Design Your Life Panel Brings Style and Design Experts to Castle Pines

Guests arriving at The Country Club at Castle Pines on Nov. 4 were greeted with champagne before sitting down for lunch and a panel discussion. The occasion was Design Your Life, an event hosted by Jessica Northrop of The Northrop Group that drew a strong turnout for a conversation about what people wear, how they furnish their homes, and how they keep those spaces organized.

Northrop was joined by personal stylist Melissa Sanchez, interior designer Kate Clapp, and home organization expert Stephanie Sikora. Each brought a different perspective to a question that ran through the afternoon: How can the things people wear and the spaces they live in better reflect the way they spend their days?

From the wardrobe to the rooms people use most

Sanchez approached the subject through personal style, where choices about color, fit, and what to keep in a closet play out every morning. The subject offered a familiar point of entry. A wardrobe can hold clothes for work, weekends, and special occasions, yet the pieces a person reaches for most often can say the most about what works for them.

Clapp brought the conversation into the home, where the placement of furniture, the quality of light, and the way people move through a room can shape how often they use it. A seat near a window might become the place someone reads every morning. A dining room with enough space to pull up another chair can make it easier to host on short notice. Both examples start with what people want to do in a room and build from there.

Sikora rounded out the discussion with home organization, a discipline that often comes down to where something goes and how easily it can be put back. The entryway is one place where that becomes especially apparent. Keys, shoes, coats, and bags all tend to land there, making a few feet of space surprisingly important to how smoothly a household gets out the door.

The overlap between the three specialties was easy to see. A closet is both a personal style decision and an organization project. A living room’s layout shapes where people gather, while the storage within it affects how easily the space can shift from a quiet evening to a house full of guests.

Audience questions, giveaways, and a look ahead

After the panel, guests had the opportunity to ask questions of all three speakers. The Q&A made room for audience participation, and giveaways added a festive touch to the afternoon.

The Northrop Group hopes to bring Design Your Life back next year. The Castle Pines luncheon offered a format that could carry into another edition: three specialists at the same table, a shared subject, and time for guests to bring their own questions into the conversation.

Jessica Northrop, founding partner of Compass Denver, is a top 0.5% real estate agent with over $1 billion in lifetime sales. Recognized as a leading Denver luxury real estate agent, Jessica specializes in high-end real estate throughout Highlands Ranch, including Backcountry, as well as Castle Pines, Castle Rock, Evergreen, Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood Village, and other sought-after communities across the Denver metro area.