Lead creative and founder of Turnstyle Design, Lieve moved to Texas 16 years ago from Virginia. “I came from a highly artistic background. I’ve always had an artistic track in my life,” she explained. Having grown up in Brussels, Belgium and traveling back and forth to the United States, sometimes every few months, imparted a worldly perspective. “It informed my aesthetic to be rather broad culturally and gave me a really strong awareness of all sorts of thresholds — history, functions, aesthetics,” she added.
Her Austin-based firm specializes in bespoke residential projects that are a reflection of her clients’ aspirational lives through Lieve’s artistic lens. She describes the experience, for both her and the client, as a very cathartic process. “I view my role as a steward of someone’s life wishes. I’m there to help push them out of their comfort zone. I want to take them to artistic experiences — things they love but might not express, and do this in a highly qualitative, personal way that turns things on their head a little bit so that the client can stay curious in their own home.”
Lieve admits that not all clients are ready for this experience, at least not at first. There aren’t many interior designers that take their clients on a journey to truly discover their own inner workings, passions and hidden treasures, but the psychology of the home is seemingly as important to Lieve as the art of the home.
One of her latest projects is perfectly exemplary of Lieve’s signature style. The home is owned by a busy family with two young boys, the elder of which collects vertebrae specimens. When working on a home with children, Lieve likes to involve them in the process. “I do this because I grew up feeling that if you participate in something then you understand it better. It will open up your thinking, and I love to instill that mindset in children. It’s my personal passion to help people get to that point,” she said.
In this case, she included the children in painting the risers that they custom built in the reading room to showcase their pieces. “When they came in on reveal day, they had such a sense of belonging, and the parents were relieved that we set them on a healthy, grounded path from that small little gesture. Sometimes, I’ll have them help make runners or upholster chairs. That’s always the highlight for me,” said Lieve.
The reading room became Lieve’s favorite in the house. It was one of those rooms that baffled the clients and almost always stood empty. Now, it’s become a highly livable, multi-functional space where the family can enjoy a pizza night, play games or watch someone play piano, either formally or informally.
The plant wall was another key driver for the room. Lieve worked with these clients previously and has known them for over a decade. “The client loves greenery. She’s constantly giving cuttings or grabbing a cutting to try and see if something will grow, so the plant wall was designed and built for that purpose. It allows her to keep stacking and changing out plants. It’s so much fun helping people be themselves and celebrate their personality and hobbies — these things that often get put away,” shared Lieve.
As the client is also an avid cook, the kitchen space was the other room that was redesigned with that in mind. The wall where the vent hood is now was originally closed off, so Lieve opened this up with the intention of giving the client, not only space to create, but be creative. She also wanted to make it a space where family members were welcome, hence the radius-cut island with a bar where they can sit and participate as if it were a test kitchen.
The glass cabinets enable the client to showcase dishes and other beloved pieces, while the gilded mercury glass light fixtures offer a bit of glam and the floor-to-ceiling tile work gives the room a stunning accent while simultaneously being very durable, “very wipeable.”
“I wanted the kitchen to be light, airy and inviting, but also approachable. The blue is intended to ground the space and help transition into the family room, which is off to the side,” said Lieve.
Finally, Lieve and her team brought this home back to life by addressing the entryway, or “cavernous, cold ceiling area,” as the client describes it, by hand-painting a colorful mural that both draws the eye and blends the space.
As a big fan of modern art, Lieve drew inspiration from renowned American artist, Ellsworth Kelly. “I almost addressed it like the nave of a church, at least paying homage to it. It’s a nice part of the architecture that was ultimately hidden until we could open it up through hand painting,” noted Lieve.
Like every room that Lieve has a hand in, looking up is just as important as looking around. Sometimes art is hidden in the most unexpected places and the joy of finding it becomes all that more rewarding.
Turnstyle Design
737-333-5800 | turnstyleid.com