Deborah Forrest, FASID Principal

Deborah Lloyd Forrest has achieved distinction as an industry leader in hospitality design throughout her career, which spans more than 30 years.  From work early in her career on such acclaimed hotels as The Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia for Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts, now Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Ms. Forrest has focused on landmark and luxury hotels. With her design agility, she is just as comfortable designing contemporary properties as classic. 

In 1986, Ms. Forrest established Deborah Lloyd Forrest Associates.  As she built a portfolio of exceptional projects, she became recognized for her extraordinary color sense and interpretation of timeless luxury for discerning hospitality clients. She built her firm’s reputation for timeless design and detail supported by thorough documentation and a rigorous attention to clients’ budgetary goals and schedules. In 1998, Ms. Forrest teamed with architect and long-time collaborator, Stephen Perkins, AIA, to establish ForrestPerkins as a dynamic design practice dedicated to providing exceptional, fully-integrated design services to the owners and operators of luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. 

Ms. Forrest leads the Dallas office of ForrestPerkins and serves as Design Principal for the firm’s projects worldwide. These projects range from more than 100 luxury hotels in North America and Europe to Mecca in the Middle East. Ms. Forrest is also an active leader in the design profession, currently serving on the board of directors of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and also on the Board of Trustees of the ASID Foundation. Ms. Forrest has served as an advisor to the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Oklahoma State University for more than 10 years.

In 2004, Hospitality Design magazine elected Ms. Forrest to its prestigious Platinum Circle to honor her design leadership. The ASID elected her a Fellow of the society in 2000, the highest honor the society bestows on its members, and in 2004 ASID designated Ms. Forrest as Designer of Distinction for the outstanding contribution her work has made to the profession of Interior Design. Her award-winning designs have been featured in Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, Interior Design, The New York Times, Hospitality Design, Hotel Design, HOTELS and Lodging Hospitality.

Ms. Forrest has designed several collections of fabrics for Kravet and champions the firm’s opportunities to develop luxury products and licensing opportunities.  She is most proud of the many young designers she has mentored and she continues to focus on providing opportunities for talented designers, architects and specialists to learn about hospitality design and to grow in a profession and industry that has provided such fascinating and rewarding experiences to her and to ForrestPerkins.

The Psychology of Design - How Good Design Influences Our Lives

Three panelists, each highly distinguished in their fields, will discuss the emotional impact of design through each of their specialties; from the architecture of schools, to the interior design of hotels, to the use of color to create moods. The discussion will also touch on the emotional impact residential designers have when they are called upon to play armchair psychologist for their clients. Organized by Dwell with Dignity founder Lisa Robison and Kim Turner, Allied Member ASID, the discussion will reflect the psychological benefit of beauty and good design in all aspects of our daily lives. 1 CEPH