Lorrie Browne Focuses On Sustainable, Low-Maintenance Interior Designs
Lorrie Browne of Lorrie Browne Interiors didn’t take the typical route to becoming an interior designer.
After earning a master’s degree in business administration, Browne worked for a financial advisory firm as an analyst before realizing that she wasn’t spending enough time on the creative aspects of her life. She returned to school to earn a bachelor’s degree in interior design.
“It was kind of a roundabout way,” she said. “Since I was a kid, I was drawing, painting, crafting — you name it. I loved going to museums. I grew up in a 200-year-old house that my parents renovated. I was right there with a sledgehammer when I was a kid. I really enjoyed that — the history of houses.”
When Browne began looking for a more creative career, she enlisted the help of a career counselor. Career tests suggested she become an interior designer, landscape designer or photographer. “Nothing in finance,” she said. “The idea excited me the more I thought about it.”
Browne was able to merge her finance and business background with the creative elements of interior design. She attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, where she earned her interior design degree. After working for other designers, she took her national licensing exam and began her own company. “Before I was even out of school, I had jobs,” Browne said.
Since then, she has worked on beautifying spaces in an elegant, livable manner, with small details making all the difference. “Design is in the details,” she explained. “When details are done correctly, you don’t specifically notice them, but they help make a space more cohesive.”
For example, Browne often utilizes artificial flowers and plants inside, which are low-maintenance and always look nice, sort of like the accessories and jewelry when you get dressed up.
“We see so many spaces in magazines and online that look very beautiful, but sometimes it’s hard to imagine somebody actually living their day-to-day life in that space,” she said. “With kids, without kids, after a long day, throwing your purse on the counter, letting kids and dogs run through the house — we want people to live in spaces that are comfortable, durable and washable.”
Browne works with her husband, Tim Chance, who serves as project manager, and they are able to make a space livable — and cleanable — by utilizing newer coatings and fabrics.
“A space is going to be more valuable to you the more you can live in it as you always did and you don’t have to modify your everyday life,” she said.
Browne favors wood tables as the primary surface for a home. “I feel like a dining room table is like a living, breathing part of your life and a history of your family,” she explained, adding that the table is where craft projects take place, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are eaten and the family gathers.
She has a vendor that creates large, one-piece wood tables that warm a room and provide a durable, versatile, life-friendly surface, as well as serving as a statement piece.
While the tables may be low-tech, Browne’s firm is high-tech. She works with a program that allows digital, remote access where clients can work with Browne and her team online.
“Our presentation boards are online, and our clients can check off what they like and don’t like and can leave comments,” she said.
All accounting and proposal approval is paperless, online through a secure site. The entire process is virtual, which sets Lorrie Browne Interiors apart from other design firms. “It’s super-efficient on our end, makes clients very happy, and has been super-effective,” she said. “It was a natural fit for me.”
Browne creates turnkey homes for clients: all the sheets and towels are laundered and installed; kitchen cabinets are filled with glasses, plates and anything the client will need.
“When they come in, they can just live. They bring their toothbrush and their clothes, and that’s all they need,” she said. “We try to get every little last thing done for them.”
Browne’s approach to a project is organized, efficient and process-oriented, combined with the artistic approach of what the client likes.
She utilizes Houzz (www.houzz.com/pro/lorriebrowne/lorrie-browne-interiors) to get a feel for what elements clients favor, which helps her understand their needs.
From there, Browne is able to create the ideal home for clients. Having a trusting relationship, where Browne and the client begin by working together, and then the client hands the project over to Browne to run with, is when the best projects happen, she said.
The part that Browne enjoys most is when, after a client has lived in their home for some time, they return to tell her how much they love how things turned out. “You can see that brings them joy and satisfaction, and they feel that the investment they made was worth it,” she said.
Her clientele fits into a particular niche that thrives with her process.
“Most of our clients are equestrians, or, if they’re not equestrians, they’re part-time residents,” Browne said. “We primarily work with people where this is their second, third, fourth, fifth residence. That makes it very different. Because of that, they are only here part of the time. They’re also very busy people.”
A GREENLeader Accredited Professional, Browne takes courses on learning about sourcing sustainable materials. “I’m a believer in that we need to be very careful with our planet and that we need to leave it a good place for many generations to come, so anytime we can, we use materials that are sustainable and come from reliable sources,” she said.
The firm also uses local sources when possible, where Browne can speak to the owner and learn the story of the company.
Browne and Chance have four large dogs, and make it a point to give back to animal rescue groups, as well as Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control.
“At least 10 percent of the profits of everything we do goes back to animals and children,” she said. “Children and animals really have no voice for themselves.”
To learn more about Lorrie Browne Interiors, call (561) 791-8585, or visit www.lb-interiors.com and www.facebook.com/LorrieBrowneInteriors.
