Today we’d like to introduce you to Laksmi Lucky Lumpkin
Hi Laksmi Lucky, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I want to express the importance of good design. The space in which we immerse ourselves daily sets us up for either a happy interaction with the world or a dull one. Most people don’t understand how a drab environment, ineffective layout, and dated decor can weigh down your energy. How much you love your home and business environment affects how we interact with the world. We know a great outfit enhances your day, so, in turn, dressing your home well lifts you up daily. I consider myself a visual healer of spaces. I am a transformer of interiors and a designer who loves a surprise element. A lot of people are timid with color, but injecting color into a design can give a boost in your emotional energy. I love designing for all sorts of people, I love learning everyone’s unique story. How you interact with your home is pivotal to how I design for you. Gaining my bachelors in the science of Interior Design allows me to know the technical aspects of design. Hiring a great designer is an investment in your future, ensuring the decisions made are the right ones, ultimately saving you money. It is pivotal to hire a designer in the planning stages of the design. That is the most important part of the design to me, the space planning! So many large and small decisions will need to be made it can be overwhelming.
Every client is wonderfully unique, and for that reason I do not have any one style. Ultimately it is your home not mine. Over the years I have worked on all sorts of projects: restaurants, banks, historic homes, a show house, event venue, kitchens, baths, additions, new builds, retail mushroom store, etc. For almost two decades I have delighted in the unique set of challenges each new client offers me. I hope to get to know you. If you feel uncomfortable saying my first name Laksmi, pronounced “Laak shmee” that makes sense and is why I have been called Lucky since I was very small. It may seem an odd name for an East Tennessee girl, and it is. My parents are bold, unconventional, and maybe you would call them hippies. They raised me to experience the world differently, to have the bravery to see the good in people and show kindness to those who are our biggest teachers of patience. It has taken a lot of grit to get where I am. Interior Design is not a job for me it’s a lifestyle. I see the world as my pallet ready to make better with the wild ideas that come to me. I’m ready to help transform your environment, just call me, Lucky.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Every profession has its struggles, bad days and hold ups. From each of those inconveniences, through the set backs and slaps to the forehead, I learned so much. I think the general publics idea of Interior Design is to have fun and play with beautiful things. That is most certainly true! But that is only about 25% of the time. The majority of an interior designers job is to take that unique, brilliant design and see it through. We are only as good as the wonderful team building the ideas are. In every project something pops up that no one could have anticipated. My job is to be a problem solver, soothsayer preferably, so that these mishaps don’t occur or get resolved quickly. But life happens! I am the one that is your shield from the everyday challenges that come up on a construction site. I spend the majority of my time managing orders, ensuring contractors and subs are on task, like making sure the wallpaper is installed right side up and the correct shower head goes to the right shower. That is a bit simplistic, but seriously, I oversee from A-Z. I have found really getting to know all the people on site helps. They are my heroes and I respect them immensely. I make sure they understand what I’ve designed and what you want is accomplished.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
People feel safe with me. I remember the first time a client said that to me. I had asked why they chose me as their designer. She enjoyed reading my background story on my website, she knew I had worked hard to get where I was, but most importantly she felt she could trust me, that I wouldn’t judge them. I was so surprised and overwhelmed with gratitude. It had never crossed my mind that they would be treated differently than anyone else.
To be welcomed into someone’s life is a great honor. I always cherish that. I am allowed to be with their whole family and really see how they live then I enhance their reality with great design. It’s my super power to be able to walk into a room and see it totally transformed.
I’ve also had some funny responses from me asking how I was chosen as their designer, one client said, “Well you were the only one who didn’t look like you designed for East Tennessee.” An unusual compliment but I took it. I created a tremendous kitchen for the two of them that wasn’t the typical East Tennessee style, I suppose.
I had another client choose me because he said, “You are totally outlandish with such a big style! I want you to go big, blow me away with some crazy bold ideas!” That was a lot of fun. To be honest all of my clients are great fun. They can see I like to be bold and daring even if it is monochromatic I want to turn a space into something you wouldn’t have expected.
How do you define success?
Success- Going through the struggles of life then allowing the life you had wished for to actually happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.laksmiinteriors.com
- Instagram: laksmi_interior_designs
