Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Taylor.
Hi Andrea, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Disney Channel brought me to LA from the east coast. After years of award-winning work in television design, marketing and promotion, the creative rewards just weren’t there anymore and it was time for a new direction. I had always helped friends, family and acquaintances design their houses–I redesigned my Barbie dream house with magic markers and would always re-arrange rooms at sleepovers. A friend suggested that I start decorating for real money and coincidentally she had someone in mind. I gave him some suggestions and he told me to start work the next day. After we completed the bedroom, we started on his office at Cartoon Network, which lead to the common spaces in the whole building and then to more projects.
I work with all types of clients but the goal is the same–to create a happy space. I look at myself as a creative director who collaborates to design a space that doesn’t look “decorated”. I want the rooms to look like an extension of the client’s personality (only much more coordinated, functional, and better put together). it’s hard to pinpoint my specific work style because I adapt to the project– but thinking about the house as a whole instead of decorating room by room, adding artwork you love, and always incorporating something unexpected would be my advice in creating memorable rooms.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing has ever been smooth. When I was making the transition from entertainment to decorating, I tried out a few other “career paths”. Because of my love of the art world, I thought I might run an art gallery… I made great friends and gained a new respect for the people who run galleries, but it’s a really difficult way to make a living. I love decorating and helping people solve their dilemmas of putting their homes together, but sometimes, finding great craftspeople who are dependable and available can drive you crazy.
The pandemic made delivery times ridiculous and it was very difficult telling clients that the tiles or the faucets we spent so long finding were now months away from delivery. That changed construction dates and created domino effects with contractors that we’re still feeling.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I would say that I specialize in creatively solving the problem of designing a client’s home. I don’t impose a cookie-cutter design on any project. Every space is unique and I really listen to how the person or family lives and works.
Not everyone wants white and bright–I have a client who loves black floors and walls. It’s all about the right mix and that sense of happiness when you open the door coming home. I want the house to feel like “you” when you open the door. I want there to be a place for everything and everyone–even the dog–feels like there is a special space just for them. I think my clients all feel comfortable years later in the spaces that we created together because I listened to what they wanted and needed… and I saved them from what was too trendy or what they really didn’t need.
We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Over the years, I’ve had many successes financially in the corporate world of entertainment. I’ve won industry awards for marketing and promotion, been a senior executive at major cable networks and broadcast networks, and consulted for most of the major cable networks and successful brands. I’ve had some successful and lucky investments (and some unlucky ones!) I have a fantastic family who I actually like and talk to all the time– that’s pretty successful (and lucky). Maybe that’s the best version of successful?
Success in my business life is making a client happy when the job is done. But the funny thing is that for a lot of my clients, the job is never done. You finish the living room and then it’s on to the bedroom or the patio or the bathroom or the kitchen… so maybe the definition of success is that I never leave their house? I have a bunch of those clients.
I’m in and out of their houses for years. For those clients, I know more about their houses than they do.
Contact Info:
- Website: andreataylordesign.com
- Instagram: @andreatay323
Image Credits
John Lennon
