Five women rocking the balancing act

Sofia Lockhart - 30 Aug 18

These women juggle successful careers as interior designers and mums.

Are you considering a career in interior design but don’t know where to start, who to talk to, or how on earth you could do it on top of your crazy schedule playing Mum? It’s not a silly concern, mothers are the quiet superheroes of the world; sleeping in tiny stints and waking at any hour you’re needed, holding the house together, and of course being pretty much the only stable member of the family. Mums are always wearing different hats having to play chef, cleaner, chauffeur, mediator, coach… you name it. So, how could you throw a new career on top? Well, these mums make it look pretty good.

Miv Watts

@themavericksoul

Miv Watts is an interior designer and stylist living in the south of France and is renowned for her work, having been in the design game for decades. Her two kids are grown up now but she managed to balance the climb of her impressive career while raising her children. Miv has lived an interesting life, while stunning bohemian styles have always held a firm grasp on her heart, she shared a marriage with Pink Floyd’s sound engineer, Peter Watts with whom she had two children, one of which being well-known actress, Naomi Watts.

Watts spent three years writing her first book, The Maverick Soul, which peeks into the homes of 25 creatives — from poets and photographers to cartoonists and musicians. Miv describes the book as, “a backlash to neatness, minimalism, order, and over homogenised homes.”

Tracy Gilmore

@gilmoredesignstudio

Tracy Gilmore is an interior designer born and raised in Southern California who now lives in Santa Monica. She’s been smashing the interior design game for 14 years now, establishing herself as a respected boutique interior designer. In 2013 she launched her own design company, Gilmore Design Studio. Tracy has a minimalist design philosophy in that she believes in classic and comfortable design.

Tracy credits starting her own studio as how she’s able to manage the balance between her love and passion for work and raising her son. She describes her husband and son as her biggest supporters and when asked if she has any advice for first time mums, she told Nonagon Style, “you are about to meet the coolest person in the world.”

Libby Barnes

@pipergraydesigns

Libby Barnes is a designer based out of Denver, Colorado where she moved a few years ago to start her design business all over again. Libby’s experienced in demolishing the insides of homes and remodelling, bringing style and class to an approachable space.

Libby lives with her husband and her four children, two boys and two girls, all aged between 7 and 12-years-old… can you say busy?! She says that while she loves her life and her career, the trade off is that she’s often leaving work early and then catching up after they’ve gone to bed. “I balance design and motherhood by realizing neither will ever be 100% perfect,” she told Ivy.

Turns out passion and love of the work can drive you to do anything, even balance a successful and busy career as a reputable designer with the hardest career — motherhood.

Ruthie Staalsen

@ruthiedesigner

Ruthie Staalsen started her own practice 14 years ago, Ruthie Staalsen Interiors, where she approaches design with a focus on creating spaces that are comfortable and relaxed, she describes them as collected, yet elegant and unique. She enjoys incorporating bold pieces with delicate pieces to bring a room together. Ruthie has been awarded 2016 Designer of the Year from the National Interior Design Society, she was nominated as one of the ‘Top 15 Decorators in Dallas’, and her work has been published in lifestyle and fashion magazines and ‘Traditional Home Magazine’

Ruthie has two daughters who are 18 months apart but are now in college. She credits mothering them as what inspired her to start her own studio — so she was able to be present and flexible for her children throughout their schooling years.

Ellen Nystrom

@nystromdesign (pinterest)

Our next designer, Ellen Nystrom says her love affair with design all started in an undergraduate year in Aix-en-Provence and her graduate studies in Copenhagen. She says she’s inspired by finding balance between historic and modern architecture that she’s observed abroad. Nystrom has a degree in Sociology and a Masters of Interior Architecture but she practiced her craft in a few notable San Francisco design firms before she kicked off Nystrom Designs in 2009.

Ellen thrives on the creative process but she still manages her own business and is raising two children. She’s mastering the art of self-care and tells Ivy that she makes sure to value me time, whether it’s swimming laps or enjoying the quiet over a cup of coffee.

Sofia Lockhart

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