Dorothy Alon is the founder of prominent Los Angeles-based design firm, Sophea Interior Designs. Dorothy has previously explained what sets her firm apart from other firms in the industry. Sophea Interior Designs is an all-encompassing firm with a holistic approach an exceptional attention to detail. Recently, Dorothy took time from her busy schedule to discuss modern design with Haute Design. What is modern design, anyway? Dorothy provided her fascinating perspective on this and more.

Haute Design: Does modern design equate to minimal design? If not, why do you feel so many people think out does?

Dorothy Alon: To each their own. As with everything in design, each person will have their own conception of what modern entails. Minimalism originated in the midcentury as a result of the Bauhaus movement, where less became more. Through the years, I think people started to want to care for less. So fast forward to the 2000s, and particularly toward the past 15 years or so, things changed drastically as far as construction is concerned. There are more metals involved, engineering has drastically advanced, and in turn, become more complex and we are now able to create far greater expanses and openings. This leads to larger windows and doors.

Construction has plenty to do with it because now, architects are able to plan way beyond their dreams in comparison to the past, where supplies and techniques were much more limited. So due to advances in construction, the exteriors of these houses are almost completely made of metal and iron. This allows architects to create openings of 20 to 30 feet.

Photo Credit: Sophea Interior Designs

Additionally, the contribution of television and social media cannot be overlooked. Clients used to come to you with maybe two or three reference images, whereas these days, they have 30 images at the ready because they see these pictures from all around the world and they want that openness and that space.

However, with that openness and the lack of walls, comes plenty of issues. Most of the issues come in the form of storage. Because now, your home does not have walls, it has no room for shelves or places to hang your art. Back in the day, your kitchen would be hidden and with it, any mess you created would go unnoticed by any guests you may have. Now, your kitchen is open for all to see in the living room. So, it's difficult to host if you have a family because everything is exposed. So, not everything that came as a result of this modern design was necessarily positive.

Clients who come from traditional homes to modern homes run into problems all the time. If you collect art for example, no we need to start discussing how to hang your pieces from hooks and all of these elaborate systems because your new home is all window. This is not to say that there aren't solutions to these problems, but most clients do not even consider this beforehand.

Photo Credit: Sophea Interior Designs

HD: Do you think the average conception of a modern homes has changed, especially after considering all of our relationships with our living spaces over the past year and a half?

DA: If anything, I think most people realized they don't need that much. People have learned to make their spaces accommodate to their lifestyles rather than the other way around. For the most part, when clients say modern, they are thinking of an open floor plan and clean lines. And yet, most clients ask for a 'warm modern.' Because a minimalist home, does not feel like 'home' to most people. So, they do not necessarily want a modern home. Because if the exterior is this shell of a minimal, Bauhaus home, but the inside has traditional furniture, with stucco, and curved and cozy furniture, it's not a cohesive idea. The inside has to communicate with the outside. It's all about feeling.

HD: Is there such a thing as a timeless home?

DA: When you say timeless, I believe you mean classic. It's something I tell my clients every time, when talking about exteriors, "Go for the classic." To me, classic is comprised of anything from the beginning of the 20th century, until the '80s or '90s. Classics will still look great 20, 30 years from now, but more importantly, they work. All of these design homes from the past century, they might be updated with new colors and textures, but their shape remains the same, because it works.

Photo Credit: Sophea Interior Designs

The post Dorothy Alon Explains Why You Might Want To Reconsider Minimalist Design appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

The Haute Design Network by Haute Residence brought together four designers from across the country to sit down and discuss the business aspect of their Design Careers.

"The Business of Design" webinar was hosted by Haute Living Media Group Senior VP, April Donelson and included the following designers: Rafaela Simoẽs and Laila Colvin of 2id Interiors, Karlee Coble of Karlee Coble Interiors, and Dorothy Alon of Sophea Designs. While interior design can certainly be an artistic and expressive career, when one owns their own design firm, the business aspect of things comes into frame all too quickly. The talented and successful designers explained the intricacies of walking the fine line between artists and business person all at once.

Here are some of the highlights of the conversation:

April Donelson: At what point did you decide to start your own design firm and was there ever a point where you ever thought of designing in any capacity which did not involve owning your own firm?

Karlee Coble: I started out working for other firms. Right out of art school, I had worked for three major firms before I started my own firm. While there, I learned everything from working with clients, to writing contracts, to learning how to get work, how to maintain work and so on. I found that every project is different and every client is different. So, I kind of worked my way up to my own firm and I got to see everything from other design firms. Once Had my own firm, it was organic and it just naturally happened. It was a point in my career where I was ready to be on my own and do my own thing and serve my clients in my own way. I had all the knowledge from other firms on how to do so. I guess I kind of worked it out backwards but it all worked out and it has been really successful.

AD: In regard to the beginning, the early years, what is the biggest lesson you got or the biggest take away you could share?

Rafaela Simoẽs: I think the biggest lesson I've learned has actually been to learn how to say 'no' to a client when you don't feel the chemistry or when you sense that things are just not clicking and you feel the relationship will not go well. Because I'm a pleaser, I always incline to try to satisfy the client no matter what but at some pint down the road, things get ugly if you avoid saying 'no.' So now, whenever I get that feeling, I would just rather not proceed and I move on.

AD: How do you integrate social media into your business? Do you see it as a positive or negative?

Laila Colvin: I think social media, for our company at least, is so major these days, especially Instagram. I would say we have more than half of our clients coming from Instagram alone. It's unbelievable how Instagram in particular is so important to us.

AD: What is the most enjoyable component of being a business owner?

Dorothy Alon: The best part of this business is the I can drive in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Venice, and I may not know the person who live in this home, but I do know how this house looks on the inside. We also impact the exterior of the house as well so philosophically, it's like we are part of the landscape of Los Angeles. It's exciting because you think of all the people who live in these houses and you don't know their names but I feel as if I am a part of their lives despite not knowing their names and vise-versa.

Watch the entire conversation below:

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Dorothy Alon, founder of prominent Los Angeles-based design firm, Sophea Interior Designs, has established herself in the last decade among Los Angeles developers, contractors, and other thought leaders in real estate. Dorothy has built her reputation as someone whose intuition and insight comes through in every project that she undertakes.

"We do things a little bit differently," says Dorothy. "About 90% of my clients are developers. After becoming familiar with the scale of work that I have done, along with my extensive experience in the field, they have developed the trust and understanding that we are a team and we are in this together. I think they appreciate that I'm not only focused on 'making things look pretty.' Instead, my approach is more like, 'yes, make this look pretty, but make it functional as well'."

Sophea Designs does not only handle the design aspect of a home, but it also participates in the planning and building process.

"Ideally, the architect gives me the floor plan before even going to the engineer," Dorothy explains. "Because we try to insure that all the interior built-ins and functional spaces are accounted for in order for us to not be limited by the structure itself."

Photo Credit: Sophea Interior Designs

"While interior design is a broad spectrum and entails a multitude of specialties, I decided early on to focus on spec homes and new construction projects. This kind of business requires the interior designer to be involved early on in the process. Typically, we are getting the floor plans after the architect's first draft and we are looking at the house placement on the site map. Then we check that all the main spaces are sufficient and proportional to the scale of the house, both in space and return on investment. We proceed by verifying every window and door size and location. Lastly, we are making sure all standard furniture works in the space and we have enough wall space for cabinets, storage and art. Once this is complete, we continue with designing and selecting finishes. If we have any comments throughout this part of the process, we send it back to the architect to hear their thoughts. We respect the work they have done so far and would like to make sure we are giving our client the best product possible in terms of architecture and interior. In essence, the architect is the conductor and we are the orchestra. We work with all architectural softwares to make it easy for them to quickly respond and keep the work streamlined."

Photo Credit: Sophea Interior Designs

Dorothy's passion in describing the ins and outs of her work and her company's functions is palpable. "I think about everything," she says. "I think of every house we work on as my own investment and as if I were going to live in each and every one of them. That is how I think. This is my mentality toward every home I have designed. I have worked on hundreds of houses and I start every project with the same amount of excitement. The passion toward what I do is what keeps me going. In that sense, we are different. We care. We really care about what we do."

Photo Credit: Sophea Interior Designs

If you wish to contact Sophea Interior Designs for a prospective project or want to learn more about Dorothy Alon's work, CLICK HERE for more information.

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