Collaborator Profile: Interior Designer Mead Quin

Amplified Lifestyles welcomes Bay Area interior designer Mead Quin to our Collaborator Profile series. After working for Martha Angus and Grant K. Gibson, Mead opened her eponymous company in 2013. She and her team craft poetic interiors reflecting her artistic background and a nomadic childhood that ranged from the American South to France and North Africa. Along with overseeing her studio in Emeryville, Mead’s firm hosts an annual Whiskey & Wellness event that brings together members of the design, architecture, and building communities with purveyors of food, drink, and well-being to celebrate friendship and collaboration.

AL: Before becoming a designer, you were a professional portrait painter. How has that influenced your interiors?

MQ: Portrait painting requires a deep attunement to personality. Without truly knowing the subject, who they are beyond what they look like, the portrait can fall flat and lack authenticity. The same is true in design. If we’re not paying close attention to the unique qualities of the humans we’re designing for, the homes we create can miss that essential layer… the thing that makes a house feel, unmistakably theirs. 

AL: The world of portraiture is myopic, while design requires a wider gaze. Was that a transition for you?

MQ: A room is very much like a canvas in my mind. Thinking through composition, color, form, texture, and balance is similar to how I approached two-dimensional portraiture. There’s a dance between the overall composition and the finer, nitty-gritty details that bring the work to life in service of the bigger picture. Designing a room works the same way. You begin with the broad vision, but it’s the attention to detail, nuance, care, and precision that ultimately bring the dream into focus.

AL: You grew up with the traditional aesthetics of the Southeast. How have you combined that with living in the more contemporary Northwest?

MQ: I spent much of my early childhood in the Southeast, but we traveled quite a bit when I was young. My parents were missionaries, and we lived in France and North Africa for much of my childhood. Those formative experiences expanded my understanding of how people live, and how deeply place shapes what “home” means to each of us.

We also spent holidays with my grandparents in Montgomery, Alabama, the deep South, which informed my love for things that age gracefully. Their home, while old, was a layered collection of places they had traveled. They invested in furnishings that patinaed beautifully and somehow felt better with each passing year. I especially loved their antique rugs and still enjoy incorporating them into our projects when clients are open to it.

AL: As a creative, how do you incorporate home technology into your projects?

MQ: As much or as little as a client wants, but always with the intention that it recedes as much as possible (wink, wink). We’re all deeply connected to technology, whether we like it or not. Creating spaces that allow us to disengage, to give our minds and bodies a break, feels more important than ever. Our goal is for technology to quietly support wellbeing and life goals rather than dominate the experience. I say this, of course, while typing on a computer connected to the worldwide web – it’s a constant balancing act.

AL: What was the genesis of your annual Whiskey & Wellness event? 

MQ: We wanted to create an event that celebrated our community while also reflecting what we care deeply about… that our work should genuinely make people’s lives better, and that design can be a powerful support for wellbeing. We also wanted it to be fun, relaxed, and a chance to truly enjoy one another’s company. Hence, the whiskey. It’s my favorite spirit, and Whiskey & Wellness had a nice ring to it. It’s become our annual love letter to a community we adore, and one of my favorite nights of the year.

AL: What is your dream project? 

MQ: Anything by the ocean – my happy place. There’s something about the vastness, the calming horizon line, the salty air, and the rhythmic sound of waves that immediately soothes my nervous system. The restrained, minimalist palette of coastal environments resonates deeply with me. I can hear a seagull and feel my blood pressure drop.

AL: What are your favorite aspects of living in the culturally diverse East Bay?

MQ: The East Bay has an incredible openness – culturally, creatively, and intellectually. There’s a deep appreciation for art, craftsmanship, food, nature, and ideas, all coexisting in a very unpretentious way. I love the mix of old and new, the diversity of voices and histories, and the strong sense of community. It feels grounded and expansive at the same time, which mirrors how we aspire to live and work.

AL: When not creating beautiful homes, what are your favorite activities?

MQ: The thing that fills my cup more than anything else is unstructured, quality time with the people I love. I’m happiest when there’s nowhere else to be and nothing specific to accomplish… just being together. Lately, a lot of that joy also comes from time spent with our new puppy, Gus, who has a remarkable ability to make me slow down and be present.