Lisa McDennon, Principal of LRM Interior Design

Tomorrow at 10AM, students of interior design will be crowding around a podium at the Laguna Design Center, waiting for the keynote speaker. Seeing how the event, the Second Annual ASID OC Student Career Day, is co-sponsored by House Beautiful magazine, it’s no surprise that the keynote speaker is our own Lisa Rachelle McDennon.

Students will have the opportunity to have their portfolio reviewed, and learn about all aspects of interior design from Lisa and other award-winning designers attending the event. Topics of discussion and presentation include model home design; restaurant and hotel design; high-end custom home design; corporate spaces; oceanfront and estate property design; kitchen and bath design; yacht and small space design; and even landscape design.

Students can learn a great deal from the course that Lisa chartered, back before she was published in House Beautiful magazine and was a mere student herself, earning a degree in Fine Art at the University of Irvine.

Even though she was specializing in Drawing and Painting, Lisa realized that she never wanted the term “starving artist” to apply to her. Practicality set in, and Lisa began taking every architecture class, eventually signing up for an unpaid summer internship with an Orange County architect.

After four weeks, the architect was so impressed with her work and enthusiasm that he offered Lisa a salaried full-time position. Over the next four years, Lisa every aspect of drafting and planning for the company’s commercial clients. Just like her employer, Lisa was surprised to discover her aptitude for this “interior design” aspect of architecture.

Lisa found Newport Beach’s Interior Design Institute (IDI) in her own backyard, and after only one week knew she had found her true love. Three and a half years later, Lisa graduated as the class valedictorian, and gained her second bachelor’s degree.
During her time at IDI, Lisa supplemented her coursework by working for Orange County’s leading designers, and learned as much about her chosen field as she did about how a design studio should not be run. This unofficial training became critical sooner than she thought: after an unsuccessful two months hunting for the perfect job, her family encouraged her to start her own studio.

Only one week after giving her two weeks’ notice, she landed her first client—a private resort in Fiji. Over ten years later, Lisa runs her own successful studio in downtown Laguna Beach with three full-time design assistants, each contributing their own special talents and energy to every project.

Lisa continues to use her original background in art and architecture to provide clients with unique, hand-drawn renderings alongside architectural drawings, helping a client see their dream realized before the project begins. This process, along with knowing the value of listening to clients’ needs, creates exceptional designs, builds strong, long-term relationships with not only clients, but also with architects, contractors and developers.

For more information on the event, visit www.asidocc.org. For more information on Lisa McDennon and her design studio, visit www.lrmdesign.com.

It is an overly common misconception that an interior designer can come in at any point in the building or remodeling process. When an interior designer is hired at the same stage as the architects, they become part of the team and ensure a smooth process from start to finish. When hired later—or, worst-case scenario, at the end—an interior designer usually has to correct many mistakes before they can even start.

So when an interior designer tells you that they need to be hired at the beginning of the project, don’t suspect it is because they are trying to get more money out of you. On the contrary: they are actually trying to save you money and headaches, and eventually time, as it will take them much longer to fix a botched job than to do it right the first time.

And if you don’t take our word for it, listen to prominent Orange County architect Richard Dodd in the Orange County Register. He says, “An interior designer can be an integral part of the design team, adding value to the finished product. But don’t wait until your home is built to get a designer involved. Whether the project is large or small, it is important to bring the designer on board early in the schematic phase. They are trained professionals and can add creativity to the interiors, envisioning opportunities that might not be apparent to a homeowner – or the architect.”

Pass this article on to anyone who is thinking of or starting a remodeling project. It could save them money in this recession! And who doesn’t want to do that?