Designing Dreams
When the Home Trust International (HTI), asked Perla Lichi, the head of the renowned high end home design firm that bears her name, what first interested her in joining the ranks of home interior decorators, she admitted that her first dream was to become a fashion designer. “My first ‘design job’ was arranging a collection of dolls as ‘wall art’ on my bedroom wall when I was 9 years old, so the instinct was there early on,” she told them.
“My parents were in the jewelry business and I was raised to appreciate beauty. My mother loved classic interior design in the French style and so I was aware of interior design very early in my life. Truth is, however, my first career goal when I was in my teens was to become a fashion designer. Through serendipity, I entered an interior design competition at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. To everyone’s surprise, including mine, I won first place which included a full four-year scholarship! So naturally my parents were elated and my future direction was sealed!”
Not even her parents could have predicted the success of her eponymous home interior company, which has a contemporary showroom in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and corporate headquarters in Coral Springs, Florida.