that right?
I teach Decorating Outside of the Box, which is a class that is offered quarterly. It’s for “Do it yourself” home owners who want to learn to design like a designer. It’s offered in fall, winter and spring, at PCC. We have a lot of fun when Area Floors hosts these at their showroom.
How do you help a client who is starting the remodel process with all the different uses and material choices how do you keep them focused so they don’t feel overwhelmed?
As a designer when I first meet with a client I am really interviewing them, asking them how they live in their homes, what they like what they don’t like, doing what I like to call fact finding. Finding out what their budget is, how to create a budget if they don’t have one, so that when we get to the point of going to Area Floors to pick out product whether it’s carpet, hard surfaces, etc.. If I have an idea of what it is that they can afford, I can focus on what to look at when we are at the store shopping. For example if the client has a smaller budget perhaps American Olean would be a better value than going to Pental. So I’m helping them reduce that stress by knowing my products, what their budget is, and how they really want the product to look in their home. I am a problem solver, I want to be able to design their home so that when I walk away they love it and its exactly what they want. For me its an education process so that I understand what products are out there so when I bring them in I can really focus on products that will fit their needs and fit their project.
What’s your process, what’s your inspiration?
Believe it or not when I am running, I get a lot of ideas. I also get inspiration from books
and do research online. I get some good ideas on Houzz. I read a lot of magazines, most of the time it just really pops into your mind. The process just happens.
What style is your home decorated, what’s your own personal style?
It’s more of a transitional , contemporary look.. there are tons of great products that don’t lock you into ultra contemporary, or into traditional. There are so many products that fit that transition, hardwoods and a lot of tiles that give you a timeless look and style. Even in color there are transitional colors, Like the colors on your fireplace its not grey, its not beige.. I guess its called greige. When light hits it it pulls different colors, it takes you wherever you want to go.
What was your latest project you worked on where you had to overcome challenges?
In this bathroom, the tub was a little bit bigger than we anticipated, so that was a challenge. We ended up having to dial down the tub, I really wanted to put the curved wall in. It was a reflection of the outdoors that had a curved river running through the back yard.
Challenges are learning experiences for me, I don’t really look at them as problematic, just part of the design project. . In design its all about how does it look how does it feel, is there harmony, does it all work together.
If your about to work on a project and you need some professional help give Karen a call! 503-515-4745