Designer's Digs: Blair Parkes
Susan Lamb and Blair Parkes (seated) of Parkes & Lamb Interiors
Legendary interior decorator, Billy Baldwin, once said, “Be faithful to your own taste because nothing you really like is ever out of style.” I love that quote but I will admit, when attempting to be faithful to my own taste, it’s led me to some pretty awful decorating mishaps (like the time I painted my bedroom in purple stripes.) So when I bought my 100-year-old brick cottage in East Nashville a few years ago, I wanted to find an interior designer who would help elevate my style and make my home a greater reflection of me. I found just what I was looking for in Nashville’s Blair Parkes of Parkes & Lamb Interiors.
When Blair first came over, I was excited but nervous. What if she didn’t like my aesthetic, thought my taste was juvenile, or told me I had too much stuff (I’m a maximalist)? I hired a decorator when I lived in Chicago who tried to make my condo look like a beige hotel room. not a good fit. I quickly learned my worries about Blair, were for naught. working with her was a great experience.
I am thrilled to feature Blair Parkes and her spectacular home, in this latest issue of “Designer’s Digs.” With her business partner, Susan Lamb, Blair runs one of the top interior design firms in Nashville. She’s a wife, a mom of two young boys with another little one on the way, and she’s an avid runner. I’m so grateful she carved time out of her demanding schedule to appear in my blog. All of the photos featured here are of Blair’s home which she designed.
Tell me how you became an interior designer?
It wasn’t what I set out to do. I have a Master’s in Education with a focus on students with severe disabilities. I’m also a certified braille instructor. When I was in college, I was a nanny for a young man with autism and that is what led me to getting my Master’s in that field.
Working with him was very fulfilling and very meaningful. After college, I taught in Williamson County for several years, which I absolutely loved. While I was teaching, I redid my own house and then people started asking me to help them with their houses. I started teaching part time so I had more time for design work. Then, once I had kids, I took a leap of faith and worked full time on interior design. In the beginning, I worried it wouldn’t bring the same sense of fulfillment working with people with disabilities gave me but it certainly did!
When did you realize you had an eye for design?
I've always been a creative person. I’ve always loved writing, painting and drawing. Growing up, you could always find me in my room painting. When I was young, I started decorating my room in wild ways. I was lucky in that my mom gave me a lot of freedom to express myself and let me decorate my room however I wanted. I was expressive with my clothes as well and always marched to my own beat. I loved and still love wearing bolder colors and patterns, and depending on the client’s style, incorporating this into design as well.
How did you come to team up with your business partner, Susan Lamb?
We were in a mutual friend’s wedding together. She went to design school with my best friend from childhood. We ran into each other about a year after the wedding, where we were both sourcing for clients. We were doing projects on our own and I asked her if she’d ever consider a partnership. We both saw that as a way for us both to grow, so we tried a project together and never looked back. Our personalities really compliment one another; we really understand each other’s working styles and bring different strengths to our projects. We both feel very lucky because our partnership is a great one!
What are some of the most common design mistakes you see people making?
I think scale is something that can be hard to grasp for some. Really understanding how to play with scale and pick those “wow” pieces that play off each other really makes a room great. Whether it’s picking an oversized lantern over a dining table, or a hefty hearth chair that really has a presence in a room is something that takes some learning in making it absolutely perfect for the space.
What are some trends you’d like to see less of in 2021?
We’re seeing a lot of color and playful patterns coming back into play. I think the sterile, neutral look of gray and white with no other color is making its way out. I also think every space needs to have an antique, which I’m seeing incorporated into more design trends these days.
How do you describe your home?
Our home is moody with a lot of warm tones in both the fabrics and wall colors. It has lots of layers and textures and is a mix of antiques with modern furniture. I love art, and we have a good mix of realistic paintings and wild abstracts. I have two boys and one baby on the way, so most of our furniture is upholstered in durable or wipeable fabric. We live hard in our house, but if you teach your children early to respect a home, it makes a big difference!
Favorite room in your house?
We love our porch. It has a bed swing and we spend a lot of time out there eating our suppers, watching football, taking Sunday naps or watching the kids play in the yard. We have bird feeders and we just love the serenity we get from watching the birds and nature from our porch.
Favorite places to shop for home goods in Nashville?
We love Designer's Gallery on Sidco Drive, which is in the same building as our studio. They are a trade showroom and they have a floor filled with great looking upholstered pieces and unique finds. We enjoy bringing our clients into the showroom to look around, shop or get inspired. Preservation Station is great on 8th avenue, you can find really cool vintage doors, mantles, shutters and other architectural finds.
The Belle Meade Shops are also a favorite with well-edited booths filled with antiques.
Favorite sources online?
I love Lee Industries and Verellen for upholstery, and Rose Tarlow and Kerry Joyce textiles. Schwung Home is a favorite for antiques!
What are the 4 most important things in your home other than humans and pets?
1. Old photos of my family are threaded throughout our home and they are irreplaceable.
2. My grandmother’s jewelry has a lot of sentimental value.
3. Two summers ago, my husband and I traveled to Italy with some friends and I found at a market an old painting on a slab of wood of Mary holding Jesus. It stopped me in my steps and we decided to bring it back to Nasville. It’s my favorite painting in the house and I feel like it protects our home.
4. I love our custom breakfast table which was made by my favorite local carpentry company, Vintage Millworks. James Dunn is the owner and he’s wonderful to work with, and I feel like all of his pieces tell a story. They have supplied a lot of beautiful things in our home like our kitchen hood, our family room pecky paneled ceiling and our T.V. cabinet.
How do you unwind at the end of the day?
I’m a night owl and I unwind by being quiet. I talk to people all day so I get my energy from being quiet. I actually enjoy tidying the house, putting my phone down, and turning on my favorite pandora channel, Junior Walker and The All-stars. I also drink tea in the evening which helps me unwind. I usually go to bed around midnight or a little before, and I get up around 6:00. For some reason I’ve never needed a lot of sleep!
What does a day-off look like for you?
I’ve been a runner since I was in middle school, so I love going on a long trail run. I like to run by myself to collect my thoughts, and I also run with a friend once a week so that’s good girlfriend time. On the weekends, I love being with my family and being in nature. We love to take nature walks, or go outside and play basketball, baseball or backyard football. My children also love art so I encourage that and we paint a lot. There’s usually a ball game or three on the weekends as well.
If you could have a second home anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Scotland. My husband and I went there a couple of summers ago and fell in love with it. It would also be a dream to build a home in Highlands, NC. It reminds me of Scotland in a way, and we’re definitely mountain people.
What are 3 interesting things about you we might be surprised to know?
1. I am fluent in Braille. I’m passionate about Braille because it’s a creative outlet. It’s extremely hard to learn, but once I mastered it, I could read it upside down, which is how you read it when you’re teaching students. It’s very rewarding to me, and I still love to tutor and teach my boys about it as well.
2. I’m passionate about music. My mom is a drummer, so I grew up going to band practice with her and spending a lot of our conversations talking about music, albums, vinyls, etc. I love going to concerts and reading about the bands I love. My older son is learning the drums and he loves it, and when I retire, I want to learn an instrument too!
3. I was a collegiate athlete. I ran track at the University of Alabama for my entire time there. It’s something I look back on sometimes and wonder how I did it and juggled it all, and it seems like a lifetime ago. I truly learned a great deal from running: Being on a team and how to be disciplined with my time, energy and rest. I’ve taken the lessons I learned from it everywhere I go.
