Lauren Lowe
photo by emily followill
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? On the marsh in the low country outside of Charleston or Nantucket.
What are three words to describe your style?
1. Classic
2. Cool
3. Collected
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? Inspired by a book my Dad bought me called Family Houses by the Sea, my room was painted a light blue with distressed white furniture (very shabby chic). I made all kinds of seashell crafts to hang on the wall and I had black and white pictures I took of beaches in weathered wood frames. I had my prized CD collection in alphabetical order and kept a collage of all things Smashing Pumpkins hidden on the inside of my closet door, as not to distract from the “ambience” of the bedroom. A longtime BFF told me recently my bedroom growing up was “not like everyone else’s” - there were obvious cues about my future career path.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? A vintage Henredon inlaid mahogany server for our dining room. It was the first piece that was not an outlet purchase or a family hand-me-down that we purchased as a married couple. I stood in line at an estate sale in the rain to make sure I got it! We still have it today.
No room is complete without artwork.
People think of me as exactly myself because I really wear my heart on my sleeve.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Lillies, can’t stand the scent
An hors d’oeuvre platter: The meats. Why detract from the cheese?
A bar cabinet: Flavored vodkas
A song for:
Dinner at home: Hard to Say Goodbye by Washed Out
Working at your desk: New Moon on Monday by Duran Duran
Going for a run: Nosedive by The New Division
Biggest Vice? Potato chips and shopping
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? I am never not shopping for clothes, so I imagine if this (probably insomnia-induced) Ambien high were to take place tonight, I would buy a new chocolate braided leather belt, a merlot-colored satin mini skirt, and a plain sheer black button down. And it would take me scouring all the available options before hitting purchase.
https://misterk.fr/products/la-ceinture-wayne-never-give-up-en-cuir-chocolat
https://thefrankieshop.com/products/jo-satin-mini-skirt-burgundy
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? I hope so! I believe that fashion informs interiors and vice versa. I like a thread of menswear (which is a nod to “classic”) and an element of something relaxed: sleeves of button-downs shoved up, flat casual sandals with something dressy, etc. And I will always be drawn to a menswear Oxford candy stripe - for clothes and interiors.
Who is your star crush? Jake Gyllenhal and Jared Leto
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Minimalism. When it is done well, I find it very complicated to think of all the extreme editing involved and how every tiny decision makes a big impact.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? My giant Cabinet of Natural Curiosities book.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Subtle complexity that somehow reads as insouciance (a girl’s gotta have goals, right?)
photo by emily followill
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Breakfast Club, Top Gun, Marie Antoinette, Donnie Darko, Dead Poet’s Society
Book: A Separate Peace, The Secret Garden
Scent: A fresh gardenia. I have yet to find a candle that replicates the almost sweet honeysuckle undertone.
The fabric you always come back to: Classic Cloth Napa Stripe in Natural. When we purged our fabric library, I found 8 samples of it in my “neutral stripes” basket.
Dream project: A cottage in Nantucket
Meal: Any kind of homemade pasta
Drink: Negroni
Hotel: The Carlyle
Travel Destination: Italy
Artist: Andrew Wyeth, William Skilling, Jose Escofet, Cy Twombly
A cause near and dear to me: Women & Children’s homelessness
Thing to collect obsessively: Sea shells and sea shell “things” - boxes, engravings, anything with a seashell motif
Era in the history of design: I couldn’t even begin to choose. I am always fascinated by how one design era is informed by previous design eras.
Museum: Uffizi Gallery
Paint Color that always looks great: Ralph Lauren Celery (now discontinued) - Farrow & Ball Teresa’s Green is a very close match, but not the same!
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Julien Devergnies (@_percaline_) - so effortlessly chic!
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Dogs Foreva. But maybe a fat bunny and Pekin duck one day.
