Adopted Home for Life

L

ydia Andrews is embarking upon a new chapter in her life.

Chapter One was all about growing up in southern California, the daughter of two creative parents. Her mom was an interior designer, and her father’s interests included painting and poetry. 

“I grew up around art and creativity,” she said in a recent interview. “I did a lot of artistic things growing up.”

That led her to attend film school in Los Angeles rather than a traditional college. Then it led to acting and to meeting her husband, Kevin. He’s originally from Colorado Springs, so when a job opportunity came up for him here, they moved to the foot of Pikes Peak in 2014. Once here, she had to decide what her own career path might be. So, Chapter Two.

“Design had always been something that comes naturally to me. I was always redecorating my room! But maybe it’s more OCD than talent,” she said, laughing. She’s also always loved throwing theme parties, arranging flowers and dabbling in sketching and painting.

While living in Los Angeles, she helped a realtor friend with staging some open houses and loved it. There was plenty of time to do that between acting jobs.

“When we moved here, we knew the acting scene would not be the same,” she said. “So, I started working for a staging company for real estate developers. I just kind of fell into it.”

She started making connections.

“What really shaped the change for me was meeting up with a builder here in town and I started doing staging for spec homes. They were impressed with my work and asked me to start staging model homes. Hundreds of people come through, and my name got out there.” 

Then she got pregnant and decided that juggling a baby and career had to have some balance. Thus, Chapter Three. She decided to start her own business, Maple and Moss Designs, so she could control how much time she spent working. Or so she thought.

“...You think it will give you a lot of (personal) time. That you can control your own schedule. Then you come to realize that the business is like another child that needs tending, too. But I was lucky in that I could do flexible hours and schedule consultations around my life.”

Then the world went on pause. 

“Covid really made or broke people. You could either pivot and figure it out or try something else,” Lydia said. Because she couldn’t stage or design homes in person during Covid, she crafted an innovative path.

“Everyone was home and starting to hate their houses,” she said. “So, now they wanted to redo their bedroom or living room or office. They were just sick of seeing their own rooms. We got really busy really fast. By being able to do things virtually, I got a lot of business. At one time, I had eight designers on board working that way,” she said.

“We offered a really easy three-step process. We met with clients by Zoom, the client would send pictures and measurements. We’d find out what they need and source it for them. We’d create a purchase list with the client with links. They handled the procurement, so it saved them money. They liked that,” she added. “We took the risk, but it paid off.”

Her brand is: “We create spaces for belonging.”

She believes that “it’s not just about the furniture or belongings, it’s about creating a space where people know who you are. Ultimately, it always boils down to who lives there.” 

At the end of 2020, she and Kevin had adopted 4-month-old twins, a boy and a girl.  Balancing career and parenthood had become more complicated. She sold the staging side of the business post-Covid, due to personal and professional demands. By the end of 2024, she decided not to continue having employees.

Another new chapter.

“It just got to be a lot, managing people at work and then family at home. I decided to go solo with fewer clients at a slower pace, but ultimately with a higher return. It’s been awesome, doing what I love but not at a rat-race pace,” she said. 

Lydia’s focus now is on designing for a few private clients. And she works with some custom and semi-custom builders on homes for specific buyers.

“I do some commercial spaces as well. A lot of office spaces; commercial is always fun...restaurants are my favorite. You have more space for creativity. A little more liberty than designing for a personal space,” Lydia said.

“Right now, I’m really enjoying being more at peace and feeling more settled. I want to see all the beauty of life. I’m noticing things more. Wanting to mirror that for my kids, too. Knowing what’s actually important.”

And she wants to engage more in the community.

“I love to bring community together. If you treated everybody like your neighbor, what would the world be like?” 

During Covid, she helped organize neighborhood street dances on Friday nights. They even got a local radio station to play the music they wanted, and everyone turned up their radios.

“I love to bring community together. If you treated everybody like your neighbor, what would the world be like?” she asked.  

She and her husband have tapped their acting roots and started doing some pop-up plays in public places.  

“We find spaces in the city that will work with whatever play we want to do,” she said. It’s versatile enough so that they don’t spend too much time away from their children. They’ve also produced some entertainment for the First-Friday art walks downtown.

“The city is having something of a cultural revival, but performance arts are lagging a little bit,” though there are lots of art galleries and public art, including murals, she said.  

But there are not many outlets here for children who want to get into acting. She’d like to see that happen.

With the tapering down of her business, she has taken a new approach to life in general.

For her 40th birthday, she booked herself a solo trip to Italy designed around impressionistic oil painting.

“I do paint, but never have done it with oils,” she said. “I am reaping the rewards of all my hard work.”

She feels like she has found a forever home in Colorado Springs. Having grown up in the sunshine, she still doesn’t like winter.

“I love warm weather. But half the year here is beautiful,” she quipped.

The real reason she feels at home here is because she thinks this city is unique, and full of potential.

“Here, if you have a good idea and the gumption, people will come on board. It hasn’t all been done yet here. It’s a small enough town you can create something new and a big enough town that people will support it. In LA, if I were doing pop-up theatre, so would everyone else on my street... There’s a lot of potential here to do new things and succeed.

“Here, we can make a difference.”

Lydia Andrews is ready for the next chapter.