Julie spends most of her days creating beautiful, bold, and balanced spaces. She’s the Principal Designer + Owner of Edge and Lines Design, the Co-Owner of Hotel Palms, and a badass mom of three. Drawing inspiration from Old Florida and Palm Springs California, much of her designs have a coastal, casual aesthetic coupled with mid-century modern and ‘punk rock’ elements. Julie thrives in a creative environment and relishes in the fact that no two workdays are the same. She’s a firm believer that our environment has an effect on us, and that “when our surroundings are bold and uncluttered, it allows the mind to be as well.”

The Basics:

Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
Current city: Neptune Beach, Florida
Alma mater: University of North Florida; The Art Institute
Degree: B.S, Psychology; B.A., Interior Design
Very first job: Assisting Gordon Meggison on his mural work at 14 years old
Hustle: Principal Designer + Owner, Edge and Lines Design; Co-Owner, Hotel Palms

The Interests:

Babe you admire and why?
I always looked up to my Nana. She was the matriarch of all of the badass women in our family. She was an adventurer, had a great sense of humor, and the first female entrepreneur I ever knew.

How do you spend your free time?
Day to day, I enjoy exercise. A five-mile bike ride, a pilates class, or a Bikram yoga sweat sesh is my “me” time. With the family, we enjoy our pool, the beach, trying out new restaurants, and traveling.

Favorite fictional female character? Why?
I love Lucille Ball’s character in “I Love Lucy.” First of all, I love comedy; anytime we’re in New York you’ll find me at the Comedy Cellar.

What would you eat for your very last meal?
Brunch. Nothing like some good sourdough bread with a fried egg, arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and hot sauce. 

What’s something you want to learn or master?
Piano. I grew up dabbling with piano and flute. My Nana and mom both play, so I want to keep that going in our family. Currently, I take my son Gregory once a week to drum lessons, so every once in a while I sneak in and get a piano lesson while he takes drums. Family band in our future? Perhaps.

If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Florence Knoll. She just passed recently, and I would have loved to have had a conversation with her. She was designing and studying with some of the greatest architects and designers of all time, and in a time when not many females were included.

What’s something most don’t know about you?
When I was 19, I was an extra in the movie “Sweet Home Alabama.” If you don’t blink, you can spot me in a couple of scenes. 

The Hustle:

Tell us about your hustle.
I split my time between our two business babies. As principal designer and owner of Edge and Lines Design, I really get to use all of my skills on a daily basis. Psychology helps me get to know and understand my clients, and I am always pushing the design envelope in our area. The steps in the design process are detailed, and every day is different. We start off with a detailed interview with our client and get to know their project. We then develop a schematic design that tells us what will best fit into the space, how it should be configured and the best circulation; at the same time we develop a design concept and mood for the space. After approval from our client on this, we start the design development, where we source everything from the tile, to all the furniture, and even things you would not think about such as molding and transition strips. We develop a lighting concept and draw out built-in work as needed. Each project is unique, and this process takes some time. Once we have it all together, we do a design presentation with our client. 

After we get approval, we move into construction documents. This is how interior designers communicate with contractors about how to execute the design. Drafting these takes even more time and is very detailed. We also order everything that goes into your space, make sure it comes in the right finish, and if OFCI items are in our contract we make sure they are on site and ready for the contractor. Lastly, once your project is underway, we do site visits to ensure our vision is being executed. In the end we love install days, when we get to oversee install of all the furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) and our vision comes to life. But as satisfying as it is to see the finished product, going through the design process is what keeps me going; the messy middle is where I love to be.

At Hotel Palms, I am responsible for everything you see in the rooms and common spaces at the hotel, so I am constantly updating small design details and re-upping linens and room amenities. I am also responsible for curating and stocking the in-room minibar items. I also run the beer and wine bar in our hotel lounge. So, basically, lots of weekly ordering and monthly inventories, sprinkled in with some really great beer and wine tastings. We have a great team at the hotel that I lean on to assist me with these duties. 

What does your typical workday look like?
I typically get up early (5:30 or 6 a.m.), get in a 20-minute workout, meditate, and read and look over my day. I get the kids up by 7:30 and head to school at 8:30 a.m. But there are days when that doesn’t happen, and I have one eye open when it’s time to get the kids moving. In a perfect world, I would design, draft, or work on a particular project from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30, and then break for lunch or to pick up the boys on my days. I like to work from the hotel in the afternoons and fit in my hotel duties in between designing. In any given day, I will block out my time for client meetings, site visits, and vendor meetings. In between, I could be sourcing and specing out finishes, drafting in CAD and REVIT, making client presentations in Photoshop, combing through construction documents, doing hotel inventory, or even taking Gregory to music. I lean on my assistant for lots of drafting and Revit work. I work with my furniture partner to ensure everything gets ordered correctly. And Greg keeps track of the books and the back end.

Have you always had a passion for art and creating?
Yes, absolutely. I grew up painting and drawing. At the University of North Florida (UNF) my minor was studio art. I always loved mixed-media art. I tried going to school for graphic design, and always thought Darren Stevens’ job (in “Bewitched”) was so cool. He got to present his creative ideas. I wanted to do that. I never knew what interior design was, until about 10 years ago. I got hired at The Art Institute to enroll students into the college. One of the majors was interior design. I started interviewing applicants and saw so many similarities in the students I was interviewing and myself. I always say I sold myself on the program. 

Tell us about your design process.
I always start a job by sketching, take it way too far, and edit down. That's where I find my sweet spot. I listen to my heart and what comes from inside. No one else has exactly my perspective. I always say that when you step into a space I’ve designed, you meet a little piece of me. 

What’s been your biggest career milestone?
For me, being able to talk about my work. You wouldn’t guess it now, but when the Hotel Palms first opened, I was petrified to talk to guests and our community and discuss my work. I lacked the confidence I needed to explain our vision and concept. I had to rip that fear off like a Band-Aid. I had no choice. It took me many months to be able to put where I was coming from and who I am as a designer into words. I had to do a lot of introspective work. Recently, Edge and Lines got featured in “Interior Design Magazine,” a publication I have studied for years, for our work on The Hotel Palms. Being able to share our work with such a wide audience is so special. That felt good. 

How has being a woman affected your professional experience?
Interior design is a unique industry in the fact that it’s filled with strong women. I will say, when we were in the construction phase of Hotel Palms and I was walking the jobsite nine-months pregnant with my youngest son, measuring out things with the plumber, electrician, carpenter, and other trades who were all men—that was a pretty empowering moment, as a woman. They were implementing my vision, and I couldn't have been more proud.

How do you balance the responsibilities of your business with your role as a mom?
Being a mom is a huge part of my life. We have three children: Madison, 16; Gregory, 5; and Gavin, 3. We are very much a family unit that weaves our daily lives together. I have a home office as well as an office at the hotel. This allows me to work from home as needed. One thing we never waver on is, my husband and I spend the morning with the boys and take them to school every day. I fit in play dates and music lessons during work hours. I can always catch up once the kids are asleep. Our oldest plays soccer at a high level, so we use her tournaments as family adventures and ways to explore new cities and new boutique hotels. I think one of the key things to balancing being a working mom is to be able to let go of control. There are soooooo many things you cannot control as a mom; that seems to cross over into life, and you learn not to take yourself too seriously. If you can laugh about being called out about having green baby food in your hair at a meeting instead of cry, you are on track to tackling even bigger hurdles in life.

Tell us what it’s like to work with your husband.
My husband is my best friend, partner, and biggest supporter. He pushes me to always improve. Work is so integrated into both of our lives; I can’t imagine it any other way. Of course, we have our moments, and there are challenges, but at the end of the day the trust level that can cross over from our personal lives into our businesses is priceless. Greg does the books for both businesses, he finds the insurances, he works with the lawyers, he is the business mind. I literally could not do this without him. But we do have our own roles in each business; neither one of us is each others’ boss. Also, we both love to travel, so we are lucky we’re in an industry where checking out other areas boutique hotels is market research.

Who are some women in your field you look to for inspiration?
I love Kelly Wearstler; she goes for it. Our design esthetics have their differences, but she nails it every time. She also does hotel design, and I have always loved following her. More recently, I have been inspired by Sarah Sherman Samuel. Her work on Mandy Moore’s home spoke to me and I have been following her ever since. Raili Clasen has my heart; everything she touches is gold. Luann Nigara has an amazing interior design podcast called “A Well Designed Business.” Locally, I love Kristen Biagini. She was one of my professors in college and her firm in Fernandina does amazing work. Also, Julie Starr Sanford—she designed Restaurant Doro in Neptune Beach, a resort in Belize, and does incredible residential work and furniture design. 

Career and/or life advice for other babes?
Figuring out yourself is sometimes the hardest part. Start there, figure out your gifts and who you are and share that with the world. Read “Siddhartha,” by Herman Hess. Oh, and don’t take yourself too seriously along the way. 

Connect with Julie:

Edge & Lines Design: Website / Instagram / Email
Hotel Palms: Website / Instagram / Email

This interview has been condensed and edited.

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