Barbara Van Voast of Fort Lauderdale is an interior designer and a pet owner. Until last year, those two passions didn't coincide.

That was until a lot of her clients began asking her questions about how to keep their four-legged friends from ruining their expensive dcor. Their queries prompted Van Voast to start researching the topic, finding out about stain- and odor-resistant fabrics and furnishings.

""They don't teach you these things when you go to design school," she said.

Given the high demand from her customers, Van Voast decided to devote a division of her business to making homes pet friendly. This area now makes up about 90 percent of her business, she said.

"This was something a lot of my clients were really concerned about, so I decided to address it," she said.

One client asked Van Voast to redesign her living room with her pet Beagle in mind. She chose a number of pet-friendly features, such as a high-tech sofa with fabric made to resist stains, moisture and odor.

But dogs and cats aren't her only clientele. Van Voast has designed homes for clients with pets ranging from llamas to goats to chinchillas.

"A lot of what I do is preventing and covering up stain and odor," Van Voast said. "A lot of things don't change that much from dog to cat to any pet that has fur."

Van Voast also tries to be cognizant of household items that could prove dangerous to pets, such as electrical cords, cords of blinds and pullout sofas.

"There's a lot of things people hadn't considered that could really hurt their pets," she said.

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Interior designer creates decor that's safe from pets

Interior Designer (Fox Studios)
WHAT YOU DO: Talk with clients to get a sense of their needs and preferences for a particular space. Then, work with this information to design and pull all ...

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Interior Designer (Fox Studios) - Video

3 home renovation tips from Baltimore interior designer
Three from me - the first three things you should do prior to beginning a renovation project.

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3 home renovation tips from Baltimore interior designer - Video

Atlantas David DAmbrosio wears two design hats. He is an interior designer, known for his classic, livable spaces. The 31-year-old is also the owner of Redefined Home Boutique in the trendy West Midtown Design District.

Background: Growing up, I split the year between South Florida and upstate New York. In college, I studied interior design and interior architecture. When I returned to Miami after studying abroad, I worked for a commercial design firm for three years. To take my career as a designer to the next level, I realized I had to do something big. In 2010, I moved to Atlanta and opened the store.

Store owner vs. designer: In the beginning, it was hard to juggle a store and an emerging design career. Now, it is second nature. I love working with clients. But having a store that I can constantly change as new products come in sparks my creativity.

The store offers: Bella Notte Linens, Lillian August & Hickory White casegoods and upholstery, Noir, plus objects found on my travels. Atlanta companies include: Phillips Scott furniture, Avindy Jewelry, Currey and Company lighting and Kevin Peskin Art.

My design style: Transitional with a mix of classic and modern. I like light neutral linens, clean-lined furniture, found objects, dramatic lighting and hits of color and geometric pattern.

Where youve seen my work: Elle Dcor, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, Southern Living, Traditional Home and House Beautiful

Favorite accessories: Utilizing objects that were created for one purpose and using them for another. For example, refinishing iron bowls, used by industrial and construction workers in India, to hang on the wall. Or using old olive and potato bins as pendants in laundry rooms. Other favorites: books with beautiful bindings and organic forms, such as natural driftwood.

Favorite design trick: Layering new objects with old objects and family heirlooms.

Design pet peeve: Misuse of scale and proportion. An undersized chandelier or oversized area rug can make the overall aesthetic of a room feel off.

Biggest design mistake Ive made: Sealing the slate floors in my condo in Miami. They turned charcoal-black and were impossible to keep clean.

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Interior designers store sparks his creativity

Mineflap SMP Season 6 : Episode 11 : Interior Designer Extraordinaire!
Please click the like button if you enjoyed this video! First (test) Vlog: (Will be here when uploaded/when I have internet) My Other Thingys -Follow m...

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Mineflap SMP Season 6 : Episode 11 : Interior Designer Extraordinaire! - Video

Interior Design and Decor - Day 4 Desert Rose Inn
http://www.youtube.com/user/robesondesign Interior Design and Decor, Interior Decorating, Interior Design ideas. Interior Designer Rebecca Robeson and her team get half way through day 4 of...

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Amko Leenarts is the Director of Interior Design for Ford Motor Company, creating the interior look for Ford's products worldwide. He spoke with Gizmodo about the design influences, technology, and safety considerations that go into future designs, and later today he'll be in Gizmodo's comments section answering your questions.

Amko has been with Ford since 2012, after a 12 years tour of duty with France's Peugeot-Citroen motor company. The Netherlands-born designer oversees the interior design teams working on Ford and Lincoln vehicles that will be coming out in the next several years.

Check out our interview below, and come back to Gizmodo at 1PM EST today, when we'll be hosting a commenter Q&A session with Amko.

Gizmodo: When you're doing interior styling, how closely are you following trends? Are you trying to make something that looks new right now or are you trying to predict what will look good down the line?

Amko Leenarts: The length of development that we do in cars is one of the longest in the world of industrial design. It varies from three to five years. So we are obliged to watch the meta-trends, but we don't necessarily have to be hyper-fashionable with the latest trends, because usually they go quickly back out of fashion as well. And remember, our cars keep being on the road for quite awhile, so we don't want them to be completely out of fashion within a year's time. However, there are some of what we call meta-trends that happen in terms of cultural environment, certain traditions in the world, obviously that leads us to certain material trends. So the materials that we add to the design have to have some sort of relevance in where the car is sold.

Gizmodo: How do you differentiate a car for the U.S. market versus one that's built for Europe or China?

Amko: That is definitely one of the challenges that I would say in my experience is a little bit unique to Ford Motor Company, since we do make models that are sold all over the world with the same structure and a similar appearance. The challenge that we have as a design organization is to make sure that the design is as flexible as possible so it can handle different material executions. That could mean that we have a variability in the size of the cupholdersthey need to be bigger in the U.S. than they need to be in Europe, while the cupholder in China needs to be more deep but slightly smaller diameter. So apart from materials we also have functional differentiation between the different regions that is definitely a big challenge. And the designs that can handle that variability the best are the ones that we choose for further development.

You can see it very clearly, there are large differences between Europe, America and China, they ask for different materials because their tastes, the cultural references that people have with materials, are different. So to give you an example, in America we have more difficulties to have the American customer accept wood without any lacquer, they want the wood trim really shiny. While in Europe [dull wood without lacquer] is considered as a more high-end solution. So it's that kind of flexibility that we talk about.

Gizmodo: What do you do differently when you're designing the interior for a $15,000 economy car versus, say, a $70,000 luxury SUV?

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How Ford's Top Interior Designer Puts the Future in the Front Seat

Naples, FL (PRWEB) July 30, 2014

Beasley & Henley Interior Design kicks of the 2014 awards season with 5 wins at the 35th annual Aurora Awards. The Aurora Awards are an event held every year, in association with the SouthEast Building Conference, to recognize excellence in design for south east region designers, architects, builders, and others in the design and building industries.

Led by Principal Designer Troy Beasley, Beasley & Henleys innovative design team won Best Interior Design for:

The Palmhurst - Beasley & Henley won Best Interior Design for their high-end finishes and transitional furnishings, with extensive indoor-outdoor spaces, in this luxury single-family home, marketed to empty nesters and vacation buyers. The team kept the design vibrant and youthful by adding touches of energetic burnt orange and deep blue, infusing the home with life, and providing a much needed contrast to the often muted color palette of this market. This 2900 sq ft model home is located in Naples, Fl and built by Stock Development.

The Napoli Beasley & Henley designed this small single family home for empty nesters and vacation buyers. It won the Aurora Award for Best Interior Design for the teams creation of comfortable finishes and expert use of coastal casual furnishings with many sophisticated touches. The casual atmosphere is complimented by classical furniture, adding a casual sophistication these home buyers seek. The palette is light with touches of blue, grey and yellow, bringing a relaxed coastal feel. Located in the Lely Resort of Naples, Fl it was built by Stock Development.

The Normandy Beasley & Henley won Best Interior Design of this 4,940sqft home for the homes atmosphere of relaxed sophistication. Incorporating light colors and high styled furnishings, the design team created sumptuous details such as attractive ceiling designs, inviting flooring and luxurious countertops. The furnishings feature a comfortable transitional flair with a color palette of tan, grey, and camel tones along with touches of green and gold. The judges were impressed with Beasley & Henleys lighting that is notable for its transitional, light style. This chic home, by Stock Development, is located in Quail West, Naples, FL.

The Whitaker- This 2288 sqft town home was designed to appeal to young professional couples and empty nesters. Beasley & Henley won for their use of chic, modern design with classical touches that attract this buyer. The color palette the design team chose is fresh and vibrant with tan and creams as staples, complimented with pops of the popular colors, hemlock green and dazzling blue. Located in Winter Springs, Fl it was built by Mattamy Homes.

@1377 Small Model - The 750 sq ft 1-bedroom space appeals to the young renter in the busy Brookhaven area of Atlanta Georgia. Beasley & Henley captured this market, and the award for Best Interior Design for the retro-pop design using modern design, vibrant colors, and funky artwork. The furniture is modern and scaled to fit well into the apartment floor plan. All the pieces were selected to be easily replicated by the renters in their own units. The design is gender neutral to appeal to all renters.

As always, the talented Beasley & Henley Interior Design provided their client with all the interior design including the floor plan analysis, interior detailing, interior specification, ID drawings, outdoor living spaces and luxury furnishings.

Beasley & Henley has won 65 Aurora Awards, 27 Sand Dollar Awards and 24 others including Best in American Living, Pillars of the Industry and more.

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Beasley & Henley Interior Design Wins Big at 2014 Aurora AwardsShowcases Hot Trends with Great Designs

An Elevated Ferret Alert
Posing as an interior designer, Michael stumps his new assistant who can #39;t escape the ground floor of a home due to a disappearing staircase. Then in an office waiting room, he frustrates a...

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An Elevated Ferret Alert - Video

Preview - An Elevated Ferret Alert
Posing as an interior designer, Michael stumps his new assistant who can #39;t escape the ground floor of a home due to a disappearing staircase. Then in an office waiting room, he frustrates a...

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Preview - An Elevated Ferret Alert - Video