My friend Debbie Schrodt, owner of the Pink Pig, recently ran a contest on her blog for inspirational Christmas tree photos.  One of the winners was Artie Vanderpool.  I contacted Artie after visiting his wonderful blog, Color Outside the Lines and was amazed at his beautiful photographs and sound decorating advice.  I asked Artie to brag on himself a bit and fill us all in on his career.

“I’m 26 years old, originally from West Texas, now living in Western New York. I grew up in a family that encouraged me to “be myself” and I think that is what has propelled my creativity and artistic drive at a very young age. Interior Design has been my passion for more than 14 years, my part-time career for 5, and my blog Color Outside the Lines has been working as an interior design blog filled with inspiration and advice since June of 2008.”

“With a collegiate foundation in English and Communications, I spent a lot of time running away from a career in design, thinking that there was no way I’d be happy being paid for what I love to do. Art (interior design) is very subjective, and I thought my skin was a little too thin for a career of being judged on what I thought was great work.”

“At 21, I dipped lightly into the pool of interior design, working exclusively as a space plan designer and rendering artist for an interior designer in Texas. That propelled my interest in working in the field, and I started to take on design clients of my own, eventually building a wealth of clients interested in special events and Christmas decor/design, as well as design of their interiors. After 4 years of working almost exclusively as an interior designer and event planner, I moved to NY to follow my heart (which was linked to a metaphorical ball and chain) and now have a career in Real Estate and a part-time design and event planning business which I am sure will move into a full time venture soon.”

“i’m a sucker for all things eclectic, and enjoy having interesting one of a kind objects spread throughout my personal interiors, and those of my clients. I thrive on spacial, and budget challenges, and prefer to work with clients who have an open mind, and an interest in living in their rooms. (Read: I’m not a stager.)”

The inspiration for Artie’s products and service…”LIVING!  I believe that every person should have a beautiful home they love to live in, and that represents them, their family, their values, and their collections. If you love it, you should have it – and you can have it all! Good design has very few boundaries, if any at all – so I provide interior design advice, consultation, and service to a wide variety of clients, with a wide variety of budgets. I also provide free advice and inspiration via my blog: http://niagaranovice.blogspot.com, and will have a fully functioning blog bazaar with custom and interesting home decor items by March.”

“An interesting tid-bit about the name of the blog: I actually started the blog as a gardening blog, in an attempt to gain knowledge from savvy internet gardeners. I was a complete novice in the garden department, as the blog name proclaims.”

“As a young interior designer, many of my experiences in the field have been learning experiences that are not always kind or comment worthy. But I do have to say that the favorite experience I’ve had with my time as a interior designer was a Christmas design in a very reputable and wealthy family home in Texas. It encompassed 7 rooms, and included more than 6400 ornaments on 13 trees. It was certainly the largest project of my career, and perhaps the most challenging. It also is what lead to 29 more clients to my services for special event decor and really gave my career the boost it needed to be lucrative, fun, and stand-alone.”

“Of course, I will continue to blog in the future, as it has become a wonderful outlet for my overflowing design mind. The blog has recently added a shopping Bazaar that will be fully functioning in March, and will include specialty interior design items – those one of kind things all of your friends will be envious of, and my own handmade accessories and design items that can be customized or commissioned directly through the site.”

“My design business is really starting to grow, and of course that will be a primary focus this year, as well as the continued efforts of transforming my 1924 bungalow into a beautiful home.”

Tags: decor, designer, interior, real estate