Baby Steps

Isabel Ladd deftly balances motherhood and maintaining her personal style

Written by Bridget Williams / Photography by Andrew Kung

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 sacrifice style,” she says with aplomb.

Isabel Ladd in her living room. The painting is by British artist Melissa Scott Miller.

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 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 first 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 coffee 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.

The painting to the left of the window in the dining room is by Kentucky artist George Claxton. The piece on the adjacent wall is by British artist Tomas Coates.

Identifying her current interior design niche as “stylish living with children,” Isabel’s center hall colonial home is a playful mix of high-low that has been de rigueur in the fashion world for quite some time. “At this point, my focus is on faking it, which I do by mixing in pieces from Ikea and Target alongside finer furnishings and a few key pieces,” she said, singling out drapery in the living and dining rooms, which she purchased at Target and altered by having them lined and pleated to create something that looks completely custom without the associated expense.

As one would expect, art is abundant throughout each of the rooms. The one downside is, with the exception of a few works that were either gifts or investment pieces, everything is for sale. "I can never get too attached to something," Isabel said, citing a work by Henry Faulkner she had become partial to and was somewhat sad to relinquish when it sold. "The upside is that I love a project, and the changes keep things fresh," she added.

As a gallerist's wife, she lauded the benefits of art as an investment. “The longer it’s on the wall the more it increases in value. Staring at a computer screen of stocks isn’t nearly as pretty as looking at art on the wall.”

A good designer is adept at always identifying potential, such as the sideboard Isabel spied at Goodwill and refinished for use in her own dining room. The dining chairs belonged to Field's grandmother. In the living room, the sofa gets a seasonal facelift by changing out the pillows, gradually adding to her design repertoire.

In the newly added galley-style kitchen with central island, Isabel opens a low cabinet where toys, some of which are simple wooden spoons, are neatly stored. "I like to think creatively about toys," she remarked. The butcher block countertops are from Ikea. Spanning the width of the door from the kitchen to the freshly landscaped backyard—which she designed herself after spending time learning about various plant species—is a long black-and-white photograph of Secretariat winning the Belmont Stakes.

Spanning the width of the door from the kitchen to the freshly landscaped backyard is one of Cross Gate Gallery’s bestselling pieces – a black-and-white photograph of Secretariat winning the Belmont Stakes.

A small half-bath near the kitchen boasts a small extravagance – playful “Crescent” wallpaper from Kelly Wearstler. Bullfighters and Native Americans are two of Isabel’s current interests as it relates to art, and vintage photographs of the latter in cork frames are found on the wall near the sink. The home’s original kitchen has been converted to a laundry and mudroom. Tibault wallpaper graces the walls of a sitting room between the kitchen and laundry room.

A painting by French artist Max Parpart hangs above the freplace in the living room.A pair of pencil sketches by Andre Pater are found on either side.

At the top of the stairs, a unique wire pendant lamp is actually an end table Isabel spied at Home Goods and had wired as a light fixture. A bedroom shared by her sons is outfitted in a vintage "Wild West" theme. The full bath retains its original tile. Closets and carefully placed storage furniture allow the self-professed “organized hoarder” to keep everything within easy reach, yet out of sight.

Wallpaper from Tibaut enlivens a sitting area between the kitchen and laundry room.

The restful master suite includes his and her closets and a newly added bathroom. Refective of her vibrant personality, there’s not a stitch of black to be found in Isabel’s immaculately organized closet.

A large painting by Russian artist Valeri Gridnev helps establish a feeling of serenity in the master bedroom.

For Isabel, who relishes in her role as a mother and professes that vacuuming is her stress reliever, maintaining style and sanity while raising young children is often the accumulation of baby steps. “Everything is a process and will continue to evolve as the boys grow up,” she said.