Love & Design: An Afternoon with LoveHappens Magazine and Nancy Charbonneau

LoveHappens Magazine's interviewed Nancy Charbonneau on her pursuit of design, creativity, love, and happiness. We've repurposed a few of our favorite parts, but you can read the full feature article here!

In 2019, LoveHappens Magazine asked our Founder + Principal Designer, Nancy Charbonneau for an afternoon of conversation about design, creativity, love, and happiness — and if you know Nancy at all, you'd know how excited she was!

Since the day Woodlands Fabrics & Interiors was founded in 1999 to the day it transformed to Charbonneau Interiors in 2018, Nancy has led this company with grace, professionalism, and above all, joy and gratitude. At the center of both her designs and her life is a sense of serene happiness — a true belief and passion for what she does and how she connects with those around her.

We feel that this feature piece, written by LoveHappens Magazine, is a beautiful reflection of that, and we're excited to revisit it with you today to give you a glimpse into the creative mind of Nancy Charbonneau!

The following questionnaire has been repurposed from LoveHappens Magazine's Proust-style Design Questionnaire. To read the full piece, visit here!

Love happens when…

You’re open to new opportunities, possibilities, and perspectives. I think this is true in general, but especially in interior design. I believe that to create a space that you truly, unapologetically, inherently love to be in begins when you open yourself up to the world, your community, and allow forces of nature, both organic and inorganic to inspire you. It’s this cosmic force that you love, but can’t explain; you just know when you walk into a room and think, “this must be the place”.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

To me, perfect happiness is this place that is inherently peaceful. It’s this mental environment that is incredibly personal, where everything is in balance, purposeful, and fluid, not forced. Living on planet Earth, to seek this peace has to be a conscious decision. And ultimately that’s what I feel my purpose here is: to create conscious and intentional spaces that connect you to this place where you’re mentally able to seek peace and find joy. It’s in this place where I feel like perfect happiness resides, and where you can be your most authentic self.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Professionally, I feel our greatest achievement as a firm was completely restructuring our business after 18 years so that we could truly pursue the level of custom design that we’re living in right now. And it was hard. It was this incredible period of change we needed to make so we could start over with a clean slate. Putting one foot in front of the other to pursue this new business plan we believed so deeply in.

Over our 20+ year tenure in the industry, we’ve woven through retail, design, and now we’ve come to a place where we focus almost exclusively on custom design. And while we have a lot of exciting projects in the works in terms of growing our company, we’re able to do so on a more intentional path, which I’m very proud of and proud of our team for charging forth, too.

What profession does your alter ego have?

My alter ego is an artist, specifically a painter. I am, to my core, a visionary and a dreamer. And because of that, I find myself drawn to fine artists and the beautiful, creative, abstract works they produce. I love this idea of being an inherent, unfiltered, true artist. As an interior designer, I am able to access this part of me in some ways. But not to the full extent that I think my alter ego does!

The project you will never forget.

Our Meadow Brook project, for a family who is dear friends and a client, is one I’ll never forget. It was one of those projects where we were truly able to create a dream home for our client. And bring to life a place that would just make them happy and bring their family peace. It was a project that was very much so based on a feeling that they wanted. And we were able to be the visionaries to bring something that was so abstract into this physical realm and reality.

This client has a ranch property in the Texas countryside, which had always been their family’s epicenter. The place where they spent the holidays, had friends over, and where they just loved to be. So, we wanted to bring a piece of their ranch into this suburban family home. We did this by framing professional photography of their horses throughout the home and incorporating rustic materials. We opened the home’s design to be influenced by this family’s love of nature and being outdoors. It was truly one of those projects driven by passion, and really, happiness, which is why I’ll never forget it.

Your design motto.

At the end of the day, I believe in our team as the visionaries to create spaces that make you a better you and open up new opportunities for your family to experience peace, joy, and maybe even a new perspective! This is why the phrase “eloquent design” truly embodies what guides me as an interior designer and what guides our design firm. It allows us to help those seeking a life that is beautiful, meaningful, and inspiring. Beyond specific styles or what’s trending in the industry.

If you were to design a room around one KOKET piece, which would it be, and why?

I chose four KOKET pieces, as I believe that all speak to being organic, timeless, statement pieces that I think tell a story as soon as you see them.

Spellbound Cabinet

I’m a sucker for romance, and I feel that this is a very romantic, graceful piece. I love to incorporate this abstract concept of grace and elegance into any aesthetic of any room. Whether it be through soft materials, textures, or artistry. The flower details are so in line with everything I love about nature and bringing it into the interiors in a way that feels organic and isn’t overly contrived.

Ribbon Console Table

I love this piece because I find it sexy. It’s organic and naturally masculine, without necessarily having to be in a masculine space. I am so drawn to the movement and the flow, and this idea of creating fluidity out of rigid materials. It’s truly a piece of art and has all of these unique, artistic characteristics. All without sacrificing the function of what a console should be.

Mademoiselle Armoire

I always draw inspiration from the art nouveau movement in design. And I feel that this piece exemplifies that era, while still being organic and having those natural characteristics I love. It’s beautiful—it’s a multi-dimensional statement piece that’s functional, while still being a piece of art that I think could definitely inspire the aesthetics of a space.

Kiki Side Table

I like this because it’s a piece of art—an unexpected, fun piece of art! There’s this inherent playful energy that I’m drawn to and could see in a variety of environments for a lot of different people. I love things that are unexpected and make you smile when you see them. I think this does just that.

We are so grateful to LoveHappens Magazine for the incredible opportunity to sit down and talk about all things love and design. The above questionnaire has been repurposed from LoveHappens Magazine's Proust-style Design Questionnaire. To read the full piece, visit here!