Meet Lisa Kahn-allen

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lisa Kahn-allen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Years ago, I went through a very dark period. My special needs daughter developed epilepsy and began having terrifying nighttime seizures that would wake me out of a dead sleep and catapult me into instantaneous crisis management. This happened several nights a week and the entire family stopped sleeping. This went on for an entire year before we developed a cocktail of medications and tools to help us cope. I was also going through a divorce and I watched my (then) husband plunge into an abyss of mental instability and sickness. The reasons for not sleeping continued to mount. Add to that some economic hardship in my business, a client that fired us and a bookkeeper that quit her position in my firm and I was certain I might not ever experience peace ever again.

At the time I would get up early (from the not sleeping) and walk my dog around the lake behind my house. The stars would still be up in the sky and I grew to love the feeling of being so small in the universe with problems that were nothing but a spec on the radar of the cosmos. But one morning in particular, I was feeling completely downtrodden, sure that I had never been more stressed and I found myself talking out loud to anyone who would listen. At that moment, it was the birds, the fish and the trees. I cried out that I just needed a break, because if I couldn’t find one, I might be the thing that got broken. I asked for a sign and a way out. And as I turned on the path to cross the last bridge to my home, I paused for a moment and watched as the first blush of rosy dawn lit the trees at the far end of the lake. It was a moment of sublime beauty and lost in my angst, I stared at the horizon.

As I watched, a breeze picked up across the water and blew down the lake toward me. It lifted the ends of my hair and I got goosebumps all over my entire body. At that very moment, on the wind, I heard the word “sanctuary” whispered into my ear. I gasped at the beauty of the word. Sanctuary sounded like just want I wanted. Just what I needed. As I walked the rest of the way home, I wondered why this amazing word came to me and what larger implications it might have.

It occurred to me that if my daughter had a space of sanctuary where she could be physically safe, she might stop falling during her seizures and getting hurt. I reconsidered her room, seeing it as a space that could hold her and nurture her and serve a container for her emotions, which were mercurial and even destructive at times. I tapped into my own zone of genius and decided to create one for her. Maybe sanctuary would help.

As I created and designed this space for her, I encouraged her to spend time there. I told her to use it to rest and to hide there when she needed it. I simply wanted her to be safe and learn to regulate her own emotions. Much to my delight, it worked. And I saw immediate effects in my family — everything calmed down. Everyone started to get some sleep and we all felt better.

I decided that if a sanctuary could be that effective for her, I really wanted one of my own. What might that be like for me? And also one for my husband and for my son. I systematically created spaces of sanctuary all through our home and it was truly remarkable to see the transformation in all of us. I realized then that I could intentionally create these for all of my clients. I realized that we all need space — personal, private, sacred space that belongs to no one else. A place to be creative, a place to explore ourselves and the world around us, a place to heal and hide and pray. A place to cry and laugh and express all of the beauty and zaniness that is inside us. A place to decompress and rest. A place to find refuge and solace when we need it, to nurse our wounds and take off the bandages that hide our vulnerability. A place to begin and end our days — a home base. A sanctuary.

Looking back, I see firsthand how invention truly is born from necessity. My entire interior design career has a new focus of creating peaceful, healing environments because my family needed it first. I look around me now and see that my house and even my design studio has become a laboratory where I am actively trying out ideas, finishes, products, fabrics — seeking tools to bring a calming, grounding influence into every environment I touch. I continue to follow my curiosity and study the incredible impact our physical environment has on our moods, our relationships, our ability to thrive while dealing with the challenges in our lives. It has motivated me to shift both the basic message, and direction, of my design firm so I can share this gift of sanctuary with the world — this message of hope, peace and support designed right into our living spaces. I have found my purpose through the understanding that when we have peace around us, it inspires peace inside us.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am designing a line of sanctuary products with Chelsea House to support the creation of sanctuary spaces. The first part of this collection debuted a couple of years ago and new pieces continue to be added to the each year. They are pieces like lighting, artwork, accent furniture, mirrors and accessories, designed around motifs like sacred geometry, the cosmos and the natural world. I will continue to develop my collections with other partners as we work toward an entire Sanctuary At Home collection.

I am writing the first in a series of books on sanctuary for the purpose of educating designers and the general public in the hows and whys of creating sanctuary spaces. I also founded The Finding Sanctuary Institute, a 5013C, that will focus on education and research.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Intuition — listen to it. The voice is quite soft at times, so it pays to still yourself get quiet. The direction you seek is within you.

2. We are all surrounded by brilliant opportunities disguised as impossible situations. It’s up to us to recognize it.

3. Harness the power of the spaces where you spend your time to support your wellbeing on every level: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. We can utilize our outer environment to access our inner environment through contemplative practices like meditating, praying, writing and yoga. The inner environment is where the real sanctuary exists.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

There are two books. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron — her daily pages writing practice changed my life. I never thought of writing as a way to rest and commune with the Divine, but Julia showed me how.

Also, The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday — Stoicism is where it’s at. Seeing the opportunity in the challenges that come our way is tough in the moment but his examples and the characters he explores make it easier to understand and access for myself.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Brie Williams
Heather Donlan

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