In 2015, Lauren Lowe knew it was time to leave her commercial design job.

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The Atlanta-based Expert wanted to get away from corporate office spaces and “missed digging deep into the details,” but didn’t have a next step in mind. It wasn’t until a former client asked her to update their foyer that Lauren Elaine Interiors was born—and the company grew quickly from there. “I ended up with a lot of really great projects and have become friends with most of my clients along the way,” she says.

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Lauren’s rapid—and sustained—success is largely due to her updated traditional aesthetic, which is defined by mixing patterns and incorporating collected objects. “It’s rooted in classicism,” she describes. “There are things that have looked good for hundreds of years for a reason, but I always like to inject something fresh or unexpected. I enjoy taking something traditional in feel and giving it a new perspective.” Here, the interior designer shares the secrets behind this winning formula.

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The first thing I do when I design a room

My creative juices don’t turn on until I've messed with a room’s furniture layout. So I'm a big AutoCAD geek. I'll play with many different floorplan options. Then, my brain goes into overdrive, imagining the perfect mix of paint colors, artwork, and statement window treatments.

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I’m dying for a client to request

I've done farmhouses and city homes, so I want to do something more cottagey in a vacation town. I'm itching to design a simpler space with antiques that have a sense of place and history. My focus is so high-design that I'm itching for something calmer.

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The architectural era that inspires me most

A lot of my projects were built between the early 1900s and 1940s. The construction is of higher quality than in homes built after that time. There’s more detail put into the woodwork, the flooring patterns, the ceiling heights, and the transitions from room to room. They also don't make windows like they used to. Anything you put in a house with beautiful old details looks better than in a house built in the seventies.

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The color I’m loving right now

I'm having a pink moment. I had a blush bedroom growing up and was a princess for three Halloweens in a row—and then entirely dropped the color ever since. But a lot of my inspiration comes from English interiors and there's something about using the hue in a way that doesn't feel overly feminine or too pretty and delicate. I like juxtaposing it with mahogany furniture or things that are clean-lined. I'm looking for a light bubblegum cotton twill that I can use as a slipcover on a little bench in my breakfast room.

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The piece that always anchors a space

It depends on the room. Sometimes it's a beautiful wool Persian rug. Sometimes it's a piece of artwork. But when everything has emphasis, nothing has emphasis. So identifying an anchor helps you be strategic with other selections. With each element, I ask myself: ‘Is this going to detract from the focal point in the room?’

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Every great kitchen needs

I don't like when things feel very sterile, so every kitchen needs something to give it life, like vintage artwork or a tiny lamp. We hung a framed antique Delft tile piece over one of my client's hoods and it finished the whole space. We picked great colors and had the most expensive light fixtures, but it didn't feel special until we added that finishing touch.

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My go-to design books to reference

I go through design books regularly. Recently, I rediscovered some old books by Colefax and Fowler, Elizabeth Eakins, and Billy Baldwin, and snapped pictures to send to clients. Billy Baldwin designed the Arbre de Matisse fabric, which everybody still uses today. I like how he balances this classic print with clean lines. There aren’t a ton of designers that have that same sentiment today. So sometimes it's good for me to step away from my phone and put my nose in a book to get inspired.

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The most underrated material I love to use

Beadboard. I’m doing a big renovation of our house next year, but in the meantime, we installed it as a temporary backsplash in our kitchen. I love other types of wood paneling, too: tongue-and-groove or nickel gap adds a textural effect without needing wallpaper or tile.

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One thing that should always be made custom

Drapery. Drapery. Drapery. Every window is different. For instance, how far your window casings protrude affects how your hardware should be installed. Where the crown molding hits dictates the length of your curtains depending on whether you want the rod close to the ceiling or prefer some breathing room in between. So many thoughts go into making drapery look precise, full, and pretty. There's no easy way to cut corners, it needs to be fully custom.

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My go-to kitchen cabinet color

In my kitchen, I used Feather Down by Benjamin Moore: a soft, warm ivory. The coolness of my Carrara marble looks so pretty against the warmth of the paint. I also love Balboa Mist by Benjamin Moore, a greige that looks beautiful with a creamy zellige tile and white walls.

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The last thing I bought for my home

I'm a huge fan of shopping auctions and recently bought a 19th-century French daybed. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. It was very inexpensive. I lost something else in the auction and this was a way to make myself feel better. I might separate it and make twin headboards from my son's room. I always keep a stash of antiques to use in clients' houses.

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I have a collection of

I'm a closet seashell nerd. I try to reel it in so that I don't look tacky. I have seashell engraving pages out of old books and seashell artwork. I have sea fans bought at an auction—some of them are five feet tall. I haven't decided what to do with them yet. And then I have a bunch of old seashell boxes. Maybe it’s all for my future vacation home.

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My go-to finishing touch

The best accessory in any room is a plant. After we get the window treatments and last sofa pillows in, I encourage my clients to let us bring accessories. I can source beautiful things. I love old English tea caddy boxes, little dishes on top of piles of books, and candles. But if you don't have plants or a vase of flowers, the room doesn't feel as warm and inviting.

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What’s next

The biggest thing on my radar is our own home. We bought an old house with pretty old details that need to be refreshed. I'm going to work on changing the layout. But nothing is rushing me, so I'm taking my time and just buying things that I like along the way to see how they work.

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