Designer Friday: An ASPIRE Exclusive Interview With Colleen Waguespack

With over 20 years of interior design experience, Colleen Waguespack knows how to create a home that reflects each of her client’s styles, tastes, and lifestyles. With her self-ascribed aesthetic she calls “a well-edited home,” she is able to make any space feel as original and unique as each of her clients. Her passion for interiors took a natural step when she launched Fig and Dove in 2015. After three years of researching and experimenting with fashionable Christmas decor, she was able to join forces with artisans to collaborate on timeless holiday pieces to be generationally passed down. Introducing this week’s Designer Friday, Colleen Waguespack.


The client’s desire for their new home was to have a space that was soft and modern, which is exactly what Colleen transformed this Texas estate into.

Andrew Joseph: What modern design trend makes you cringe?
Colleen Waguespack: A look I call “the upscale garage sale.” I am all for a collected home, but one element of every genre thrown together is just not inspiring. The design principles of proportion and balance still prevail and our job as designers is to weave together the old with the new in a way that lets a collected home live in harmony.


The living area of this 1868 house designed by Colleen provides electric pops of color that bounce off the contrasting traditional furniture to create a playful environment within this home.

Andrew: Vintage or new?
Colleen: Vintage always – I love to repurpose. ‘All new’ could be anyone’s house and a piece with history adds soul to a home. At the same time, you don’t need to live like you’re in your parents’ home or a museum – a clever upholstery job is the best way to show the next generation of an historical piece of furniture.

Andrew: Style (or design) icon?
Colleen: Tory Burch…. she has been able to create an iconic brand with such design consistency that every time she moves into a new category, it still looks fresh and new, yet on brand.


Colleen made sure to keep honor the history of this 19th-century home while incorporating vibrant colors that matched her client’s personalities.

Andrew: How would you define your work in three words?
Colleen: I only need one: well-edited.

Andrew: Favorite piece of clothing you own?
Colleen: My mother’s black velvet blazer from college – it’s a classic. It fits me perfectly and makes it feel like I’m getting dressed for a special occasion even if I’m just throwing it on with a white t-shirt and jeans.


Located in Baton Rouge, LA, this modern home has captured each family member’s personality. From the bohemian-style master bedroom all the way to this comfortable living area, every room speaks volumes.

Andrew: Song you can listen to on repeat?
Colleen: Here comes the Sun by the Beatles – it’s been my theme song as long as I can remember. There is value in being at a stage in your life and career where you can look back on bumps in the road and realize it all had a purpose and you’re still on your feet and happy.


About The Designer | Interior designer Colleen Waguespack is as comfortable implementing contemporary interior elements as she is blending antiques with modern upholstery and an eclectic collection of art. Her signature style is a well-edited home that reflects each client’s personal taste, lifestyle and background. She takes her clients ideas and guides them toward a more modern aesthetic, inspiring them to refine and expand their sense of style. Each project is a true collaboration that delivers a sophisticated and livable environment.

After graduating in 1997 from the LSU School of Interior Design, Colleen started her career in Washington, DC where she worked for commercial architecture firms designing corporate interiors for ten years. There she was a project designer on numerous published projects, including elaborate headquarters for global companies, national non-profits and various other businesses. In addition, she collaborated with Lees Carpet Company to design one of the earliest commercially produced lines of sustainable carpets.

In 2007, she and her husband, Stephen Waguespack, moved with their three sons to Baton Rouge, LA. Shortly after that she joined Holden & Dupuy Interiors, a nationally renowned residential Interior Design firm based out of New Orleans, LA. In 2015 she founded Fig & Dove, a couture line of holiday décor designed to complement the interiors she was working on. With over twenty years of professional experience in Interior Design and clients all over the United States, Colleen launched her eponymous firm Colleen Waguespack Interiors in 2016.


Andrew Joseph is a regular contributing editor for ASPIRE DESIGN AND HOME magazine. See more of his work here.

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