TO LIVE BEAUTIFUL, TRAVEL OFTEN.
SEE HOW MY 2024 TRAVELS SHAPED MY VISION AS AN INTERIOR DESIGNER – AND A PERSON.
DECEMBER 18, 2024 | CHARLOTTE, NC
When I travel, I always return home a changed person. It's a good thing! Experiencing new sights, sounds, colors, flavors and cultures is exciting and also enriching – personally and as an interior designer.
As it happens, 2024 unfolded as an unusually busy year of international travel for me. Some trips were planned. Here, anticipation is part of the fun. My partner Jonathan and I love planning (and negotiating) where to go and what to do. One 2024 trip was pretty much impromptu. A darling-pack-your-bags trip abroad is like a cold plunge! Stirring, exhilarating and highly recommended.
My 2024 passport stamp-fest began with “April in Paris” for Jonathan’s birthday, a lovely amuse-bouche for what would follow in the fall: Lisbon, Porto, Cascais, San Sebastián and Barcelona. Prague capped the year. These travel experiences leave me craving more adventure in 2025. My design aesthetic is inspired by Europe. These travels abroad were truly food for the soul. Here’s some of what I saw, heard, experienced, and learned.
LISBON: Plan, plan, plan … and let it go
In my world, travel is a beautiful muse. I was eager to see where She might lead me in Lisbon, a bustling and artful Portuguese city. I knew Portugal by reputation, of course, but after this trip it’s now a favorite destination. In fact, I could live in Lisbon. I love the visual feast of red-tile roofs and meandering cobblestone streets.
There was much to do, see and experience in Lisbon with just a few days' time. Jonathan and I arrived with lots of ideas – and then, let them go. We make plans but allow ourselves to pivot. I like to plan and then throw the itinerary to the wind – and see where that wind might take me.
PORTO: Do the usual things in unusual places
Travel is a peak experience, a departure from the ordinary. I always feel keenly aware and tuned-in when I travel to Europe. So, it’s ironic that one of my travel philosophies is to do the usual things in unusual places. This grounds me and normalizes travel in a very good way. The beautiful Douro River runs through Porto. Following suit, in Porto we slowed the pace and focused on everyday small pleasures, like lingering with coffee in the morning and wine tastings later in the day. Port wine is one of the indigenous pleasures of Porto. Here, the wine and the river flow natually.
Everywhere we went – in Porto and beyond – we walked and walked, generally logging in 20-30K steps daily. I love exploring new cities on foot. It’s great exercise, of course, and the only way to really uncover the nooks, crannies and hidden secrets.
CASCAIS: Make memories
Jonathan’s and my Spain-Portugal travel plans were flexible and fluid throughout. With one exception: A can’t-miss rendez-vous in Cascais, Portugal’s Riviera, for a much-anticipated family wedding. Here, Jonathan’s son Nick and (now) daughter-in-love Logan were wed at a castle by the sea, so special and sophisticated.
Solo travel doesn’t scare me, but in Cascais I felt the power of sharing a far-away adventure and witnessing the start of a new married life – all with people I love. Travel tends to be a relationship reveal-all – and I love what I saw and experienced with Jonathan. The shared experience of Spain and Portugal with Jonathan and his family brought us closer together.
SAN SEBASTIAN: Collect moments, not things
The “souvenirs” from my time in Spain and Portugal – especially San Sebastián – are more experiential than tangible. Experience and emotion endure and, I think, seep into our DNA. European culture and lifestyle has always been a deep source of inspiration for me – in life and interior design. I’m drawn to the easy elegance, natural juxtaposition of old and new, ever-present art, and deeply rooted traditions tempered with openness to change. Such things are food for the soul, essential to a beautiful life.
On the topic of food, Jonathan (my resident foodie) discovered San Sebastián is a culinary mecca with more Michelin-star rated restaurants per capita than anywhere in Europe. In short, we ate well. Haute cuisine? Yes – but very much LSI style. The food was simple and extraordinary, and beautifully enjoyed in relaxed, casual environments. I’m craving Basque pintxos as I write!
BARCELONA: Embrace counter-tourism
There’s a dark side to being Spain’s most popular travel destination: flocks of tourists! Like me, you’ve probably read about anti-tourism water-pistols incidents in Barcelona. I’m happy to report Jonathan and I experienced no squalls or showers during our stay. It was all sunshine. Barcelona welcomed us with open arms.
I love winding paths, in life and in cities. In Barcelona, we meandered a maze of narrow streets punctuated with bustling squares, shops, bakeries, and bistros to find our hotel in the Gothic District.
I’m always true to myself when I travel, but I also seek to lose myself to the rhythm and flow of the city. In Barcelona, this approach was so satisfying. For me, this go-incognito approach is almost effortless, like riding a tide. My first words surely tag me as an American, but I guess my ease, openness and intent to assimilate are clear. This is why I left my heart in Barcelona!
PRAGUE: Balancing old and new
My final 2024 European foray took me, somewhat unexpectedly, to Prague. With Jonathan set to attend a conference in this famed Czech city, I decided to tag along. In Prague, the old city seduced me. This picturesque city is like a fairy tale connected by waterways, canals and bridges along the Vltava River, which runs through the city.
This impromptu four-day Prague trip taught me to always have my bags packed. There are a thousand things that bind us to the day-to-day – and I love that mortar. But, sometimes it’s important to pull up the anchor and cast off. As it happens, with a time zone difference of six hours, I was easily able to beat the LSI team to the studio. Creativity and work flowed!
No place like home
I love traveling. I love coming home. I could not be happier to file away my passport – for now – and be fully present in the present. Travel truly is a “moveable feast.” My travels absolutely influence and reshape my day-to-day way of life back home in Charlotte, North Carolina. I very purposefully inject the sights, sounds, colors, textiles, and all the sensory experiences of travel into my daily life – and my interior designs as well. To travel is to Live Beautiful, my goal in design and life.