Based in Charleston, Lia Burke Libaire is the artist the design world adores. Inspired by nature, her charming artworks are our go-to’s for salon walls, and her wallpaper line Brier & Byrd includes trippy mushroom toiles and painterly prints full of color and character. Explore the natural world that inspires Lia, and shop her collection on Chairish.
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Can you tell us a bit about working as an interior designer in New York before you became an artist? Where’d you get your start?
I worked for furniture company JANUS et Cie for many years before taking the jump to being an artist full time. When I started there, they had only two showrooms and I think there were close to thirty by the time I left. It was very cool to be part of a company that experienced such growth in such a short amount of time. I went through a major personal life change, I began painting again, and I took a few classes at the New School. I slowly began to sell some paintings (thank you, Instagram!) and continued practicing and improving. When I moved to Charleston, I stayed on with JANUS for a bit then finally made the jump to being a full time artist!
What inspires you?
Nature! Scientific prints and bookplates…and, in a broader sense, so many things—fashion, design from the past, my kids, history, movies, the list goes on!
Nature itself is timeless—the shape of a leaf, the pattern on an animal’s coat, the geometry in a shell. I think when we, as humans, look at nature, there is a familiarity or innate connection that is hard to put into words.
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You’ve said that you don’t gravitate towards trends; we love that! Could you talk a bit about how nature makes your work feel timeless?
I think trends are fun to watch but I prefer things to be timeless, when they can be. In terms of design, from a practicality POV, something that stands the test of time will always make more sense to me. To create a layered home or space takes time (and money!) so it just doesn’t make sense to jump on the bandwagon of the latest trend for the longevity of the space.
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Tell us a little about Brier & Byrd.
Brier and Byrd is a wallpaper line I created with my partner (and friend!) Georgia Tapert Howe three years ago. Our patterns are heavily rooted in the natural world, often with a colorful and painterly hand. We first discussed making a few patterns right before Covid hit. It became a lengthy process, which in the end played in our favor, as we had a lot of time to finesse details and figure out what we truly wanted to create.
Once we were proud of a few patterns, we were lucky enough to get in front of Peter Dunham and his team at Hollywood at Home, who helped us round out a full collection. We end up launching with them in LA for Legends three years ago, and have since been picked up by several other showrooms across the country. The company is named after our daughters, who both just happen to have nature-inspired names.
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Tell us about your approach to vintage and antique finds. How do you like to incorporate vintage into your home or work?
I love vintage rugs, art, and furniture that tells a story! They are so much more interesting, and well made, than most of the mass produced pieces of today. They inject a space with personality, history and life in a way that a brand new piece seldom can. We have several family pieces in our home that have been refinished or reupholstered many times…along with antiques that have been more recently purchased. Again, I find these pieces more visually interesting, better for the environment and often less expensive than newer pieces.
Lead Image: Lia Burke Libaire, Photography by MKMC.
