Talk Shop: Lilse McKenna // Lilse McKenna Inc.

talk shop

Aug 17

ABOUT LILSE

Maryland raised and New York based interior designer Lilse McKenna creates homes that are rooted in tradition and tailored to reflect each client’s personality and lifestyle. Layered in various furniture styles, patterns, and textures, Lilse’s interiors provide her clients lasting sophistication and comfort.

Prior to establishing her firm, Lilse worked for esteemed interior designers Lindsey Coral Harper and Markham Roberts (both AOI favorites!). Lilse is currently working on projects in New York, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts., and lives in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn with her husband Conor, their son Grey, and their dog, Rupert.

We first came upon Lilse’s work through our mutual friend Nan Philip, whose beautiful West Village apartment Lilse designed, and we’ve been obsessed ever since. We particularly love her gorgeous Instagram feed, filled with flat lays of fabric samples, behind the scenes shots of installs, and adorable photos of her sweet baby boy and very cute doggo. We sat down with the talented designer and master of pattern play to chat about her favorite design books, mentors throughout her design career, key ingredients for entertaining, and more.

Describe your style in three words or less:

Layered, personal and timeless.

What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:

All of the places I have traveled and all of the beautiful houses I have been lucky enough to visit have been hugely influential. My late grandmother Bobbie Rodgers (who had impeccable taste and beautiful homes), and Markham Roberts have also been important aesthetic influences for me.

How did you start your company, and what is your favorite thing about what you do:

I always dreamed of starting my own design firm, and while I was working for Markham Roberts I was approached by a family friend to work on a design project that felt like a sign that it was time to make that dream a reality. My favorite part of the interior design process is learning about the client’s individual taste, their personal connections to things and places, and the practical needs of their daily life, and translating that into the design for their home.

Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:

I’m very lucky to have worked for both Markham Roberts and Lindsey Coral Harper. I learned so much about interior design as a profession and as an art from them and continue to be inspired by them.

What does your home say about you:

I think my home says that I love to collect, and entertain my friends and family. Now that we have a baby, it also says that I have a little less control over it than I once did ☺

Where do you find inspiration:

I am always first and foremost inspired by my clients and their lives. They each have their own style, individually and as families. When I have an idea for a project that I am having trouble finding a visual reference for, articulating, or sourcing I turn to design books and travel photos, and sometimes even Instagram or Pinterest.

Who are your style icons:

Too many to name! Certainly Markham Roberts, Marella Agnelli (and her homes by Renzo Mongiardino), Robert Kime, Furlow Gatewood, Oscar and Annette de la Renta, Jacques Grange, Lee Radziwill, Bunny Mellon.

What are your key ingredients for entertaining:

A relaxed and happy host, more than enough to drink, and a thoughtful table setting.

Do you collect anything:

I have a small collection of post-impressionist paintings from the mid-20th century, and an endless library of interior design books, and more tableware than I should probably admit to owning.

Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:

So many! Over the past few months I’ve loved following Lauren Santo Doming (@thelsd) and Lorenzo Castillo (@lorenzocastillofe).

What design “rule” do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:

Always follow: Rooms within a home should have some visual connection or progression, and even within an asymmetrical space there should be some symmetry to relax the eye.

Made to be broken: The concept that fabrics and furniture within a room should “match.” Patterns, textures, and shapes should actually balance one another out rather than mimic or perfectly match one another. If all a designer needed to do was “match” pieces, it wouldn’t be much of an art!

What are you working on right now:

Right now we have several ongoing projects in NYC and up and down the East Coast. We are also working on building our team to try to keep up with all of these projects!

Wardrobe staples:

A button down, jeans, Chanel flats, and a straw market basket.

Best interior advice you ever received:

If you love it, it will work.

Best career advice you ever received:

Markham used to say that decorating was as much about organizing the details as it was about the actual design work.

Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:

Invest in upholstery, textiles, and art that you love. Save on rugs (they are easily ruined and rarely fit perfectly in another house) and AV equipment (it is always outdated the next year).

Your greatest extravagance:

Custom furniture and handmade fabrics.

Favorite places to shop for home:

I could list favorite shops for days but when shopping online I love finding hand made pieces on Etsy, shopping Antiques and Artisans Gallery for antiques, and checking out Land of Belle and Moda Operandi for tableware and table linens.

Most prized possession and why:

I can’t choose between my paintings, so I’ll say the leather notebook that my husband and I share. We write each other notes on holidays and other important days, so all of our correspondence is sort of neatly bound in that book.

Your interiors motto:

Your home should reflect as much of you as possible: where you’ve been, where you are, where you hope to be.

Your life motto:

This is a hard one! But my first thought was, “Decide what to be and go be it,” which is a line from an Avett Brothers song that I love.

Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style:

Read about the rooms and designers you are drawn to- there is so much more to learn from a book than an Instagram post!

Take Ten: My Favorite…

Food: Dinner at Via Carota

Drink: Chilled pinot noir

Film: Father of the Bride

Hotel: La Mamounia

City: A tie between New York and Paris