How Elaine Hollerhead combines occupational therapy and interior design in her business

On this episode of You Care, I Care with Janet Shreeve, I sit down with Elaine Hollerhead, owner of DESIGNATE – an inclusive interior design consultancy. Elaine is also an occupational therapist so has seen behind the scenes of the care industry through different roles.

Elaine set up DESIGNATE to combine both her love of interior design and her knowledge as an occupational therapy so that people can have fabulous, functional rooms as opposed to boring, functional rooms.

We discuss some of her many wonderful plans including the study bed – a bed that looked as though it was a desk. The first question Elaine asks her clients is “what are you hoping that I can do for you?” and most of the time their response will be “I don’t want my home to look like a clinic.”

Elaine has worked with a whole host of people including children as young as five, people who are neurologically impaired as well as those with dementia. She works closely with her client, using a programme on her computer, to make sure that the room is designed exactly how they want it to look.

Another factor that Elaine finds important is colour. Not everyone wants a magnolia home so she helps them to pick colours for their rooms that make them happy and turns their room into something that they’re going to love.

Elaine sources all of the furniture for the room herself, showing clients pictures as she finds it, and keeps going until it’s exactly what her client is picturing. She also works on finding the pictures and accessories. 

More often than not, Elaine will go into a beautiful home and then find her clients bedroom to be plain and boring because they haven’t been given a choice, have low self esteem and there is a huge transformation within them, the moment the finishing touches are completed.

Listen now to find out more about Elaine and the work that she does!