Welcome to Design for Change. I’m Kathleen Soloway, owner and designer. I bring a set of skills to this work that is rather unusual. My background in Social Work has given me the unique opportunity to see how many people live in many different kinds of environments. What I have come to believe is that people’s homes can either support them or they can hold them back from leading the lives they wish to live. My work in the field of psychotherapy was always focused upon helping people discover their strengths and put them to use in creating more fulfilling lives. As I became deeply interested in the connection between people’s living environments and their ability to move forward in life, I realized that there would be a way to bring this philosophy together with my passion for interior design.
After a 30 year career in the field of Social Work I decided to pursue a formal study of Interior Design at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, DC. My specific focus concerned the interface between good design and how it affects individuals and families. My creative visual eye and ability to create lovely personal spaces meshes well with my strength-based therapeutic approach to life. My ability to listen well and to help folks articulate the lives they wish for helps us to create interior designs for their homes that support them in their life goals.
When compatible with client goals, the special expertise and sensibilities I bring to my work include:
- Personalized Goal Setting: Harnessing the power of change to propel oneself forward into an intentional future.
- Color Theory: Using different colors to affect individuals’ mood and energy levels.
- Feng Shui: This ancient Eastern tradition focuses on the flow of space and the use of natural ‘elements’–water, earth, air, fire–to create and invite good “chi” or energy.
- Environmentally-friendly Design: Emphasis on conscious and responsible use of resources–natural and man-made.
This website tells stories about simple and inspiring solutions that make home and other personal spaces the way their owners most want them to be; spaces that help them feel good again; help them express who they are, challenge them to grow in exciting new ways; or remind them–in a good way–of memories collected over a lifetime.
“Kathleen was definitely part social worker and part design consultant for us, and we needed exactly that. She listened, organized, created schedules, kept us on task, managed third-party vendors, helped with design decisions, measured new spaces, created a beautiful floor plan, came over with garbage bags, helped pack — well, it’s impossible to list all that she did.”