Luxury Living with Debrae Little

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This is a k u and v studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more the University of Nevada Las Vegas or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Welcome

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to luxury living with debris Leto. The podcast with the world's most exquisite homes come to life to expert advice and inspiration. Whether you're planning a complete home renovation looking to elevate your living spaces with timeless elegance, or just seeking turn does the art of luxury living. You've come to the right place. Good morning. My name is Angela Britt, the Project Coordinator for the braid little design studio. For the maiden voyage of luxury living with debris Liddell, I have the privilege of conducting the interview. Today we have an exceptional guest who transforms ordinary spaces into extraordinary havens of sophistication. With an impeccable eye for detail and a passion for creating bespoke environments. Our guest has graced the homes of discerning clients nationwide blending functionality with breathtaking aesthetics. Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of high end interior design as we get better acquainted with her and explore the insider secrets to achieving the ultimate and luxury living. So pour yourself a nice cool beverage sit back and join us as we delve into the world. A one of the industry's most respected professionals, and the host of the show to break little welcome to braid to your show.

Unknown Speaker 1:30
Thank you what an amazing introduction. I hope I live up to that. Oh, you

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do? All right being this is your first show, we thought we

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let the audience get better acquainted with you. So let's start by talking about what inspired you and the beginnings of Dubai little design studio.

Unknown Speaker 1:54
Well, I was residing in Los Angeles, California, I was working as a costume designer in Hollywood and where I was designing different various TV shows at that time, and I love Anna coladas and margaritas, and I become friendly with Robert dinero on a plane and a trip between LA and New York once and we became friends. And I invited him to my home for an Angelina and Margarita party. And while he was there, he was wonderful actually. But while he was there, I took him to I had him stroll through my home. And I gave him a guided tour of each individual space. And because I had traveled quite a bit, I had various vignettes or ideas in my home that were Spanish because they had gone to Spain. I had Moroccan interiors, and lanterns and different things. And I had something that represented all my travels, at least in my home. So global design. Yes. And he was impressed. And he loved it. And he said, Well, I know you're a costume designer, he said, but I really believe you shouldn't be an interior designer. I think that's really your calling. And I was I was a little wounded. But I I do keep that. Keep that in mind. And he planted that seed. And some years later, I left Los Angeles and barked in a career opened up a business here in Las Vegas, Nevada, and opened up shop as an interior designer, and I've been here ever since.

Unknown Speaker 3:28
But I'm still stuck on Robert did narrow that part. We'll circle back with that in the office. Yes, of course. So how would you describe your design philosophy? And how has it evolved over the years? Well,

Unknown Speaker 3:43
I feel as if I am. I've always been fearless. And I've always been fairly confident. The hardest part for me is trying to communicate those passions and that inspiration to clients at time, at times, but I find that I can do it. I feel like I think outside the box. And I'm not afraid to to speak my truth. You know, I really believe that you have to take risks. And I'd like to an overtime I think that I've learned to create an experience with my clients when I leave, I want them I want it to be an amazing experience that they've either traveled through time in their lives that were the good times the bad times or integrate family treasures into their design or just find a lot of clients or just want to explore they maybe they've done the same thing for years, and they want to a new direction and I think I help them find that direction. So at the through the at the end of the process, I believe that they I've had they've had an amazing experience with working with me. Great.

Unknown Speaker 4:54
So not only do they have this guided tour through the home innovation They haven't an experience each time they're in their environment.

Unknown Speaker 5:03
Exactly. I want them to be excited. You know, I really believe that interns should, you know, propel you propel your experience with living, and be satisfying and give you a reason to be joyful when you arrive at home.

Unknown Speaker 5:20
That's great. That's great. Can you walk us through your design process working with clients from initial consultation to final review, that's up to you, that's kind of scary for them. They don't know what to anticipate.

Unknown Speaker 5:32
I believe the first thing you do when you meet a client is to try to gain their trust, you want to listen to them you want, you want them to feel as if you really trying your darndest to get to know who they are. That's the first step. And that means that you're building trust, if you listen to someone, and they expound on the things that they want, or how they plan on using their home, and you can basically regurgitate that back to them. And using designer lingo, then they feel as if you're on the same page. And I think that's part of it. So I'd have to say the first thing is listening and building trust from there. And that, then you go into the consultation. And actually, that's part of the consultation, the consultation is to hear what their needs and their desires or their wants, or the limitations that they may have, whether it's budget, or perhaps someone in their family is disabled, or they're planning for a grandma to come and stay, and they're trying to figure out where she will live and accessibility for her because she has a wheelchair, everyone has a different desire other clients, their needs are too they want a showplace, they want a place to show off, they want a place to entertain, their their friends, so that everyone has a different idea. And you learn all of that through the consultation. And then the next step is conceptual design. It's where the creative process takes place. It's where I set in and think about everything that I all the information that I gained during the consultation, and create ideas that will convey the client's dreams and desires. It's actually determining design direction, is what I'm doing at that point. And that is ideas plus images, that's going to come day with the client once. The next step is design development, and that it's actually the roadmap from design, that is assembling that design, as well as the trades. And producing a final design, there's a lot involved in this process is probably the process that takes the longest because you're adding in the creativity. But you're also combining it with the probability of these things happening, you know, the worst thing is to promise more than you can deliver. So you want to actually work on the fact that is this doable, you know, is this a doable design. And so that's part of that process there. And in that, you're actually producing renderings, and you have drawings, and at that time, you've measured the home. And you've figured out or found out what partner trade partners you need, whether it's flooring, or you need some, or you need an electrician, or a lighting designer. So you're assembling all the trades. And then the fourth step, and of course, at that point, your client needs to approve the process because you're presenting all the ideas to them. And so they can weigh in. And that includes fabrics, colors, wallpaper, paint, art argued, etc. Yeah, all the pretty things, all the architectural interest, anything like that, that add to that is dying, or is a part of what you're presenting the idea you're presenting. And then lastly, you get to the implement implementation process. And that's when you're actually maybe custom designing furniture will probably happen in that stage. And once you've gained approval from your client, you're start purchasing items, whether it's soft goods, or furnishings, or lighting, or whatever they may take, whether it's flooring and that kind of thing, to fulfill the design plan, and then you go from there and to delivery which means that all of the furniture and all the ideas that you've selected, I guess for lighting that is that you've selected are now in route to the client's home and you'll have to schedule deliveries and you'll have to do all the step steps that it takes to maintain the client's home during that process. You know, protecting their floors and existing furnishings and making sure that the furniture will fit through the door. Make

Unknown Speaker 9:45
this sound like work. I thought interior design was fun.

Unknown Speaker 9:50
Well, you know that I well. It's all part of the process. You can't you can't get past that and you have to do that you have to do the dirty work in order to make something beautiful. Okay, and so basically that's it, and then it's the install, the install is actually laying down the rugs having the lights installed, having the furnishings come in, together. Yes. And that's the part I actually love is when you get to the end of the road, because it's been such a journey, from concept to, to create it to creation, that you're really at this point where you really want to see the smile on your clients face, you want them to walk in and say job well done.

Unknown Speaker 10:32
Great. Great. Speaking of the process, there has to be some challenges along the way. So what has been your most challenging project you've worked on? And how did you overcome the obstacles?

Unknown Speaker 10:46
Well, every project is so unique, and every project has its own set of challenges, whether it's delays, whether it's whether it's materials not coming in, it's a change of the design direction in the middle of the process, that slows things down. But basically, what you're, what you have to do is you have to make sure that the contractor, the architect, and all the subs, as well as the client are all working in in tandem, everyone has to have clear access to information and information changes. So I'd say the hardest part on any project, and and that goes back to the challenges is to remember to keep the conversation, current and open communication, you know, update the client, as you can, you know, weekly, definitely have progress meetings, which involves all of the trades. And I'd say that the the hardest experience I've had and the most challenging project is a project that I did probably a year ago. And that was that was only due to the fact that the contractor, the architect, and the subs were not working in tandem together, we all had our own unique jobs in this process, but we have to work together. And if they're not aligned, then you can have chaos. And what you have to do is you just have to bring people in and have these meetings and say, Look, we are trying to do this, this is our objective. What are your concerns? Why you know, and it's like a fact finding mission of why things aren't coming together. And so you do have to talk to each department to find out what problems they may be having that you may not be aware of. Sometimes people work in the dark, so to speak well, and they won't alert you to the fact that something is delayed because they're trying to manage it themselves. And sometimes it needs to be managed by many as opposed to one person.

Unknown Speaker 12:40
Great, great. Sounds like you had a lot of experience of overcoming obstacles and challenges. And so that's good for the client to know that they can trust your experience. You know, it's not just about putting the project together. It's about making it happen. You know, even when things go wrong, you know, I think if you tell a client that it's not going to be here for two more weeks, they can handle that, but they're expecting it today. And then you tell them it's gonna be two weeks late. Now you got a problem. You're you're absolutely right, you

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have to manage their expectations. And the key to doing that is to be honest, everyone knows that construction is it's a world of all all of song and they're in it's flawed, and there's lots of challenges in there. But if you can keep an open dialogue with your client, I'd say 99% of the time you can work it out.

Unknown Speaker 13:35
Great. Okay, well, let's talk about some things that the clients may want to know about our listeners. What are some of the current trends in design? Something that you found exciting and innovative?

Unknown Speaker 13:48
Well, you know what I've always loved lighting, I love light fixtures, I'm just enamored by lighting and one of the things that I think is is very important is that I feel at this point that lighting has been demystified for me. I have learned a lot about setting the proper lighting for home and the mood and what you want to convey and I've always realized what lighting does with paint colors and tones and wallpaper and different things like that and for that for that matter natural light as well. But I have decided to hone my skills and have been working on understanding the role that LED lighting plays and in home and the difference between just adding recessed lights in your ceiling because you want the home to be bright. That's not enough you have to take it to one more level one more step up and that's what I've been working on to understand LED lighting because there's so many ways to use it, whether it whether you use it whether it's under cabinet lighting, if you want to insert it on the wall and the vertical strip there you want to insert them in too. beams that are on your ceiling. If you want to light the inside of your cabinetry in your kitchen to highlight your your your glassware, if you want it to elevate and light your fireplace where you can use LED lighting around the surround of the fireplace, there's so many amazing uses for LED lighting. And also one of my favorites is actually installing LED lighting and crown molding, because it just totally illuminates the room.

Unknown Speaker 15:32
Great, great ideas. I know we recently had a visit with a lighting designer, and she talked about the various levels of lighting, you know, floor lamps, table lamps, chandeliers and as you were talking about the LED and how they all come together to bring the mystique to a room. I thought that was a very interesting conversation. Anything else you want to share?

Unknown Speaker 16:01
Um, yes, certainly, I think that there's so many more resources available for client interactions. Because you can have an online chat with a client. This is part of the the newer way to do business with clients. Because everyone has a busy schedule, you can do zoom calls, traditionally, you would go out and visit the home with the client and meet with them it but you find that you can do that, certainly, through an online Avenue, there is virtual resource libraries available. You know, oftentimes, and I'm guilty of this, that I'll collect a zillion different catalogs and magazines for inspiration and furniture. But certainly there is there are virtual resource libraries that are available, which you can actually send to your client, make selections, and for them to them to speed up the process and make things easier. There's also 3d rendering tools that are available now, for creating that presentation for your client, they don't have to be a flat, they can you can create a presentation and send it to your client via video. And then AI plays an important role in design moving ahead. It gives the public more accessibility to design, oftentimes, you'll find clients who've maybe even done their own sketch, because they've thought about their home for such a long time and know how they want to have a problem solved. And they may not know how, and they may present you with something that they've mocked up on using AI. There's 3d printing. Yeah, I mean, there's so many different avenues now for for that are available in terms of the future of interior design. Okay.

Unknown Speaker 17:52
So when it comes to aesthetics versus versus functionality, do you have one or the other? Do you? How do you balance those, you know, making it pretty and functional?

Unknown Speaker 18:05
Well, you know, it's it's an interesting challenge, but it's one I take on quite often. And sometimes some of the problems or obstacles that you will face can be as simple as just, you know, physical or physical or someone's mobility, whether or not they're wheelchair bound, and they need greater accessibility, and therefore there's wider doors that need to accommodate wheelchairs, there are those who are challenged by sight difficulties. And and that's an interesting balance too. Because you're you're finding that you're doing things that are more touchable, if that's such a word, I'd say that they're more textural. Because you want to accommodate the fact that they aren't able to see those are some of the challenges. But the way to offset any of this is basically by basically learning what those issues are. And, and still at the same time trying to make it a pleasurable experience for them. Whether you find out that they love color, or they love wallcovering they like metallics or different things like that you try to your best to bring out those things that they love most. I mean, as after being a costume designer for so many years, I sit and I meet with prospective clients and they'll tell me that what we don't like color, we don't like color at all. We want everything to be muted and simple. And I can appreciate that. And so then I asked to visit their closets. So when I walk into the closet and I see these loud, purple and orange colors, and I see red, and I'm like but you don't like color, or is it that you're not sure how to use color and I can help you with that. And so that we can integrate color into your home because that makes you happy because you obviously like it because you wear it in your clothing. So it's things like that, that you've always find a way to balance aesthetics with things being functional for a client as well.

Unknown Speaker 20:17
Answer. There has been a great push for sustainability over the last 20 or so years in design, and it's a hot topic still today. So how do you incorporate eco friendly practices into your design projects?

Unknown Speaker 20:34
Well, you know, I am a fan of vintage furniture, and I have pieces in my home that I've kept over the years, and I just recycle them and I give them new life every few years. And I have a piece that belong to my mom. So I'm really into repurposing furniture. And I feel like that's an idea or that that's a great way to show sustainability because it's a piece that's endured over time. And in my case, this piece was in my mom's bedroom. And this was back in the 50s. And I now have it in my living room. And it is a sideboard and it's now green with gold. It has a marble top, and it has gold hardware on it, you know, to make it current and relatable. You know, in this year and the years in which we live now in the year in which we live. So there are certain things that you can do. But there's also you know, you could as simple as buying energy efficient appliances, you know, you can do low flow toilets. You can also use paints that are low and VOCs. So that you can stay away from the gases that are emitted from toxic substances which paint can be very toxic, toxic.

Unknown Speaker 21:53
So that's what VLC is, is de

Unknown Speaker 21:56
vos. Yeah, I know, that's voc I can't actually tell you exactly what vo C stands for. But I can tell you that it's it's something that you want to do you want to look at a paint like that, because you don't want to have the gases emitted from that you don't want to inhale those.

Unknown Speaker 22:17
So you're sustainable and safe. Well, I hope, that environment for your clients. Yeah, I

Unknown Speaker 22:24
hope so I take those things into consideration. I mean, I certainly do. And you know, there are also a lot of products like bamboo and acacia wood that grow quickly and are very abundant. And that's something that's sustainable. And allows, you know, it allows you to not feel as if you're, you know, depleting that particular resource. You also tried to buy furniture this ethnically crafted. And basically that is in working with the fairtrade certification. And that basically means that you're trying to support proper working conditions or better working conditions for people in other countries who produce rugs or furniture. Because a lot of the products that I do use are produced outside the United States, not all of them. But of oftentimes they are and I try my best to purchase products that are made in the USA. But sometimes they're awful products do that or maybe the materials are come from another country and then assembled in the United States, you find that very often too. But I there's one thing I did want to touch on again, I know we started talking about balancing aesthetic and functionality. And I just want to revisit this for a moment. Because as I sat here I thought about pets and children and seniors. And there's a lot of things to be to be kept in mind. When designing for seniors as an example, you want to make sure that the floors have don't have transitions. And I transition is something that connects one flooring to another like different finishes, say from a bathroom, that's tile. And then when you reach the hallway, it's wood flooring. And so oftentimes it will be a piece or a transition that bridges the two together. Yeah, and it can be a trip hazard for older Americans. And hopefully, if you're installing new Florence, you want them to be installed at the same height. It takes a little bit more time but it's something that any good flooring person can do. And that will eliminate a trip hazard for an older individual non slip floor tiles. There's benches that could be designed in your shower, there's wider doorways and entrances. I touched on that earlier. And then certainly bedrooms on the first floor will help and then lastly, this is the last point I make is that there's always high performance fabrics for that were agreeable for pets, children and singers and acts to eliminate spills.

Unknown Speaker 25:07
Great points. Okay, the last thing, since you are a seasoned designer, um, do you have any advice for aspiring designers, aspiring interior designers who are just starting out in the industry?

Unknown Speaker 25:20
I do, I feel as if you should really know your strengths and your weaknesses going into design, I know what mine are. And it's important because they should be your guide through the process. And most importantly, you should be a good bad business manager. And I love creatives. But creatives, I find have a tendency to not focus in on the business side of things. They're very excited about a project they have a wealth of ideas and inspiration, but it's managing your business that will get you through as well as marketing. You have to market yourself you have to make yourself known to your community, whether it's through your, your, your church or organizations that you belong to, because people will need to know what you do because if they don't know what you do, then they can't hire you.

Unknown Speaker 26:15
So you can't be quiet in the corner and just fluff pillows hoping that I happen to know I have to get out there and make it happen. You

Unknown Speaker 26:26
have to be very active you have to actively pursue

Unknown Speaker 26:29
business. Okay. On top of designing,

Unknown Speaker 26:34
of course, you have to wear many hats

Unknown Speaker 26:39
but to brace thank you so much. I think I listeners became better acquainted with you and going forward, you will sit in this chair and host other guests and tradesmen and artisan coming for going forward. And so I would like to thank them for listening to our show. To brave luxury living with debris little we create homes that stir the imagination. I love your tagline. So thank you again, we can be reached at area code 323-791-9474 And we can be found on Facebook and Instagram at Dubray little design studios. Thank you again and thanks again to Bree for this opportunity. Oh thank

Unknown Speaker 27:24
you so much, Angela. Appreciate it.

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