I’ve always had an excitement for design and knew in high school that I wanted to be an interior designer.  Actually, as I think back to my childhood, I can see the pathway to my career choice beginning in my playroom where, despite having an actual dollhouse, I spent more time laying out a floor plan (outlined by my mom’s yarn) for my Barbie’s home than I did actually playing with the Barbies.  When I wasn’t space-planning my dolls’ homes, I spent hours arranging my Barbies, Kens and Heart Family babies (anyone remember Heart Family??) into family portrait poses.  Funnily enough, in the past year, I have begun the process of starting my own side photography business (Life Captured by Dawn).  It’s crazy how formative your playing years can be to your future, right?!

Recently, I have purchased my first home.  It’s so wonderful to be able to make my mark on a place I can call ‘mine’!  I’m enjoying the process of figuring out exactly how my home will reflect me.  I spend my days designing for other people as a commercial designer (think offices, hospitals, schools, hotels), and as a professional, I strive to make the design reflect the client’s style, not my own.  But when it comes to making design decisions for my own space, I am the epitome of indecisiveness.  I like too many styles, too many colors, too many pieces of furniture, etc. to have a cohesive “style”.  My tastes are ever-evolving.  This quality of mine has caused my home to have a very eclectic flare.  And I’m perfectly okay with that!  I simply surround myself with things I love or that have meaning to me, and I feel content.  My new home is slowly starting to come together, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome so far!  (If you want to see my progress, look for some “before and after” blog posts in the near future!) 

As much as I would like to identify with the “Prairie” portion of our group name and imagine my life to be a mixture of wide open peacefulness, light breezes, and soft sunshine, I am most definitely more in the “Hive” section.  I am definitely happiest when on the go, buzzing from one activity to another, or jumping on a new project.  I’m so excited to be a part of this new collective of amazing women of Prairie Hive, and love the different perspectives on life and style that each one of them bring.  I hope you’ll enjoy reading along with us, and hopefully share your perspective with us, too!

 On my current design obssesion list:

vivid color, clean lines, texture, dramatic lighting

On my iPod:

• Rolling in the Deep, Adele
• Killer Crane, TV on the Radio
• American Boy, Estelle
• Something Beautiful, NeedToBreathe
• Empire State of Mind, Jay-Z, feat. Alicia Keys
• The Only Exception, Paramore

On my nightstand:

• Freedom, Jonathon Franzen
• Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri
• A Place of Yes, Bethenny Frankel