Visionary As the creative force behind Trust the Vision Décor, Lauren Nolan-Sellers beautifies clients’ homes, while removing the hurdles preventing aspiring designers from gaining a foothold. For most of her life, Lauren Nolan-Sellers was more about soccer than interior decorating. Once her playing days reached their end, the former captain of the women’s soccer team at Villanova University went on to graduate school, and then a career in teaching. It wasn’t until she and her partner, Wendy Nolan-Sellers, bought a house that the decorating bug bit her. “We learned that it really takes a lot of work and expertise to make a home look spectacular,” she says. “When we finished with that house, I decided this is what I want to do.” From there, she received additional training and further developed her sense of style. Other people started to take notice. “It got to the point where more and more people were interested in our work, and it wasn’t just family and friends,” says Lauren, now a certified interior decorator. “We got to the point where we could create a space with confidence, and make it a seamless process.” Through Trust the Vision Décor (TrustTheVisionDecor.com)—the Yardley-based interior design and home-staging firm she co-founded in 2012 with Wendy, who handles the business affairs—Lauren is a creative force. Her services include a variety of residential projects, ranging from the simple (adding finishing touches to a room) to the complex (project management for an in-home renovation). The firm has completed design projects for notables including Phillies manager Gabe Kapler and WMMR radio personality Kathy Romano. “It’s important for people to know that you can live the life you want to live, where you want to live,” she says. She also created the Aspiring Designers Academy, a web-based model for helping “green” designers learn how to build their business. Lauren sees it as a community. “As brand-new designers not knowing the business, we made tons of mistakes,” Lauren says. “We’ve since organized and refined our process, and created systems that say, ‘This is what we do every time.’ Lots of decorators and designers have talent, but they don’t know the business. For people who are looking for mentors, who are looking to create their own systems, and who want to share with other people—that’s who this is designed to help.” It seems to be helping. Of the “graduates” who have gone through the academy so far, one has had her design work featured in a prominent lifestyle magazine in the Houston area. —Bill Donahue