Heather W.
Heather's design journey probably began when she was young painting and drawing her heart out, but really became real when she was accepted into architecture school at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. After graduating with her Bachelor's of Architecture, Heather moved to Houston, TX to work at WHR Architects as a healthcare architectural designer. In 2010 she worked in Baton Rouge, LA as a project manager for a small firm designing both educational and residential projects. Having found a strong passion for interior design after having the opportunity to work on smaller scaled projects, Heather returned to Houston in 2011 and became a registered interior designer in the state of Texas. Since then Heather has been designing primarily healthcare and residential spaces and is always looking for the next, exciting design challenge!
From where do you draw most of your inspiration?
Nature and our immediate surroundings, no matter where we may be. An alley of oak trees in Louisiana, an aisle of colorful fruits in a open air market in Mexico City, or the handmade, structural details of an ancient temple in Beijing, can all ignite inspiration for new designs. However, ultimately it is the client who inspires me most. Combining their vision with my design experience we can come up with design solutions that I may have never come up with on my own :)
We know you love designing, but what about it do you love most?
Watching a clients vision come to life. Coming up with the design and sketching it out may be the most fun part of the process, but seeing the drawings and ideas get built and become real spaces, then delivering that to the end user, is definitely the best part of any project for me.
What drives you to design?
Seeing how I can do my part to make things better. Design is so much more than just a pretty pillow or an elegant coffee table (although those things are awesome too ;). As designers we have the ability to impact someone's daily life and it is our job to create beautiful and functional spaces to make that person's life that much better, whether you are designing a residential bathroom or a hospital waiting room. If there is something I can do to make the grueling hospital wait more comfortable, or design a bathroom that helps someone feel more motivated first thing in the morning, then I want to strive to make that difference.