Design Dynamo
By Sherry Thomas
By Sherry Thomas
As a little girl growing up in Hinsdale, Lauren Ashley Allan didn’t want to play house, she wanted to design one.
“My mom tells the story about how I asked to change my wallpaper when I was three, and was constantly painting on walls around our house,” says Allan, who followed a path to high-end interior design that led to her current position as Creative Director for Nate Berkus Associates in Chicago. “Growing up, I was surrounded by strong, hard-working women. My Greek grandmother, Nene, was a huge influence. She had amazing style and took me on shopping trips for vintage furniture. Looking back, it seems natural that I would go into design.”
The roots she made in Hinsdale run deep—so much so that when her husband got a job that relocated them from Los Angeles back to the Chicago area, there was only one choice for where to buy a house and raise a family.
“I loved my experience growing up in Hinsdale,” says Allan, who attended Elm Elementary, Hinsdale Middle School, and Hinsdale Central, participating in soccer, indoor track, cross country, and the volleyball team during her youth. “I still have a group of 20 close girlfriends from Central, which is rare. The morning we found out we got the house in Hinsdale, we also found out that we were pregnant. It felt meant-to-be.”
After graduating from Hinsdale Central, Allan followed her design dream—earning a BFA in Interior Design from Miami University and a master’s degree in architecture from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). But she says she never lost touch with her sporty side.
“In college, I would get up in for 5 a.m. soccer work-outs, go to class, have soccer practice in the afternoon, then be in the studio until 1 a.m. But it was OK. I’m a triple-A personality. Plus, I think team sports made me a great multitasker and showed me the importance of collaboration when working on design projects.”
After graduating from SAIC, Allan worked with renowned interior designer Kelly Wearstler in Los Angeles, cultivating a unique portfolio of high-end residential projects and boutique hotels. She prides herself on a modern aesthetic steeped in references from historic architecture, furniture, and vintage textiles. Now back in Hinsdale, Allan says she has put her heart and soul into creating the perfect home for her newborn daughter to grow up in.
“I have been working in design for over a decade and the biggest lesson I have learned is to surround yourself with things that make you happy and that you love,” she explains. “We have a dog and one-month-old daughter, so we wanted a home that is both timeless and durable.”
When the couple moved in, Allan’s childhood instincts kicked in. She painted every room, refinished the floors, and promptly changed out light fixtures—creating a fresh palette to design their new life setting.
“Moving from L.A., our style is very California,” Allan adds, noting the influence that design powerhouses Wearstler and Berkus have had on her native Midwest design aesthetic. “I love mixing scale, texture, and form. For me, there are no rules. Just gut instinct.”
However, she also admits to indulging her own curiosity for inspiration, and advises others to do the same.
“If I am feeling uninspired, I go to the museum or look through magazines and art books,” she explains. “Clients continue to be my greatest muse. In fact, our nursery just went live on Nate’s website.”
Working with Berkus and his team has also been a bit of a dream come true.
“Nate is not only an amazing person on a personal level, but he truly makes a difference in people’s lives through the spaces he creates,” says Allan. “It is inspiring to work with clients who appreciate good design. Plus, everyone in the office brings their dog to work, so it keeps the environment fun!”
Now that she’s back home in Hinsdale, she gets the same requests for decorating advice from friends that she did all those years ago. Only now, her friends have homes of their own to design.
Her first tip is always to “be fearless and have fun.” That means not being afraid of bold accessories to mix and match. She especially loves flowers that bring the outdoors in and add a splash of color.
Working in the industry, Allan has also learned the designer’s trade secret of mixing price points of furniture in the same way you might mix a Neiman Marcus gown with a fun, less expensive accessory. “For instance, you might pair a J. Crew top with a Chanel bag,” she explains. “Invest in great vintage furniture pieces, sculpture, and art which hold their value. Save on rugs and sofas, which tend to take a beating over time.”
Most important, however, are the lessons she learned from her grandmother—lessons honed by years of experience of painting those walls and asking not for new toys as a child, but for new wallpaper.
“Above all else, the collected objects in your home should be a representation of you. They should be things that you have accumulated over time and that you love,” Allan says, tying that advice to what she does at Nate Berkus. “This concept has always been at the core of Nate’s design philosophy, and he’s 100 percent right.”
After all, what’s a better story when throwing that winter cocktail party? The story of how you acquired another expensive bauble from a high-end boutique, or the piece that represents a special memory from your travels, a meaningful person in your life, or even a flea market find?
For Allan, the gut instinct answer is as natural as it’s always been. Choose what makes you happy, and tell your own story.
For more information about Nate Berkus Associates, visit nateberkus.com.
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