I’m Paige Wassel. WAS the Newsletter is your weekly dose of design inspiration, where sometimes we like to showoff whats going on over at WAS Studios.

Meet ISABELLA PREISZ (or as we refer to her, Bella): our newest WAS team member! Bella and I actually have been friends for quite some time. When she moved outside of LA (literally 30 mins away lol), we didn’t see each other as much. Life is BUSY. However, when I was moving out of my Silverlake bungalow, I posted an IG story giving away my outdoor table. Bella decided she wanted it and when she came to pick it up we, of course, had to catch up. Turns out, Bella had been working in construction for the past 3 years but was eager to get into more of the design side of things. Coincidentally, I was looking to hire a project manager/junior designer. And here we are.

What are you most excited about in your new role?

There is nothing that excites me more than seeing a space transform. 

My mom is an interior designer & my dad grew up on a farm outside of Copenhagen — so he has a natural do-it-yourself / hand’s-on attitude. Naturally, my mom & dad would find projects around the house each weekend to fix. My parents always taught me to walk into a space and leave it better than you found it. 

This role with this team feels like coming home to myself in a way. I have the opportunity to work with some of the most talented and bad-ass women who all want to make the space around them better. I feel like I am able to utilize my natural organization, logistical, & project management skills — while also honing on my design expertise as I learn from the team around me. It’s a dream to be here & I wake up every day feeling extremely grateful to have landed here.

What are you hoping to learn or accomplish in your first year here?

I’m really looking forward to honing my design skills more. I feel like the project management & logistical side of interior design comes a bit more naturally to me, but having the time & space to intentionally think about the spaces that we are creating is really what excites me the most. 

Accomplish-wise — I’m excited to see a project from the beginning to completion. Right now, a lot of the projects I am working on with WAS are in the developmental/rough construction side of things: i.e. permits, bid coordination, contractor management, rough-construction, etc. There’s something really special being there for the full arc of a project: going from sourcing to walking a finished space with a client and seeing the after photos. That’s the moment where all of the work feels well worth it.

How would you describe your design style in 3 words?

Weathered, Warm, & Inherited 

My style is most influenced by my Italian & Danish grandmothers. I love when a home feels like a curated museum (where if all of the objects could speak — they would tell you a story), but still has that scandinavian, intentionally-selected feeling.

Do you have a favorite designer, architect, or design trend?

Design trends are tough because when it comes to building/re-modeling a home or re-decorating, I am inclined to urge clients to choose objects/materials that will not only look good in 1 or 5 years from now, but also, 50+ years from now. Not necessarily items that are cool just because Zara Home or Restoration Hardware is featuring them, but materials, shapes, colors, etc. that transcend beyond what the TikTok /Instagram algorithms are favoring that season. I am drawn to objects, materials, and design concepts that can be passed down to grandchildren or be adored by generations to come. 

As far as designers — Axel Vervoord is pretty cool. I like his philosophy which is built around patina and imperfection — letting objects carry their history instead of erasing it. He mixes that worn, storied quality with a Scandinavian sense of editing, so nothing feels cluttered even when every piece has a past.

What’s one design rule you love – and one you enjoy breaking?

The one design rule that I try to urge clients to avoid the most often & most passionately is: “Everything Has To Match.” For example: Buying a bed frame, nightstands, and a dresser straight from the catalog — all in the same design / color. Or if a client is re-doing their house & has to match all of their bathroom vanities, tile/slab, faucets, paint colors, etc. in each room. There are definitely ways to make your space feel cohesive, without sticking to the same 4 elements over and over and over again. Also, all white kitchens & beige, beige, beige – boring, boring, boring. Color is interesting & creates depth, warmth, and life! Mixing patterns, textures, and layering in some odd shapes here & there. 

I love pairing the seemingly-unpairable. To me, there’s nothing better than contrast: Orange and blue. Sweet and savory. Linen and leather. It’s the tensions between seemingly un-compatible elements that makes a space all the more interesting.

We hear you’re a horse lover! How did that passion begin?

My mom is actually a die-hard equestrian. The first time my dad ever saw my mom, she was riding on the back of a horse in a horse-show. And after we were all born, my mother’s love for horses became something that my two sisters and I share with her. It’s a passion we all share & a thread that knits us all together. If you walk into my parent’s house — through the front door you’ll see 3 horses in the barn built by my dad as well as my mom’s wide array of horse paintings & figurines )which is quite large & ever-growing). She is always finding a way to sneak a little horse into her own interior design projects.

If you could design the perfect dream barn or equestrian treat, what would it include?

This is my actual dream scenario… one I think about quite often and hope to one day share with my own children. If I could design the perfect dream barn or equestrian retreat, it would honestly be less “barn” and more of a whole ecosystem, with horses as a main element. 

I imagine a productive garden wrapping the property — citrus trees, herbs, a proper vegetable patch — food you can pick and eat while you’re out there. Not manicured and precious, just abundant. A couple of horses grazing with stalls nearby. There’s something about their presence that slows everything down. I’d love to build a flowing water feature — a small pond or a stream that actually feeds the plants / creatures around it, not just something decorative. This would create the sound of moving water and it would draw in birds and butterflies. The whole landscape would feel like a living system where all of the elements are connected to each other. Right in the center, I’d carve out a retreat space — somewhere between the garden and the stalls, so you’re surrounded by the greenery and animals at the same time. Lush plants, good shade, a comfortable spot to read or just sit and watch the horses move around, with the water nearby as part of the backdrop. This retreat is somewhere you go to actually be still, with life happening all around you — feeding all of your senses.

What’s something coworkers might be surprised to learn about you?

Before I started my career in design & construction, I received my BA in English with an emphasis in Poetry / Creative Writing at USC. I self-published a collection of poetry on my 20th birthday (before USC) and published a second book of poetry after graduating.  I was on a pretty well-defined path towards working in Literature and writing books until COVID hit. During that time, I found myself gravitating towards a path that was more tactile — that’s when I started prop styling as Kate Leonard’s assistant and she who taught me the ropes!

 I truly love working in design & don’t see my life without some aspect of cultivating spaces, but I do see myself finding a way to incorporate poetry into my life more actively in the future.

What’s your go-to way to spend a weekend?

SATURDAY: Wake up, make a matcha, journal or spend time in my garden, hit pilates or yoga, head to the beach, eat copious amount of mangoes & sandwiches & swim in the ocean, head back home, say hi to the horses for a bit, throw some food on the BBQ, & chill!

SUNDAY: Wake up & head to the farmer’s market for lots of fresh veggies, try a new recipe, meal prep, spend time outside: walking, sitting in the sun, or reading, and end the day with a home-cooked meal.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

I recently went on a trip with my little sister and Farrmor to Norway (where she was born). We spent a week and a half road-tripping — visiting all of the places she grew up going to as well as the church where she was married. We traveled to the tallest point of Norway, all the way down to the longest Fjord and to my great aunt & uncle’s secluded cabin in the woods that they essentially built themselves…. 

As this trip progressed, I realized two things about myself: 

1. Traveling is the fertilizer that feeds my soil. 

2. Whenever I’m stuck, confused, or just feeling stale… Nature is the answer. The ocean, the sunrise on the mountains, the feeling of grass in between my toes. That is what inspires me to create. I love finding new tones in the sky or patterns of moss on a piece of wood. Finding little pieces of ecosystems and color everywhere they exist.

A LIL RAPID FIRE PORTION…..

Beach or Moutains?

A high-altitude lake (so the mountains!)

Early Bird or Night Owl?

Early bird

Favorite Color?

Red (but this changes quite often)

Coffee or Tea?

Matcha

One word your friends would use to describe you?

Intentional

WE HEART BELLA AND LOVE HAVING HER ON THE TEAM!

xx,
P