Starting From the Ground Up: A Conversation with Interior Designer, Leaf Ives  

When interior designer Leaf Ives enters a space, she doesn’t begin with paint colors, fabrics, or architectural details. She goes straight to the floor. For Leaf, every room starts with the rug. 

This philosophy is more than a design quirk—it’s the backbone of her creative process. And in her recent New Hampshire project, completed with a wide assortment of Landry & Arcari rugs, it became the guiding force behind a home that feels layered, collected, personal, and in harmony with its landscape. 

A Creative Beginning Rooted in Nature, Art, and Craft 

Leaf’s instinctive way of seeing color and texture comes inherently from a long line of family artists, gardeners, and makers. She describes growing up surrounded by women who created beauty with their hands—her grandmother, an international flower show judge and watercolorist; her mother, a devoted gardener with an extraordinary eye for color. Leaf learned early to observe the world closely: the shape of leaves, the quiet tone shifts in a flower petal, the way landscape light changes from morning to dusk. 

That appreciation led her to study art history, with hands-on training in charcoal drawing and conservation framing. Those years taught her something that would become central to her design philosophy: “Start with the whole composition—not one corner.” 

Her drawing instructor drilled the practice of quick gesture drawings, requiring Leaf to capture an entire composition in seconds. “You have to work the entire page,” she remembers. “Up, down, across, diagonally—you can’t fixate on one area and expect the drawing to work.” That early lesson is exactly how she approaches interiors today. 

From Art to Interiors: An Organic Evolution 

Leaf’s shift into interior design evolved from her natural eye, opportunity, and a bit of necessity. After college, she lived in Jackson Hole and Bermuda, two places with dramatically different climates, cultures, and colors. The exposure to Western art, island palettes, and varied landscapes broadened her visual vocabulary. 

As a young mother, she took on creative projects she could do while caring for her children. A friend admired her home and asked Leaf to help with a design project. One client turned into another. Her “design school” became real homes, real clients, hands-on problem solving, and the guidance of trusted vendors. 

The Start of Every Project: The Rug 

Designing a room for Leaf always begins the same way: “I start with the rug. Every time.” Once she selects the right carpet, the rest unfolds: color palette, textures, upholstery, scale, flow, and emotional tone. She describes each rug as having its own vibe—tribal, formal, bold, serene—and once she senses that character, the room direction becomes clear. Whether it’s the scale of a pattern, the mix of colors, or even the mood the rug evokes, this piece becomes the anchor for her design choices. 

And her clients trust that instinct. For the New Hampshire home, Leaf chose every rug first—before a single piece of furniture was ordered. 

Designing the New Hampshire Home: A Blank Slate with Big Views 

The New Hampshire project began with nothing but a poured foundation and framed walls. Leaf met the homeowners first in their previous home, learning about their habits, lifestyle, and goals for the new space. Then she toured the unfinished site, taking in the stunning mountain views. 

Her mission: Create a home that feels warm, personal, and functional year-round. With the landscape as her inspiration and the rugs as her starting point, she headed to Landry & Arcari and began pulling options. 

Rug Shopping: Where It All Begins 

Leaf dove into the piles, pulling pieces that captured the emotional tone she envisioned for each room. One of the first rugs she selected was a striking Mamluk design for the basement—beautiful, specific, and bold. Though she offered her clients a backup option, she secretly hoped they’d choose the original. They did. In fact, they chose every rug she had hoped for. Those choices became the foundation for the entire house. 

Creating Cohesion Through Scale, Not Matchiness 

Because the project included everything from arabesque patterns to tribal motifs to contemporary rugs, we asked Leaf how she ensures harmony across styles. Her answer: “Scale is everything.” 

“A bold, large-scale arabesque in the living room works because the dining room rug beside it—though modern—has an open, quieter pattern. The tight geometric-patterned tribal rug in the sunroom works because the surrounding spaces are airier.” 

For Leaf, rugs don’t need to match—they need to “be happy together.” 

Color, Texture, and the Influence of Nature 

Leaf is known for embracing color and texture—never shy, never flat, always layered. In the New Hampshire home, even though the main living spaces read as mostly neutral, the richness came from texture: hide, leather, plush hand-knotted wool, stone, warm metals, natural wood, and art that brought the outdoors in. 

Her design avoids trends and instead prioritizes what she calls “collected living”—spaces that feel curated over time, not assembled in a day. 

A Successful Project Anchored in Collaboration 

When asked what the true success of the New Hampshire project was, Leaf explained the collaborative process between her and her client. Their trust, openness, and enthusiasm allowed her to push creative boundaries, mix unexpected materials, and introduce pieces—like mixed-metal cabinetry hardware or sculptural ceramics—that truly enhanced the character of the home. 

“I can design anything,” she says, “but when clients truly trust the process, that’s when magic happens.” 

A Final Word: Start With What You Love 

Leaf’s advice—for clients, young designers, or anyone building a home—is simple and refreshing... 

Don’t chase trends, buy what you truly love! Start with something that moves you—like a piece of art or a rug - because when the foundation of a room is art underfoot, everything else flows naturally. '

Leaf Ives lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts on the North Shore of Boston, and has been creating beautiful interiors across the country for more than 15 years. She approaches each space with an artist’s eye and a sensitivity to beauty, proportion and comfort. Her style balances contemporary aesthetics with enduring elegance — but above all, she designs interiors that are deeply personal and livable for her clients.