Designer Spotlight

Rita Carson Guest. FASID
President-elect ASID and partner with Carson Guest

What originally inspired you to become an interior designer?
"I was a child artist who loved to build houses for my paper dolls and Barbie dolls. Once the home was complete, I put the dolls away. I always loved to look at home floor plans in magazines and imagine how my family could live differently in each space."

What is your definition of good design?
"Well-designed interior spaces shape peoples' moods, affect our ability to be productive, stimulate creativity, attract and nurture human talent and, in turn, have an impact on our world."

Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
"Nature and people are my source of inspiration. Where else are the colors and textures more diverse, vibrant or powerful?"

What, in general, does the future hold for design?
"Designers hold the key to making the world a better place for people to live, work, play, learn and heal." 

Where did you grow up, and how did it affect your sense of design?
"I grew up in Atlanta where most homes were traditional. It was exciting to learn there was another world in design that I didn't see as a young girl beyond Hollywood stage sets. How exciting it was to find a world of contemporary classics designed in the '20s and multiple historic styles of design, one as good as the next, but each creating a different sensibility. I learned to appreciate all styles and to design in a style to fit my client's personality, whether traditional, eclectic, contemporary or modern or…"

What rules of design should everyone follow?
"Consult with a professional interior designer even if you want to implement the design yourself to prevent costly mistakes and less than successful results. Design is much more than selecting beautiful fabrics and furnishings."

What was the best design advice you ever got?
"There is more than one 'perfect' solution for each design problem. We are only limited by our creativity!"

What is the most common design challenge and how can people overcome it?
"Delays in receipt of materials – whether construction materials or fabrics and furnishings – are our most common challenges. Good project management skills are critical in handling and anticipating problems before they arise." 

What is your favorite new design trend?
"I tend to follow good design principles rather than trends, but I understand that hidden rooms and spaces are a hot new trend. I've always designed hidden spaces for a specific requirement of a client such as hiding valuables. Over 10 years ago we designed a room full of bookcases that opened to a hidden hunting equipment room for a client who owned valuable equipment as well as creating a safe place for his guns, bows and arrows. Another example was an executive office we designed with raised paneling to a hidden inner office, and a hidden bathroom complete with a shower behind the hidden room! The door to the bathroom looked like a storage wall."

What new materials/technologies interest you?
"It is exciting to see more and more manufacturers making sustainable products. Products that are beautiful and innovative that also support the preservation of our environment. Sustainability is a platform issue of the America Society of Interior Designers. An environmentally responsible professional makes a commitment to constantly try to find ways to diminish design's impact on the world around us. It is also a smart way of doing business: sustainable design is the fastest growing segment of our industry. ASID uses resources to keep members up to date on the latest tools for design using sustainable products and materials."

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