Meet the Team: Lindsey M. Roberts

Ever wonder who's behind GRAY magazine? Well, we want you to get to know us a little better. That's why we're starting the Meet the Team series. Every week we will be posting a Q&A with one of our fabulous team members so you can get a peek at their inspirations, experience at the magazine, and how they got involved in the design industry. And if you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment.

Name: Lindsey M. Roberts

Position at GRAY: Managing Editor




What is your favorite part of working for GRAY?

As GRAY’s managing editor, I confess that my favorite part of my job is proofing the issue before it goes to print. It’s so satisfying to sit with a glass of wine and a red pen and see the fruit of the team’s hard work on paper. (The red pen is just to make sure that the work we feature is represented as best as it can be.)


How would you describe the Pacific Northwest design and architecture scene? How is it different from other parts of the country?

In the Northwest, I would say that it’s more likely that homeowners invest time and energy into their house and landscaping so that it’s not a cookie-cutter home but one that reflects their individual personalities. They're not satisfied with rooms created in catalogue spreads; maybe they’ll start there, but in the end, they want something truly unique.


How did you get into the design industry?

Although I grew up in a 1901 Craftsman in West Seattle that my parents spent 32 years painstakingly updating, I really didn’t know what I had. It wasn’t until I was hired as assistant editor at the former Seattle Homes & Lifestyles that I started learning about all the innovative design that our part of the country has to offer. I’ll never forget going to bookshop owner Peter Miller and begging him to catch me up to speed. He handed me a glass of white wine (in a very short, round, flat-bottomed glass that I’ve since bought a set of) and A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia Savage McAlester and Lee McAlester. There was no turning back.


What is your favorite design era or style? Why?

My husband is from the Mid-Atlantic so I have really enjoyed mixing a midcentury Mid-Atlantic style with my quirky-modern tastes. I’ve inherited a fabulous gold sunburst mirror, wooden bar, and a floor lamp with a velum shade from his side of the family. We’ve put that all against a gray palette to make it fresh: light gray living room walls, a dark-gray kitchen table (painted one of interior designer Graciela Rutkowski’s favorite grays), medium-gray kitchen cabinets, a dark-gray basement. My friends make fun of how much I actually love the color gray. To that we add orange, navy, and nautical accessories. It sounds like a mess, but it’s my own west-meets-east style and I love it.


What is your favorite thing about the Pacific Northwest region?

How can I choose between the design scene, the nature surroundings, and the food? When people come to visit here, I take them shopping, hiking or boating, and to restaurants and farmers markets. Sometimes it really feels like the life we live in our corner of the country is a wonderful secret.


What is your favorite space in your home?
My son Seth’s nursery was the first room that we finished in our townhouse that we bought over Christmas. It’s a tiny room, so I decided not to try to pretend like it was bigger, but to emphasize its coziness by painting it a dark twilight-blue. How we furnished the room is a testimony to how much our friends and family loved us during a difficult pregnancy. My parents gave us the white IKEA crib we wanted, and my Nana gave me a blue-pinstripe glider with blue piping. I found a modern, two-tone dresser on Craigslist and a friend gave me a very tall blackout curtain with a sweet blue toile print that she made. To that blue-and-white palette, I’ve added pops of multicolor such as polka-dot boxes to store toys in the white IKEA Expedit bookcase, a rag quilt that my mom made, and orange sheets with a white alphabet print. For a bit of whimsy, there’s a giant plush monkey in the corner and a Jonathan Adler lion nightlight from Click! Design that Fits. I really wanted the space to envelope me when I was up with my baby at night but to also be a cheerful place during the day.


What has been one of the highlights of the past year for you?

Of course, the highlight of my life is now when my first child was born in April. There was a moment during the pregnancy when we thought we would lose him, but now he’s happy and healthy and so every day that I get to kiss him is a gift. I’ll just wait for him to get a little older before I train him how to copyedit.