Interior designer Isabel Ladd
ZEN AND SENSIBILITIES Interior designer Isabel Ladd creates an oasis of tranquility for a busy young family Written by Bridget Williams / Photography by Andrew Kung When meeting with potential new clients for the first time, interior designer Isabel Ladd assays them as much as they are evaluating her. “I want awesome people around me,” she explained. Introduced through mutual friends, she instantly hit it off with a young couple who recently relocated from New York City to the Lexington area. Busy professionals with young children, the homeowners wanted their home to serve as an oasis of calm; no small task given Ladd’s proclivity for color and pattern. “Personally, I like
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print-on-print-on-print and zingy colors,” she said. Adding to the challenge was the home’s existing rustic palette of yellow, burgundy and green. What made the assignment easier was the clients’ complete faith in Ladd’s vision. “We like and respect one another and work together well, and [the homeowners] didn’t try to stifle my creativity,” she added. Ladd led off by painting the walls throughout in subtly varying shades of grey and blue, and then building visual interest by layering patterns and textures in similarly restrained shades.
