Meghan Yang has a bachelor's degree in interior design and has had her own interior design business since 2009. Growing up with a father who did commercial construction in the Los Angeles area, she has always been engulfed in the industry.
Meghan's work ranges from residential to small commercial work, with an emphasis on new builds and major renovation. Although her personal design aesthetic is clean contemporary, she loves layering styles and always represents the client's personal taste in their space. She finds inspiration from art, fashion, and traveling.
Over the past five years, she has designed multiple homes selling for upwards of 8 million dollars. Meghan's work on these types of projects has broadened her already vast knowledge of codes, space planning, materials, and full service design.
Meghan is excited to share her experience in design and working with contractors and architects with our students.
Growing up I loved going to visit my Dad on job sites. My first magazine subscription in middle school was to Architectural Digest. When I decided to get out of a traveling sales career I knew there was no better career worth going back to school for the one I'd always had a passion for.
Looking back I see how much of this business is hands-on experience. Being able to guide students with some of that knowledge while still in school was something that excited me. Design is always changing and this also gave me a way to continue to grow as a designer as well.
Project management and patience. You also must be organized and a good listener.
I have been so blessed to work on some amazing homes. I just finished a maximalist restaurant in Laguna Beach. It was outside my normal style and so fun to have a client that wanted to go over the top.
Above and beyond grading the assignment I want to give practical feedback for real life situations. I want to help put out into the field confident and capable designers.
Understanding color and scale. Also thinking about how you move through space, and use space to really space plan well. Most importantly the ability to soak in the information so that it can help you find your own point of view as a designer.
My work tends to be a lot of Coastal Contemporary. But my personal style is more mid-century. I can be inspired by all sorts of things. sometimes wallpaper, furniture, architecture. By fashion. But currently I have been spending a lot of time in the mountains and have been inspired by the calmness and quiet of the outdoors, as well as more Earth tone palettes.
I am more influenced by Architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies Van der Rohe than by designers, and by textiles.
But I love how bold Martyn Bullard is. I also love Jonathan Adler and Kelly Wearstler. She is always staying at the forefront of style and surrounds herself with a talented team to always creating new and standout designs.
I love seeing students grow through the course. I also love how much I am continuously learning from the students. My students are from all over the world, so their approach can be very different from mine. The color combinations, furniture choices, even home layouts. It has helped me grow in my own design capabilities.
Be patient and soak in all the information. Do not try to rush through the course. Read the Modules before the brief. Use the Facebook Page; it is a wonderful community and eager to help. Ask questions. Immerse yourself in design. Read about it, go to showrooms, go to open houses and model homes. All of this will help you grow.
Image source: Meghan Yang from @meghan.yang.interiors.