Design Moms // Meet Rebecca Orlov

Time Several Hours

Budget $ $$$

Skill Level

WORDS BY The Havenly Team

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Published on May 9, 2017

In celebration of Mother’s Day and moms who love design as much as we do (Design Moms!) we’ve interviewed a few of our designers. This time we’re featuring the Rebecca Orlov. She lives in Las Vegas (by way of DC, LA and NY) with her daughter Sophia, who is 3.5 years old. We’ve always admired her balancing act so it’s a pleasure to hear more about her Design Mom lifestyle.

How did you get into interior design?

I have always been inspired by patterns mixed with comfort. After a 15+ year career in advertising and marketing, I thoughtfully changed careers to pursue my passion – Interior Design and emerging tech.

Describe the day-to-day of your household. 

It’s busy, busy, busy but not really overly chaotic. Although of course we have those days like any family with kiddos, like the other week when, yep, there is totally spilled milk all over our floor. 🙂

My daughter is 3.5 and is totally into, well, being 3.5. She is super curious, super into exploring, super into expressing her new found self (i.e. threenager status from time to time!) and I love it all! I do my best to give her the space to create, to play, to just be. We love crafts, art, design and she is all over that! The secret: water-based anything! Markers, paint, you name it. Although, PS, play-doh does not really come out of your rug when your kiddo basically rolls it into the floor. Another secret, have furniture pieces in your main areas that you actually don’t truly mind if they get a bit (ok a lot) dirty!

What’s it like juggling being a designer with being a mom?

It’s the best! Our homes are always evolving and changing due to the “stages of life” – adulthood, singlehood, couplehood, parenthood, etc. For our family, we are in the childhood and parenthood stages of life so I have thoughtfully designed our home to include my daughter’s life and style as well.

I often bring Sophia into our home design process. She’s 3 and often mirrors me (the other week I was using my measuring tape and then she went and got her toy tool box measuring tape to also measure “the wall”). Since she is clearly interested in this, I often give her spaces to design as well. She has her own “shelfie” space right on my own styled shelves where she can place her own goodies and move them around. I also have started an art vignette (or “gallery wall”) for her own bedroom because she sees the one we have on our stairs. We are building it together with family photos and her artwork framed.

Where do you go for your inspiration for design projects?

1) Outside! Nature, the sky, the grass, the streets, flowers, architecture, exteriors – the juxtaposition of solids with colors with textures with patterns – design inspiration gold for me!

2) Good old magazines! I still own tons of AD and domino mags and flip through them often to spark ideas.

What is your favorite room you’ve designed for a client in the past few months? 

I recently designed the home office/studio space for blogger, Ally Noriega (Ally in Wonderland). She had a a vision that she shared through some great inspo photos – emerald green and noir black – but needed guidance curating her items, pulling it together, space planning. I love that she reimaginged her home for how she is living by turning a spare bedroom into a studio mix.

As a Design Mom, what space in your house have you designed just for YOU? And what’s it like? 

My bedroom! I wanted to create a truly effortless and calm space to relax, enjoy and really spend time in – a lovely retreat after my lil one goes to sleep. I love photography and have been printing tons of my own photos to display. I have 4 floral and botanical prints that I snapped and not only are the pretty to look at but they remind me of special times. I also love the height and integration of my wood canopy bed into my room’s design. I kept the walls minimal to allow the bed to be part of the design – in the round. My new Pottery Barn Teen “Relax” LED makes me smile every single day and I really enjoy the mantra and the soft, diffused light.

The take away: design your home so you smile, smile, smile.

Since we’re going into summer, what trends are you excited to see more of?

Vibrant jewel tones mixed with textures! Color paired with wood, sand grains, concrete, etc. I am currently loving emerald greens, teal blues, fuchsia pinks, marigold yellow/orange, blush pinks, charcoal grays and have been spotting them in retail spaces and pop-up shops. Oh, and my ultimate fave Spring/early Summer event – peonies in bloom!

Thanks, Rebecca. We’re lucky to have you representing Design Moms. Check our Rebecca’s Designer Profile here