The One Room Designer Lisa Gilmore Will Never Forget

Interior designers and other experts in the home industry work on an impressive number of spaces throughout their careers. But even if some of the makeovers and redesigns start to blend together after a few years, there are some rooms that are just truly unforgettable. 

So, to give designers a chance to revisit their favorite projects—and to bring you plenty of inspiration for your own home—we’re sharing the one room these pros will remember forever. For some, there’s a sentimental connection, for others, there was an obstacle they never thought they’d overcome. But no matter what, these rooms are worth remembering.

Though designers always have a great eye for style, they also have to balance their clients' wants and needs. Sometimes a designer's vision doesn't match with their clients, and it's time to go back to the drawing board. But sometimes, the designer and their client are in perfect sync, as designer Lisa Gilmore can attest with this gorgeous den room.

"This was the first time in my business that a client fully trusted me when it came to color," Gilmore, who owns Lisa Gilmore Design in St. Petersburg, Florida explains. "In the past I have done rooms painted in all black or navy, however, they were always balanced with other colors, patterns, art, texture. This is the first time that a client allowed me to saturate an entire room in a hue and run with it—and raspberry at that! Raspberry isn’t a safe choice at all—however, it ended up feeling like such a safe and cozy room that they loved."

Keep scrolling to see how Gilmore transformed a small den in a high-rise condo into a one-of-a-kind space.

When trying to add some character and traditional elements to a modern condo, Gilmore leaned into color and custom millwork.

"The raspberry kept it modern, young and fresh," Gilmore explains. "The room is a bit asymmetrical and dealing with air vents and other things that you can’t move in a condo building created challenges to where the applied millwork would land. So, creating a harmonious millwork pattern that not only wraps the room, but flows with the built in we were designing was a bit tedious but ended up turning out great."

Though it's hard to choose a favorite element of this space, Gilmore loves the painting that hangs above the couch the most. It was a painting from the homeowner's private collection, and the bright colors are repeated in the throw pillows on the sofa.

"The best part of that is I only saw their art collection briefly in a storage unit, it was poorly lit and I kind of went through it quickly and didn’t see the art again until install day," Gilmore shares. "I actually had another painting in mind for this space, but then when I placed this painting in the room, paired with the throw pillows it just naturally sung together, and I am pretty sure I squealed about the energy it created!" 

But the best moment of the project was revealing the space to her clients.

"When the clients walked in this room for the first time and loved it so much, and I could see on their face that they were so pleased with the outcome, it made me so proud and filled me with so much gratitude that they trusted me, my firm and the design process so whole-heartedly," Gilmore says."

And being bold has paid off.

"This room has been huge for my business," Gilmore explains. "While it might be a bit over the top in terms of color for some people, it certainly gets their wheels turning about the possibilities it could bring for their own homes if they allow trust and stepping outside of their normal box. This room has certainly turned into a conversation piece across the board. I would say about 70% of our new business calls mention how much they love the room and they kept going back and looking at it in our portfolio – mesmerized."

When looking back at this project, Gilmore feels "pure pride, raw energy and passion." 

"This room really just came from my happy design soul and came to life with all of my design dreams in mind," Gilmore says. "I remember thinking about great designers before me, and when they were called upon to do their jobs and trusted fully. This was a big moment for me and I really felt like I finally had reached a point in my career that I didn’t have to overexplain the vision, the client just naturally trusted me and allowed me to create."