August, 2017
We caught up with three of Chicago’s top female designers to get their take on what makes a perfect room — from color and texture to art and accessories.
BETH BOYD:
THE COMPOSER
It’s quite a stretch to go from lawyer to designer, but that’s exactly what Beth Boyd did. Since launching Wiley Designs in 1998,
Boyd has become known for well-composed, tailored spaces that maintain a bal-
ance of clean lines, textures and strategic color. Her goal is to help clients find their
own aesthetic. “A lot of people are unsure how to articulate what they want,” she says.
“So just talking to them and drawing them out make a diference.”
Ultimately, says Boyd, it’s all about surrounding clients with the things that are meaningful to them to make them feel connected to their environment.
One of Boyd’s most notable projects came in 2009, when she invested in a 100-plus-year-old house on Fullerton Avenue. “We gutted the house and completely redesigned the interior,” she says.
Months after selling the property, Boyd was contacted by the new homeowners, who wanted her to do their interior design
and had no idea she was involved in the renovation. “It was a fun piece of synchronicity,” she says.
ARTFUL DESIGN: “Last year we moved and opened an art gallery space in conjunction with our office. Our goal is to bring in work by artists and designers in a variety of media and to host events that encourage a conversation with the community around us and support art and design.”
RUG REVOLUTION: “There’s been a really interesting evolution in rug design lately. Certainly, Persian and oriental rugs are classic and wonderful, but there’s been a great movement in artist-designed rugs.”
CEILING CHIC: “Don’t ignore the ceiling. It’s an opportunity to make everything else in the space feel completely pulled together. White can be fine, but why not do something more interesting?”