We received over a hundred submissions for our customer inspiration photo contest last month. Here’s our interview with our winner, Christine, a Florida-native who ceases creativity opportunity in every facet of life from work to home. Read about her trend forecasts for next season, and personal inspiration stories from the city she grew up in to the nature that surrounds her.
Rove Concepts: Hello Christine, congratulations! Thanks so much for sharing your photo with #MYROVE. Your style is certainly inspiring. We’d love to get to know what kind of design tips you have for us today, and perhaps the winner out there can gather some clues for our next $1000 giveaway *wink**wink*. First off, tell us a little about yourself. How do you get creative?
Christine: Thanks, Rove! I’ve been in the corporate world all of my adult career but have always had a passion for design. In the technology arena you don’t get a lot of opportunity to express your creative side but I’ve always looked for ways to express some creativity in either the design of a program or in the way it was presented. To me decor and design are the ultimate in creative expression, something that enhances your life and not something frivolous or utilitarian. My husband and I have purchased and renovated 4 houses over the course of our marriage and regardless of our budget or the size of the house (and starting out budgets are very small!) we’ve always found ways to express our personalities and enhance our living environment with just simple design touches. I lived in the NY Metropolitan area for the past 15 years until just a few months ago when I returned to Florida, so I like to marry my NY sensibilities with the South Florida casual living style where I grew up and now live once again.
RC: How does the city you live in inspire how you decorate your home?
C: I currently live near the beach in a condo and always seeing the blues and greens of the sea brings a calming effect. So I like warm, calming colors but not the traditional coastal decor, more like chic coastal.
RC: What is your favorite room in the house, and why?
C: Living Room. It’s comfortable yet modern and I can add a lot of my pieces from my travels that I’ve collected to enhance the decor.
RC: Describe your dream home.
C: Very open, light/white and bright with pops of color. A bit industrial boho style with LOTS of windows. The ultimate in indoor / outdoor living which of course then implies it needs to be somewhere near the beach!
RC: Does your childhood or work life inspire the way your think about design?
C: As a child I was constantly redecorating my room. I remember reading a book where the girl painted her room a bright yellow to reflect the sun, so of course I needed to do the same. Things I read, and see either in magazines or around me are always inspiring. My husband and I after being devastated that one of our 100 year old oak trees had fallen with a storm quickly came to the realization that we could now use it to make a table, keeping a lot of the organic parts of the tree intact, however I’m still waiting for that table to be made 
RC: That sounds incredible. So would you say wood is your favorite material?
C: I love all natural materials, but my favorites right now are marble and walnut wood. They just go so well together, a bit of the sleek and modern with a touch of earthy wood.
RC: What design trends can you forecast for next season?
C: I’m seeing pastels coming back full force now, blues, greens and especially pinks, but not the 50’s and 60’s pinks of your grandmother’s bathroom but soft, warm pinks that act almost as a neutral.
RC: What are your favorite interior design trend right now?
C: I see lots of organic materials, reclaimed and live edge woods, and mixing of styles. People wanting to strip down and simplify their decor with great pieces that will stand the test of time. Also wallpaper has made a major comeback. I’m obsessed with the hundreds of beautiful wallpapers currently on the market, favorites right now are the organic, “ink blot” collections by Eskayel.
RC: Do you have any favorite pieces from Rove Concepts?
C: I absolutely love my carrara marble top Saarinen Tulip Table. It’s great quality, a fantastic replica of the original and extremely versatile to go with my eclectic style.
RC: Now that you’ve inspired us, who inspires your interior design style?
C: I think a lot of the mid century furniture designers Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Florence Knoll. The design is still beautiful today, clean and simple but interesting. Also I love Frank Lloyd Wright. Again taking elements from nature and reinterpreting them for the comforts of home.
RC: All in all, how would you describe your design style?
C: Modern Eclectic. I like clean lines but like to mix it up with different styles and textures.
RC: Thanks so much for your time, Christine. Are you sure you shouldn’t have gone full-time into interior design? Last question for you, and be honest, between you and your partner, who gets to call the shots on interior design in your home?
C: ME, but I’ll throw him a bone every so often!
Check out the #MYROVE photo gallery of over hundreds of customer inspiration photos at www.roveconcepts.com/myrove.
Be sure to submit your photo to #MYROVE for a chance to win $1000 shopping credit to Rove Concepts!
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