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"The Malibu, California-based designer is a true believer in Mies van der Rohe\u2019s philosophy that less is more. \u201CI value negative space,\u201D says Karin Blake, whose concise, highly edited interiors combine the whimsy of folk art with the precision of Modernism. The designer, who has many art collectors among her clientele, notes that there is a \u201Cgallery\u201D feel to her interiors. \u201CThere\u2019s not a lot of clutter,\u201D she says. \u201CEach piece stands out, even if it\u2019s a table. You don\u2019t see me with drapes. I even avoid lamps whenever possible.\u201D\n\nBlake was brought up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and exposed to folk art at an early age. \u201CI couldn\u2019t get away from it,\u201D she recalls. \u201CI went to a Quaker school, and our classroom trips were to the Amish country. Quilts were hanging at church socials for five dollars. I love the naivet\u00E9 and rawness of folk art. Many pieces have an architectural feel.\u201D Blake, whose clients include actors (Candice Bergen, Teri Garr and Jaclyn Smith among them), observes that design over the last decade has become more informal. \u201CClients now prefer larger, multiple-use spaces and not smaller, infrequently used rooms. The lifestyle is more casual.\u201D Currently at work on houses in Broadbeach, Australia, and Santa Monica, California, Blake finds that the best interiors emerge from an unhurried pace. \u201CPeople who want everything done overnight would be better served by living with the essentials and letting the space evolve.\u201D\n\nKarin Blake\n\n 310-456-8010"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/karin-blake-profile>