Leslie LaskinReese

Leslie LaskinReese graduated from San Jose State University with a BS in interior design. She designs space and she writes. When she isn’t working on a project, she’s creating note cards, jewelry, a better way to get through daily chores, her own stories (both true and not so much), a new garden, furniture and recipes. Leslie works at EDG Interior Architecture + Design in Northern California. She is certified by NCIDQ, CID and is LEED accredited. Read more of her writing at Parti* Notes and see her work on her website.

Articles by Leslie LaskinReese

• Don’t be a know-it-all — seek knowledge and grow

  Monday, August 07, 2017

  Know-it-alls don't know it all. They're just more uncomfortable more of the time because they want their peers to believe they do know it all. They've created a self-imposed conundrum — they can't learn new things because they already know it all. So when they don't know something they must find a way to pretend they do, then find a way to learn it without letting on that they're learning something new.

• Communication is a design skill

  Monday, July 10, 2017

  Design itself is a communication skill. We communicate our understanding of the client's needs using drawings and specifications, which contractors and fabricators then turn into the space our clients requested we design. So we're using design to communicate. These are the skills that we learn in design school.

• Designing for the deaf

  Monday, June 12, 2017

  Deaf is a culture. Deafness is not seen in the deaf community as a disability but rather as a difference. It is not necessarily something to overcome as much as it is something to become part of. Deaf culture is rich in social behavior, tradition, values and history — and just like any culture, it has its own language.

• What does good restaurant design look like?

  Monday, May 01, 2017

  People eat out for two reasons: the food and the experience. Sometimes one takes precedence over the other, but for a restaurant to truly succeed, both must be deliberately addressed. Last month, I traveled with my daughter for a couple of weeks. We ate out ... a lot. By chance, we ate in three restaurants all owned by the same restaurant group. When we sat down in the third restaurant, I told her I thought all three were owned by the same people, or at least designed by the same group.

• Who needs a mentor? You do

  Monday, March 06, 2017

  I need a mentor. So do you. You may be at the very beginning of your career or even still in school, a time when mentors are a common topic. For those of us who have been doing what we do for a while, mentoring may not seem like such an obvious need. It is. Consider these three reasons to seek out your own mentor.

• Interior design is not about flowers

  Monday, January 16, 2017

  If you could see me now, you'd see the droop in my shoulders. It wasn't the first time someone demeaned what I have been doing with my professional life for the last 25 years. She's a friend, and she really didn't mean to. We were talking about credentials and continuing education required in various professions. When I told her the amount of continuing education I must take to maintain the three credentials I've attained, she smiled and wondered aloud why I'd need continuing education to decide what color the flowers should be and where they should go.

• We are designers, not healers

  Friday, October 21, 2016

  ​My client said something remarkable to me yesterday. We were standing at the counter of her building department, waiting our turn to speak with the head of building. We needed him to grant her a retro permit. In her jurisdiction, any work done without a permit is flagged during the resale process and requires permitting.

• An open letter to future restaurant owners

  Monday, August 15, 2016

  Dear Future Restaurant Owner, Yes, you can design your own restaurant. You have a vision, and you make a mean (insert amazing recipe you got from your mother here). You've worked in several restaurants, or at least you've read articles about working in restaurants, and you know how you want the dining room to look. And you know how to make (insert that recipe) and understand what equipment is required.

• When to program it again

  Tuesday, July 19, 2016

  Your project began a while ago. Remember? You asked your client a lot of questions, probably using some version of a questionnaire that was distributed to the many stakeholders involved in your project. There were interviews and meetings. They told you how they'd be using the designed space, who would be using the space, when the space would be used and by how many, what time of day the space would be used, what they wanted the space to look, feel, sound like. And probably a whole lot more.

• Dear design school graduate ...

  Tuesday, June 14, 2016

  Congratulations! ​You designed your way out of college with all of those sleepless nights and huge pots of coffee. I bet you know every show on television after midnight. Now that you're ready to create the next greatest building interior, here are a few tips from the trenches (well at least the trench that I work from).