Classic Designs Julie Lawrence '92 mixes old and new materials in her furniture designs.

By Louise Uffelman
November 3, 2017

Julie Lawrence, an interior designer based in Roanoke, Virginia, just launched two collections for Restoration Hardware, and her aesthetic caught the eye of Architectural Digest.

The influential magazine quizzed the 1992 Washington and Lee University graduate on her “inspiration, process and achieving an authentic style.”

Julie, who began her career with her stepfather’s business Van Theil, says in the interview that although she describes her work as classic, she is “continually striving to incorporate elements of both traditional and contemporary design so they are complementary and balanced. I think the contrast makes everything more interesting.”

After graduation, Julie lived and worked in Europe and “developed a strong appreciation for art, architecture and furniture that could withstand the test of time, not only in style, but in materials that could survive for centuries, and in most cases only become more beautiful with wear and age.”

She has blended old and new materials in her new line, and, for her, the “authenticity of this collection is that we’re being true to the materials — letting the materials shine. The veining of the Carrera marble and the handworked texture of the iron is, in part, what makes the collection work. It is not trying to be anything more than it is, and in my opinion, it is that type of simplicity and honesty that makes it beautiful.”

To see more of her work, visit RH.

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