UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology_SS 2025_FOR PRINT - Flipbook - Page 44
DESIGN
A PORTAL FOR CONNECTION
with
LEANNE ForD
When entering a Leanne Ford-designed interior, what is most striking is that although she works in white and neutral tones,
there are so many textures within each space that the eye is activated, the visual experience feels tactile. And this is intentional,
is what makes her spaces recognizably hers. As is true with this issue’s feature artist, Francesco Clemente, what makes an artist
recognizable—the speci昀椀city of their work—is what makes them great; while the projects may vary greatly, the core sensibility doesn’t
alter. Think of this as akin to how no matter where you are, if a Bruce Springsteen or Taylor Swift song is playing, you recognize the
artist within a few bars. It is this level of speci昀椀city in Ford's work that has propelled her into television projects (with her brother,
Steve Ford) and her furniture and décor collection available through Crate & Barrel.
Ford was still fully immersed in her 15-year fashion design career when she returned to her native Pittsburgh and undertook the
Schoolhouse Project just outside the city, a complete renovation of an old school into her home about a decade ago. For the 昀椀rst time,
she tells me, “I was able to rip out walls and change things the way I’d always wanted to in my rentals.” This project was the catalyst for
her launching into interior design, because after Country Living Magazine featured the renovation, “People started calling asking for
help with their spaces.” She was intrigued. She phoned New York designer Danny Mazzarini, a friend, and asked, “How do I become
an interior designer?” Recognizing it as freelance work, she took everything o昀昀ered, and she shares, “The funny thing is, being a fashion
stylist and being an interior designer use the same part of the brain. Making a T-shirt look cool and making a living room look cool
follow the same concepts.”
While Ford continued to do both fashion and design simultaneously for about 昀椀ve years, she ultimately realized she needed to pick
one. She recognized that “in both, it’s all about context—how you mix high and low budget items, and how texture and dimension
can really bring something to life.” And this core is what she has built her name upon, what has propelled her into a design industry
household name.
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