For the Love of Home: From Flooring to Furnishings and Everything in Between
Interior Designer Spotlight
Loretta J. Willis, Allied ASID
Interior designer Loretta J. Willis, Allied ASID, is known for combining functionality with beauty to enhance the everyday experiences of her clients. For her, interior design is not just a job but a devotion to helping others fall in love with their homes.
No matter the space, Loretta’s designs consider the emotional, relational and physical activities that take place within it. Her passion and approach are born of her own family influences. Loretta’s father was in the Air Force and her large family moved often.
“Our homes were always very simple, but my mom found ways to add special touches of warmth,” says Loretta. “Somehow, she always made our home special.”
Inspired by her mother’s influence, Loretta headed to Florida State University to major in interior design and business. After college, she spent eight years working in corporate management before launching her interior design company, Loretta’s Interior Design LLC. Throughout her early career, she never lost her touch for the home – often helping friends with interior design projects for fun.
“These friends helped me to realize that design is my passion, and I started to ask myself why I was working in corporate management,” Loretta says with a chuckle. “I didn’t want to look back on my life and regret not having done what I was born to do.”
Ready to follow her destined path, Loretta left the corporate world to receive her credentials from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and launched her business in 1995.
Today, Loretta is a celebrated and sought-after designer whose expertise has landed her work on the pages of Southern Home, Living Magazine and Solutions at Home, to name just a few. In 2018, she was named one of the Best 21 Interior Designers in Georgia by The LuxPad.
Finding function in design
To help her clients fall in love with their homes, Loretta considers a typical day in the life of the client, their season of life and their lifestyle.
“Once I know my client’s vision for their home and how they experience the space, I can transform it into a beautiful and functional interior that is truly tailored to their lifestyle.”
One such project, which Loretta labels as the most memorable of her career, was highlighted in Southern Home magazine in 2015. The pages of the magazine are splashed with the cozy interior of an elegant Georgia home owned by a couple who needed style and functionality – Loretta’s specialty – for large family gatherings after their kids moved out and started to have babies of their own.
“They allowed me to take the lead and trusted my judgment,” says Loretta. “We upgraded every room – from floor coverings to custom furnishings, window treatments and more.”
The rooms feature an eat-in kitchen, a large dining room for a growing family and beautiful hardwood flooring accented with colorful rugs.
A leader in luxury practicality
With a high-end clientele and a well-read luxury design blog, Loretta is an expert in new trends and innovations across all aspects of interior design. When it comes to flooring, Loretta notes the growing popularity of luxury vinyl planks, tiles, engineered flooring and rugs.
“Many of my clients who choose a hard surface as their base will soften the look with an area rug that ties in with other design elements such as the furnishings or the fabric on the windows.”
The addition of an area rug adds the pop of color, texture and luxury Loretta needs to pull together a warm space tailored to both her client’s needs and tastes.
The neutral rug in this study pulls together the furnishing and decor elements.
Expert knowledge, trust and a special touch
Loretta will be one of the thousands of industry leaders attending the DOMOTEX USA Show Feb. 28 – March 2, 2019, and looks forward to meeting with other designers, distributors and manufacturers to learn about the newest flooring innovations, applications and design approaches. Most of all, she looks forward to the educational opportunities that will help guide her future projects.
“Clients expect me to know more about an interior design product than they do,” she says. “I need to be able to stand behind any recommendation that I make, so I want to know the facts behind the products.”
Building this trust with clients is paramount, and Loretta works hard for it. Her eye for design, expert knowledge and special touch gifts clients with a new perspective of the home.
Join Loretta at DOMOTEX USA – America’s Home for Flooring Feb. 28 – March 2, 2019! #whyidomotex #domotexusa2019