20 Inspiring Quotes for Interior Designers to Spark Creativity
Interior designers can look to these words of wisdom from fellow designers, architects and authors for encouragement
Whether it’s savvy business advice or a reflection on the nature of our sense of home, insights from those who’ve walked the same professional path as you can uplift and inspire. Here is a collection of interior designer quotes from historic design figures and contemporary professionals alike.
2. On Stuff
“The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.” —Professional organizer and author Marie Kondo in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Read more about Kondo and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
“The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.” —Professional organizer and author Marie Kondo in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Read more about Kondo and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
3. On Adding Visual Interest
“A room should never allow the eye to settle in one place. It should smile at you and create fantasy.” —Interior designer Juan Montoya
“A room should never allow the eye to settle in one place. It should smile at you and create fantasy.” —Interior designer Juan Montoya
4. On Optimism
“There never was a house so bad that it couldn’t be made over into something worthwhile.” —20th-century interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe
Read more about Elsie de Wolfe
“There never was a house so bad that it couldn’t be made over into something worthwhile.” —20th-century interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe
Read more about Elsie de Wolfe
5. On Confidence
“You have to be the biggest believer in yourself. Do not compare yourself to anybody else. That’s how you’re going to make it through the emotional ups and downs of running a business. If you have the proven capability, and clients are giving you positive feedback, and it’s fun to you, then keep going. And remember that to doubt ourselves is just part of human nature.” —Florida contractor Rik Fava of design-build firm Motivo Home
Fava and his wife and business partner, Andrea, spoke with Houzz about running their firm as a couple. “As a husband and wife, there’s an emotional connection and things just work out better. We enjoy each other’s company. We have fun,” he says.
Read more from our interview with Rik and Andrea Fava
“You have to be the biggest believer in yourself. Do not compare yourself to anybody else. That’s how you’re going to make it through the emotional ups and downs of running a business. If you have the proven capability, and clients are giving you positive feedback, and it’s fun to you, then keep going. And remember that to doubt ourselves is just part of human nature.” —Florida contractor Rik Fava of design-build firm Motivo Home
Fava and his wife and business partner, Andrea, spoke with Houzz about running their firm as a couple. “As a husband and wife, there’s an emotional connection and things just work out better. We enjoy each other’s company. We have fun,” he says.
Read more from our interview with Rik and Andrea Fava
6. On Clients
“Design, to me, is part psychology, part sociology and part magic. A good decorator should know what’s going on in someone’s marriage and how their kids are doing in school.” —Interior designer and TV personality Nate Berkus
Read more about Nate Berkus
“Design, to me, is part psychology, part sociology and part magic. A good decorator should know what’s going on in someone’s marriage and how their kids are doing in school.” —Interior designer and TV personality Nate Berkus
Read more about Nate Berkus
7. On Trends
“It’s much more difficult to try to follow the trends of others and latch on to boho chic or whatever is the latest thing. Because if the latest thing is not your thing, it’s never going to be authentic anyway.” —California interior designer Sarah Barnard
Read more from our interview with Sarah Barnard
“It’s much more difficult to try to follow the trends of others and latch on to boho chic or whatever is the latest thing. Because if the latest thing is not your thing, it’s never going to be authentic anyway.” —California interior designer Sarah Barnard
Read more from our interview with Sarah Barnard
8. On Product Design
“I remember walking in [to Target after it launched its first designer collaboration with architect Michael Graves] and seeing these teakettles and toasters and spatulas and things, and just thinking never before had I thought of things in the home as being design, or things in your home as being things that could make you happy. A toaster was just a toaster. But to go in there and see there are things out there that are not only functional but are cool and can actually give you a sense of happiness was a new concept for me growing up in Missouri.” —Interior designer and Queer Eye star Bobby Berk
Read more about the power of design and meaningful makeovers in our interview with Bobby Berk
“I remember walking in [to Target after it launched its first designer collaboration with architect Michael Graves] and seeing these teakettles and toasters and spatulas and things, and just thinking never before had I thought of things in the home as being design, or things in your home as being things that could make you happy. A toaster was just a toaster. But to go in there and see there are things out there that are not only functional but are cool and can actually give you a sense of happiness was a new concept for me growing up in Missouri.” —Interior designer and Queer Eye star Bobby Berk
Read more about the power of design and meaningful makeovers in our interview with Bobby Berk
9. On Garden Design
“A garden means far more than just a planted place. It is a touchstone; a repository of memories that forms a place of joy in your life. A garden exists not only as part of your backyard landscape, but as a site that resides in your imagination, a collection of personally satisfying images that can be expressed upon your land.” —Vermont landscape designer and author Julie Moir Messervy in The Inward Garden: Creating a Place of Beauty and Meaning
Read more about Julie Moir Messervy and The Inward Garden
“A garden means far more than just a planted place. It is a touchstone; a repository of memories that forms a place of joy in your life. A garden exists not only as part of your backyard landscape, but as a site that resides in your imagination, a collection of personally satisfying images that can be expressed upon your land.” —Vermont landscape designer and author Julie Moir Messervy in The Inward Garden: Creating a Place of Beauty and Meaning
Read more about Julie Moir Messervy and The Inward Garden
10. On Inspiration
“There’s no place where I don’t look for inspiration.” —Atlanta interior designer Natasha Eustache-Garner of Interiors by Natasha
Read more from our interview with Natasha Eustache-Garner
“There’s no place where I don’t look for inspiration.” —Atlanta interior designer Natasha Eustache-Garner of Interiors by Natasha
Read more from our interview with Natasha Eustache-Garner
11. On the Power of Decor
“The point of decorating, as far as I can tell, is to create the background for the best life you can have. Decoration can be life-enhancing. It can make dinner parties more fun, kids happier, relaxing easier, talks more intimate, guests at ease. And to think decorating is often considered frivolous. Making a charmed and happy home is a noble endeavor. The simple secret is making sure that every decorating decision contributes to the creation of beauty and comfort. Beauty to uplift our senses (to transcend the mundane) and comfort to make us feel taken care of (to embrace the mundane).” —Domino magazine founding editor Deborah Needleman in The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well
Read our 2011 interview with Deborah Needleman
“The point of decorating, as far as I can tell, is to create the background for the best life you can have. Decoration can be life-enhancing. It can make dinner parties more fun, kids happier, relaxing easier, talks more intimate, guests at ease. And to think decorating is often considered frivolous. Making a charmed and happy home is a noble endeavor. The simple secret is making sure that every decorating decision contributes to the creation of beauty and comfort. Beauty to uplift our senses (to transcend the mundane) and comfort to make us feel taken care of (to embrace the mundane).” —Domino magazine founding editor Deborah Needleman in The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well
Read our 2011 interview with Deborah Needleman
12. On Form and Function
“Form follows function — that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.” —20th-century architect Frank Lloyd Wright
What It’s Like to Live in a Frank Lloyd Wright House
“Form follows function — that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.” —20th-century architect Frank Lloyd Wright
What It’s Like to Live in a Frank Lloyd Wright House
13. On Harmony in Design
“Like an orchestra, colors should play well together and ultimately produce harmony for the eyes.” —Michigan interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins on the website Traditional Home
“Like an orchestra, colors should play well together and ultimately produce harmony for the eyes.” —Michigan interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins on the website Traditional Home
14. On Designing for Well-Being
“I think that people want to feel good in a space.… On the one hand it’s about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure.” —The late Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid
Read more about the late Zaha Hadid’s life and work
“I think that people want to feel good in a space.… On the one hand it’s about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure.” —The late Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid
Read more about the late Zaha Hadid’s life and work
15. On a Designer’s Life
“In service of what I do for a living, I get to indulge in a lot of things that only barely count as work. I get to peruse flea markets and out-of-the-way vintage shops, to study how the pros of yesteryear practiced their arts. I get to watch movies and take mental notes on the sets and costumes, and I get to stop by the fancy boutiques and stay abreast of what’s going on in the world of fashion. (At least that’s what I tell myself.) I get to buy as many magazines and books as I can carry, because I never know where I’m going to spot the thing that sparks my interest. It’s not a bad life.” —Interior and household goods designer Christiane Lemieux in Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design by Christiane Lemieux and Rumaan Alam
In Undecorate, Lemieux and Alam highlight spaces with a personalized, collected look. It’s why the book stands out so much to Chicago pro Fred M. Alsen of FMA Interior Design. “I love that it isn’t your typical interior design book that is full of rooms that no one ever lives in,” Alsen tells Houzz.
Read more about design books that have made a difference for pros
“In service of what I do for a living, I get to indulge in a lot of things that only barely count as work. I get to peruse flea markets and out-of-the-way vintage shops, to study how the pros of yesteryear practiced their arts. I get to watch movies and take mental notes on the sets and costumes, and I get to stop by the fancy boutiques and stay abreast of what’s going on in the world of fashion. (At least that’s what I tell myself.) I get to buy as many magazines and books as I can carry, because I never know where I’m going to spot the thing that sparks my interest. It’s not a bad life.” —Interior and household goods designer Christiane Lemieux in Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design by Christiane Lemieux and Rumaan Alam
In Undecorate, Lemieux and Alam highlight spaces with a personalized, collected look. It’s why the book stands out so much to Chicago pro Fred M. Alsen of FMA Interior Design. “I love that it isn’t your typical interior design book that is full of rooms that no one ever lives in,” Alsen tells Houzz.
Read more about design books that have made a difference for pros
16. On Homes That Grab Us
“I gravitate toward homes that grab me on some instinctual level, whether I’m attracted to an amazing wall color, a beautiful mixture of fabrics, or a furniture arrangement so artful that I’m tempted to move right in.” —Design blogger Grace Bonney in Design Sponge at Home
Read our 2010 interview with Grace Bonney
“I gravitate toward homes that grab me on some instinctual level, whether I’m attracted to an amazing wall color, a beautiful mixture of fabrics, or a furniture arrangement so artful that I’m tempted to move right in.” —Design blogger Grace Bonney in Design Sponge at Home
Read our 2010 interview with Grace Bonney
17. On Breaking the Rules
“I always put in one controversial item. It makes people talk.” —20th-century interior decorator Dorothy Draper
“I always put in one controversial item. It makes people talk.” —20th-century interior decorator Dorothy Draper
18. On the Power of an Expressive Home
“For the vast majority of us, beauty is what motivates and moves us. We move toward things we are attracted to, be it a human or a painting or a sculpture, so having a home that is expressive of your inner life just makes for an integrated life and a place where you can come home and take a deep breath, sink into the couch and think, ‘Yeah, I made this. This is me.’” —Michigan design psychologist Leslie Kaye
Read more about why we gravitate toward beauty in design
“For the vast majority of us, beauty is what motivates and moves us. We move toward things we are attracted to, be it a human or a painting or a sculpture, so having a home that is expressive of your inner life just makes for an integrated life and a place where you can come home and take a deep breath, sink into the couch and think, ‘Yeah, I made this. This is me.’” —Michigan design psychologist Leslie Kaye
Read more about why we gravitate toward beauty in design
19. On Thinking Like a Magazine Photographer
“Think like a photographer. Look at every vignette in your home like it’s being shot for a shelter magazine and style accordingly.” —Designer, potter and author Jonathan Adler in Jonathan Adler on Happy Chic Accessorizing
“Think like a photographer. Look at every vignette in your home like it’s being shot for a shelter magazine and style accordingly.” —Designer, potter and author Jonathan Adler in Jonathan Adler on Happy Chic Accessorizing
20. On Naming a Design Business
“It starts with a great name. It can be your name, but first make certain your name makes sense in connection to your brand and the business you’re building.” —Design consultant Keith Granet in The Business of Design: Balancing Creativity and Profitability
New Orleans interior designer Maureen Stevens says Granet’s The Business of Design has been an invaluable asset to her own design business.
Read more about design books that have made a difference for pros
Tell us: What are your favorite interior designer quotes? Share them in the Comments.
More on Houzz
See more inspiration photos
Read more stories for pros
“It starts with a great name. It can be your name, but first make certain your name makes sense in connection to your brand and the business you’re building.” —Design consultant Keith Granet in The Business of Design: Balancing Creativity and Profitability
New Orleans interior designer Maureen Stevens says Granet’s The Business of Design has been an invaluable asset to her own design business.
Read more about design books that have made a difference for pros
Tell us: What are your favorite interior designer quotes? Share them in the Comments.
More on Houzz
See more inspiration photos
Read more stories for pros
“No matter how taste may change, the basics of good decorating remain the same: We’re talking about someplace people live in, surrounded by things they like and that make them comfortable. It’s as simple as that.” —20th-century interior decorator Billy Baldwin