Professional Profile

Deborah Lloyd Forrest, FASID
Principal, ForrestPerkins

"I applaud ASID for taking the initiative to start such a comprehensive national mentorship program for interior design students. Mentors are invaluable. They help connect textbook knowledge with real workplace events. The shadowing experience and prep materials provided by RealWorld DesignWeek gives students the opportunity to observe how the business works, puts their skills to the test and opens doors by pairing them with potential future employers. In these tough economic times, students need these resources now more than ever."

In her over thirty-year career, Forrest has achieved recognition as an industry leader in defining luxury commercial interiors. She began her own firm, Deborah Lloyd Forrest Associates, in 1986. In 1998, she established ForrestPerkins alongside Stephen Perkins, AIA. In 1996, she served on the ASID Board of Directors and was elected as an ASID Fellow in 2000. In 2004, she was elected to Hospitality Design magazine’s Platinum Circle. She is also the recipient of the 2004 ASID Designer of Distinction award.

Commissioned by Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts for projects such as the restoration of the Empress Hotel in British Columbia, renovation of the Hotel Vancouver and the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Forrest’s work has also broadened to include Ritz Carlton properties, as well as several independent five-star hotels such as the Hermitage in Nashville and the Jefferson in Washington, D.C.

Forrest’s portfolio also includes work on luxury properties abroad, notably the conversion of the Palais Leitenberger and Palais Henckel von Donnersmarck in Vienna to the SAS Palais Hotel; the renovation of the luxury suites at the Berkeley Hotel in London; the restoration of public spaces at the Ritz-Carlton Montreal, an original Cesar Ritz property; and a new luxury hotel for Rosewood Hotels and Resorts in Athens, Greece.

Currently, Forrest serves as an advisor to the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Oklahoma State University. Her award-winning designs have been featured in Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, Interior Design, Southern Living, Hospitality Design, Hotel Design, HOTELS and Lodging Hospitality.