Interior designer Kimberley Seldon is a seasoned design pro who wears many hats. From full-service residential interior designer, to TV personality, to furniture designer, to magazine editor, to author, to business guru, Kimberley really does it all! We chatted with Kimberley to get her insider take on decorating, style, and the business side of design.

LAMPS PLUS: What or who has most influenced your own design aesthetic?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: Travel is my muse. I love the idea of great design as a universal language and I look for it wherever I travel - from Morocco to Arkansas. I'm never disappointed.

LAMPS PLUS: What is your favorite style? 

KIMBERLEY SELDON: I couldn't possibly choose just one. I believe "style" must relate to location and architecture. So, a home that is appropriately designed and decorated is my favourite.

LAMPS PLUS: What designers do you most admire?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: I'm spoiled for choice in this category because I have worked with so many fine designers throughout my career. I love John Saladino's masterful quiet. I think Vincente Wolf is a genius with floor plans. No one is having more fun than Kelly Wearstler who works with abandon. Too many great examples to choose from.

LAMPS PLUS: What do you see as the next design trend?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: Please god, let it be hiring a professional designer to complete your project!

LAMPS PLUS: What is one “trick of the trade” that you implement in your designs?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: I love to line lamps with color to introduce more warmth into a room.

LAMPS PLUS: What is the best design advice you ever received?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: Professionals keep professional hours. Dentists don't come in on Sunday evening because that's convenient for the client and neither should professional interior designers. 

LAMPS PLUS: When decorating, what items should you invest or splurge on?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: Invest in the most well-built comfortable sofa and bed you can afford. Splurge on artwork because it tells the world who you are and is a great way to personalize a space.

LAMPS PLUS: What is your favorite guilty pleasure that might surprise people?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: I'm a huge Christina Aguilera fan. I watch Big Brother in the summer with my brother and kids. I occasionally buy something kitschy just because it makes me laugh and I love to see the reaction of others when they see something like that in my own home.

LAMPS PLUS: What is your favorite object at home that you didn't design?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: My Jura coffee machine.

LAMPS PLUS: What would be your dream project?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: I would love to design a Vegas casino.

LAMPS PLUS: Who are your style icons?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: I love the thrown together ease of Katherine Hepburn and the precision of Audrey Hepburn. Must be that last name.

LAMPS PLUS: What do you consider your must-have classic design books?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: I have a first edition of Elsie de Wolf's The House in Good Taste and I really treasure it. She came on the scene and said, "I don't care if it's popular, it's ugly. Out with it."

LAMPS PLUS: In addition to running a full-service interior design firm, you’re also the Editor in Chief of Dabble Magazine and Design Editor of Chatelaine magazine, you've created a successful furniture line, you've published two books, you teach Business of Design workshops and seminars all over the world, and you’re launching a new website this month catered to design professionals. What is your favorite part of owning and operating a business with so many facets?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: I feel very fortunate to have found a hub I can successfully orbit around. Interior design is a vast category and even with all I do, I barely scratch the surface. I do feel very proud of my new site, Business of Design, because I can use it as a way to teach other professionals how to run their businesses. These are lessons I've learned in twenty years of working with clients and nearly a decade of working one-on-one with a business coach.

LAMPS PLUS: What is the most challenging part about these varied aspects of your business?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: By far, the most challenging part of interior design is educating the customer and the designer about the value of what we provide. TV makes it look easy. It's actually a complex, responsibility-laden career. I can't think of anything I'd rather do.

LAMPS PLUS: Can you tell us about your goals or any projects in the works that you are excited about?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: With the launch of Business of Design I hope to take my teaching to a new level. To really educate designers about what it takes to be successful in business. To work smarter and to be able to satisfy more clients.

LAMPS PLUS: How important is lighting to your design?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: Without great lighting…what design? Poor lighting single-handedly destroys a space. Function and form are improved with a flexible lighting plan.

LAMPS PLUS: What is your favorite furniture piece and why?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: Chairs. They are as complex as architecture and equally thrilling to look at.

LAMPS PLUS: What are you obsessed with right now?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: Lamp shades and how to customize them to improve the living environment.

LAMPS PLUS: What are your favorite pieces from Lamps Plus?

KIMBERLEY SELDON: I love the Currey and Company Dante Blue Table Lamp, the Vertigo Small Pendant Light, and the Robert Abbey Odelia Night Light White Glass Table Lamp.

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Thanks, Kimberley! To learn more about Kimberley and her work please visit her websites: Kimberley Seldon Design Group and Business of Design

Images courtesy of Kimberley Seldon Design Group.