Many famous people hire-out for their home's interior design and decor. Not these design-inspired celebs. Blake Lively, Lauren Conrad, Cindy Crawford, and Diane Keaton are among a group of famous faces who are turning home decorating into thriving careers.
Blake Lively
Blake Lively has compiled inspiration books full of pictures, color swatches and fabric memos since she was a teenager. Just like a pro, she uses her mood boards as a starting point for her own designs.
After designing her own homes for years, Blake is now getting interior design requests from friends. She loves home decor so much that she doesn't even charge for her services–yet.
Blake used to publish a blog called Preserve that focused on helping people discover the work of local artisans. The blog is no more, but Blake is still spreading the word about the makers she admires, like Dimitriy & Co furniture.
Lauren Conrad
Lauren Conrad left life as an American television personality to become a purveyor of all things lovely and chic.
Her blog and VIP newsletter offers everything from hairstyle trends to drink recipes, but she has also launched a successful home decor line for Kohl's and performed room makeovers on behalf of Pottery Barn.
Lauren has been called "the Martha Stewart for millennials" and it all starts with her own personally-styled home in Pacific Palisades, California.
Cindy Crawford
After retiring as one of the world's most recognizable supermodels, Cindy Crawford got into furniture design in 2005. She has evolved that interest over the years into a philosophy on how to design a home the right way. "I don’t like it when people buy a midcentury house and then try to change it, or buy a Tudor and try to make it modern,” she said in an interview with Elle Decor last year.
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In addition to making things look chic, Cindy offers tips on decorating for all the senses by imagining how someone might experience a home's smells or the feel of certain fabrics.
A mother herself, she learned to use outdoor fabrics whenever possible to ward off messes left by little ones or pets.
Proving that good design is also practical, Cindy suggests designing kitchens that not only look amazing but are also easy to clean.
She tries not to get so caught up in aesthetics that lifestyle doesn't get considered. Having a comfortable place to read or watch a favorite program is an important part of designing a home that's comfortable to live in.
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton used to own a Frank Lloyd Wright home in L.A. In 2011, she launched a table-top line for Bed Bath and Beyond. Her love of design has culminated in the publishing of three home design coffee table books.
Her latest, The House That Pinterest Built, is described as "a style guide, an inspirational tome, and a how-to volume on creating one’s home."
Diane started publishing design books because she wanted to celebrate the inspiration people get from seeing the design eye of others, "billions of people discover, seize and enlarge their reference pool with the variety of beauty allocated from others," she says in the book's introduction.
