Baby Steps Isabel Ladd defly balances motherhood and maintaining her personal style Written by Bridget Williams Photography by Andrew Kung
Isabel Ladd in her living room. Te painting is by British artist Melissa Scott Miller.
Je ne sais quoi, that sprightly term for people who have “it,” an undeniable, enviable and often not-so-easily characterized sense of style, verve and joie de vivre that draws others to them. Isabel Camargo Ladd has “it.” A petite powerhouse with the stamina of the “Energizer Bunny,” this mother of two young boys has made it her mission to be living proof that having children and a home with high style need not be mutually exclusive. “You just have to get creative and never sacrifce style,” she says with aplomb. Having attended fashion school and spent time designing her own textiles, Isabel has long had a natural inclination and good eye for color, cut and proportion. After returning to her native Lexington and marrying husband Field, whose family operates the venerable Cross Gate Gallery, she decided to dabble in interior design, apprenticing under her mother-in-law 24 slmag.net
Laura Ladd. “I learned all of the secrets of the trade from her,” Isabel explained. She then spent some time working at Kimbrel Birkman Interiors until the birth of her frst son. Isabel explained that for the first few years of living with young children she definitely had a more traditionally childproofed home. “All of a sudden I thought, ‘This isn’t fair to me,’ and I slowly started to reintroduce pieces that had long disappeared from the cofee table,” she said. Isabel would set the pieces out and then bring the boys (now aged two and three) over one-by-one and let them see and touch each piece under her supervision to get their curiosity out of the way. Amazingly, that introduction was enough to assuage any lingering urge to disturb, and her once bare tables are now adorned with everything from an orchid in a porcelain cachepot to large format books.
