Cheryl Stauffer, CEO of Crimson Design, is an award-winning interior designer of residential and commercial spaces. Her work is vibrant and adventurous, bringing an international flare full of culture and beauty to any space. For the past 20 years, through Crimson Design, she had been sharing her gift by bringing vivid energy to personal and social spaces throughout the Midwest.

Cheryl’s talents were not realized at a young age and came to life as she found her calling. Raised by missionary parents, Stauffer spent her early childhood in the jungles of South America, in a life completely void of color. As she grew up and discovered her talent and passion for design, Stauffer infused amazing combinations of color with an international flair into all her work.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Crimson Design has been commissioned by developers since 2013 to design the most modern community living spaces, restaurants, bars, and areas of the city that are young, professional, and attracting talent from across the globe. Her most recent designs include Lux 23, a new luxury suite multi-living complex, and the Whisky Lounge in Columbus.

Cheryl recently spoke to Haute Residence about where she finds her inspiration and what sets Crimson Design apart in an industry full of unique talent.

Photo Courtesy of Crimson Design / Submission

Stauffer, who grew up in the untamed jungles of Paraguay, South America, was raised by Mennonite missionaries who dedicated much of their lives to helping others. “Living among the locals and indigenous Indians shaped how I look at the world,” Stauffer told us.

“It also curated my love of cultures, which has given me a different viewpoint of spirituality and made my world much larger. I was instilled with a strong faith and acceptance of people from all walks of life and I’ve carried those values into my adult life through my artistic work, philanthropic efforts, and of course, my family.”

Stauffer’s most recent work, Luxe 23, has received a tremendous amount of attention. The 113 luxury suite apartment complex located in the heart of Short North (Columbus, Ohio) has a rooftop terrace and a refined social venue known as The Whiskey Lounge.

“Our design goal was to create an experience to transport guests into another world,” Stauffer says. “The inspiration started with Pierre Frey fabric that represented caftans collected at a bazaar as colorful as Ikats. The starting point in the design was the use of color, custom brass light fixtures, mosaic tiles, and custom-designed wood cabinetry. The rooftop terrace displays chandeliers from Italy.”

Stauffer describes this as a “one-of-a-kind” piece that serves as a local landmark, creating curiosity and making for memorable Instagram moments.

Haute Design: What was the biggest challenge with Luxe 23?

Cheryl Stauffer: The design challenge was to translate and marry the developer’s vision along with the restauranteur’s vision for a seamless design of the lobby, The Whiskey Lounge, and throughout the five-story complex.

To give a new spin on modern imagery, we created unique art with a Renaissance vibe which was graffitied, with a collection of modern and old pieces comprising the art and furniture. Additionally, there is a 12-foot sculpture of a woman from the waist down, which was designed by our team and manufactured by a local company.

Within the weeks of its opening, Luxe 23 was a success for the developer and at 100 percent occupancy.

HD: Where do you pull your inspiration from today? How do you keep your designs unique / fresh / vibrant?

CS: Most of my inspiration comes from my travels and experience with other cultures. From the vibrant colors and patterns of the Massai tribe in Africa to the refined architecture in Europe, I see art and inspiration everywhere I go.

My goal is to make the typically unseen beauty, seen by people in the spaces I create. I love being able to make a difference in the lives of our clients and transform how they view and experience their spaces. The art of interior design can have an emotional and spiritual effect, and I enjoy creating something beautiful for each client to appreciate. This industry is full of makers and creatives who think outside of the box and bring ideas to life; the people and their ideas are what makes interior design so magical!

HD: Let’s talk about some of your philanthropic work, specifically with the orphanage in Thailand you are building and designing.

CS: My husband, Luis, and I have a heart for adoption. Luis was adopted from Guatemala and we have an adopted daughter, sparking our interest in having a bigger impact with children. We worked with Asia’s Hope, which provides residential housing and a family-care environment for orphaned children in Thailand, Cambodia, and India.

The project, which started in 2019, couldn’t have been done without the help of our clients and vendors, allowing us to raise $250,000 over the course of 6 months to build the home. Now, it houses 20 children with ages ranging from 2 to 16. Most of the children in the orphanage are from a hill tribe, and now have access to a safe, nurturing environment and education while staying true to their culture.

HD: Do you feel comfortable talking about your work in Columbus, designing a home for victims of human trafficking?

CS: Unfortunately, Ohio is one of the top 10 states for human trafficking, with a clean and constant need to address the issue.

We first became involved with the Rehab’s Hope project to spread awareness and bring comfort to victims. When the organization’s founder started an effort to transform a 32-bed facility into a home to transition women who are victims of trafficking and start new lives, I took the lead to gather the design community and get involved.

We enlisted the help of eight other designers, along with Value City Furniture to turn this facility into a home. We wanted this place to feel safe, warm, and comforting. We put our collective skills to work, mixing both old and new pieces to bring the rooms to life through soft colors and textures. We are excited about this project and are expecting a December 2021 completion date. 

HD: What does ‘success’ mean for you in today’s interior design industry?

CS: Success in many industries is based upon relationships, which also holds true in design. Building and maintaining long-term relationships with clients, subcontractors, and vendors is critical to long-term success. There are many layers and details to each piece of a project, as it is a complex industry. For this reason, knowing how to navigate the many working pieces and streamlining processes to increase efficiency has always, and will always need continuous improvement.

Another key to achieving success is surrounding yourself with a strong team. I have worked hard to recruit a team of thought leaders with amazing talent that are committed to the Crimson vision.

HD: What advice would you give to incoming designers, perhaps Millennial/Gen-Z targeted, on how to get started and succeed?

CS: To get to the top, you have to start at the bottom. You have to be willing to take leaps beyond just interior design - which means getting out from behind the computer and going to your sites, seeing the whole process from start to finish, and actively participating.

Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and get dirty. Some leaders I look to for inspiration that embody these values include Joni Vanderslice of J. Banks Design Group and Kit Kemp of Firmdale Hotels and Kit Kemp Design Studio.

To learn more about Crimson Design and Cheryl Stauffer’s work, CLICK HERE.

Be sure to follow Crimson Design on Instagram, @crimsondesigngroup.

Written in partnership with Ascend

The post Award Winning Designer Cheryl Stauffer Draws Inspiration From Her Childhood, Infusing The World Around Her With Color Through ‘Crimson Design’ appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Laila Colvin and Rafaela Simoes

Photo Credit: 2id Interiors

While 2id Interiors has stood out as one of Miami's premier luxury interior design companies, perhaps most are not acquainted with the 2id origin story. Co-Founder and Creative Director, Rafaela Simoes shares the beautiful origin of her amazing partnership with Laila Colvin.

Do you know those people whose parents went to school together and created a bond where it would make it inevitable for their children to become best friends? Eventually, those children grow up side by side and dream of becoming partners and building their own company when they get older.

Cool, isn't it? Well, guess what? That's not our story.

Our mothers did indeed know each other for many years. They went to school together in Brazil. However, we defied the odds and both our mothers' efforts to get us to meet one another and we did not instantly form a friendship. In fact, we never met each other while we lived in Brazil. Incredibly, our story only began once we both ended up moving to the U.S.

Laila realized we had both moved to Florida and her mother convinced her to give me a call. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We immediately bonded over our similar backgrounds and our shared passion for interior design.

I believe we were meant to support each other here in the States and eventually work together, even though it was never in either of our plans. One of the magical things about life is that it is unpredictable. Because not only is she now one of my best friends, but she is my pattern in work and in life. We even got pregnant almost at the same time and now our kids have grown up together.

Working as a duo can be challenging, but for us it is a blessing. Since day one, we had similar visions for the business and every obstacle we have overcome since then has only made us better partners. We recognize our individual limitations and we respect what each other brings to the partnership.

Laila is more pragmatic, practical and rational. She is better with numbers and budgets, so she is the one who brings some sense when we are going too far and keeps us on track with finances. I am more emotional, intuitive, approachable (but not early in the morning, please) and outspoken.

Working as a pair allows us to share our tasks, while each of us specializes in areas we're best at and enjoy most. By sharing the labor, we can lighten the load. This allows us to take time off when needed, as we know there will always be a trusted person to hold down the fort and this has certainly had a positive impact in our personal lives.

2id Interiors

Photo Credit: 2id Interiors

Another advantage of our partnership is that we have a multidisciplinary approach with our clients. We work in a way that allows them to not get confused with both of us. If Laila begins a conversation with a client, she will be the one that will continue assisting them in that manner in order to ensure clear communication. The same applies if I am the one to begin the conversation. This avoids confusion and clients always know who to speak with. That said, we always share and discuss key pieces of information for every project to make strategic decisions that are best for the business.

All of these processes ensure harmony and clear results. I believe that our skill sets combined is what makes up the 2id recipe for success, along with the amazing team that we have, not behind us, but rather working by side by side with us. This way, we create a stronger, more balanced, and happier workplace.

The story of how we became 2id Interiors

The name of the company was something we struggled with. It was difficult to think of a name that included both of us and that also sounded good. I previously had my own company, the RS ID, which stands for Rafaela Simoes Interior Design. Laila made its logo and I was so in love with the "id" component that when it came time to think of a name for our company, I was not giving up on it.

We brainstormed ideas to include our initials but nothing was working out. Eventually, Laila had the idea of adding the number 2, to "id," symbolizing two interior designers, as a provisional name, but of course, it ended up being our permanent name. It's simple and conveys the idea that we are two people in this amazing journey together.

The post Partners At Work And In Life: The 2id Interiors Story appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Love.

For someone who has created an international luxury brand that caters to some of the world’s wealthiest, most demanding travelers, Lauren is an outside-the-box success story. The Lauren Berger Collection, which arranges mansions, yachts, exotic automobiles, and one-of-a-kind experiences for her discerning guests, was built on love and Lauren’s innate sense of hospitality. Hospitality is never authentic when it’s forced, but in Lauren’s childhood home, hospitality was simply how her mother treated guests. Lauren grew up in New York watching her Greek mother nurture and care for family and friends. Lauren naturally followed in her mother’s wake, emulating the matriarch’s penchant for creating comfortable havens and catering to the comfort of those she welcomed into her home. “It wasn’t something I thought about,” she says now, years later. “It was just what my mother did and what I learned from her.” That intrinsic geniality and concern for others continued to fl when Lauren wed Dr. Sidney Berger, a world-renowned, most brilliant, respected, loved and gracious Doctor of Implantology. “Sidney’s high-profile patients traveled to New York from all over the world to see him,” she recalls. “They needed care and craved privacy. They were privileged, and so required a certain level of luxury to feel at home.”

Dr. Berger loved bringing his patients to his own residence to recuperate, and Lauren loved taking care of them. So Dr. Berger and Lauren designed a home to make his patients feel “at home.” And truly indulged.

That was really the start of it all,” Berger explains. “They came to us as patients but left as family. So it was quite natural that when they wanted to return to New York for business or holiday, they would call to ask if she could help with the arrangements. Thus the concept of the Lauren Berger Collection was born.

Just as her mother once went out of her way to cook meals for friends and welcome guests into their home, Lauren has created an enterprise that goes beyond simply providing access to some of the world’s most distinctive properties. To put a fi point on it, guests of the Lauren Berger Collection are not merely hosted, they are welcomed as family. Lauren’s passion for creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences for her guests is simply what she lives for. “ Luxury can be purchased, but genuine hospitality can only be given.”

That could be the motto of the Lauren Berger Collection.

Nonetheless, the collection of eye-catching, refi and exquisitely located properties provides a significant wow factor that can’t be overlooked. Beachfront hideaways, impressive castles, sophisticated and spacious apartments in the world’s most exciting capitals—these and other such residences are gems in the roster. The Lauren Berger Collection has more than 250 exquisite properties in its portfolio—identified and acquired through a seemingly endless web of relationships that Lauren has formed over a lifetime.

But it’s when those homes are sprinkled with some of the Berger pixie dust that the magic happens. Indeed, where Lauren is concerned, nothing in the guest experience is left to chance, minor details are given major consideration, and no request is too great for her guests. A guest may want to host a formal dinner for forty; Lauren has it all, from the George Jensen silver, Minton china, Baccarat crystal with killer views.

Lauren Berger, through long experience and her innate sense of hospitality, understands that luxury is subjective, defi by the details. She isn’t satisfi unless her guests have an experience as bespoke and unique as themselves.

But even the most accomplished hostess occasionally requires some additional expertise. And in the case of Lauren Berger, that global lineup of talent is nothing if not impressive. Included in the laudable list of associates are:

Maggie Draycott who has worked for British Airways in London for 29 years until recently managing the end to end customer experience of their top global client base that includes CEOs of global FTSE companies, Heads of State, Royalty, and Celebrities from the Film and Fashion world.

Maggie managed on a day to day basis the prestigious “invitation only”Club for British Airways most infl tial client base and created the current loyalty program for their high net worth clients which is hugely successful. Maggie has been voted one of the top 50 most infl tial travelers by Conde Nast traveler and in Tatler magazine 100 most invited in 2017.

Deborah Wince-Smith, President and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness—a coalition of CEOs, university presidents, national laboratory directors, and labor leaders committed to driving U.S. productivity and prosperity.

In recognition of profound transformative global challenges and opportunities, Deborah founded the Global Federation of Competitiveness and serves as the President of this unique coalition of global leaders committed to advancing sustainable economic growth, inclusive prosperity and security.

It’s an elite group of luxury travel and lifestyle specialists, eminently suited to foster Lauren’s brand of-reputation for customized travel. “Hospitality is truly about loving all people,” she explains. “The relationships I have are at the heart of everything I live for. My husband Sidney, who can only be described as my magic treasure, the love of my life who is responsible for what I am made of today and which none of this would have been possible without him. My mother, my world, who has always been my Rock of Gibralter, my family, whom I could not love more, have been there every step of the way, my team, who are invaluable to me, my associates, of whom I could not be more proud of, my property owners, who have been beyond amazing, and last but not least my treasured guests for their continued trust and loyalty, who have made my life complete.”

Photo courtesy of Lauren Berger 

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