Five Under Forty: Lauren Winter

A trip to the bookstore at an early age ignited Lauren Winter’s passion for interior design. “When I was young, a family friend took me to a bookstore and told me I could pick any book I wanted. I selected a book with a collection of residential home layouts,” Winter tells us. “I poured over that book for weeks, looking at the different spaces and ways to configure rooms.”

Photo by Eric Lucero

Since then, Winter has been honing her skills in design, offering her clients whimsical, innovative ideas influenced by her extensive study of design at Kansas State University. After graduation, she headed north and worked for prominent design firms in Chicago. But Colorado is where Winter ultimately wanted to call home. “I spent the first seven years of my design career in Chicago and was looking to make a move to a city that still had a thriving design culture mixed with a little bit more of a laid-back feel. Denver felt like a more family-oriented city, and the proximity to the mountains allows you to feel completely refreshed with just a short drive.”

Photo by Eric Lucero

Diversity is key for Winter, who appreciates the individuality of each project she works on. “Recently I’ve worked on an automobile repair shop lobby, a modern mountain home, a full home space plan re-work, and a few projects that just needed a refresh in some rooms. The variety of the projects and services makes the job interesting, and I’m always learning something new!”

Photo by Eric Lucero

OUT OF THE BOX

“I love to space plan. Coming up with creative ways to rethink the way a house was designed and find extra space in little nooks is so fun.”

BRINGING THE OUTSIDE IN

“There’s a lot more emphasis on how to bring nature into the home in Colorado. Because of the amazing weather we have here, many clients want to maximize their spaces not only to incorporate views to the outside but also to extend their indoor living outdoors.”

Photo by Eric Lucero

ON-TREND

“With the pandemic, there’s been a shift toward closed floor plans and utilizing each room individually instead of creating an open floor plan. This allows you to design more unique spaces by punching up the amount of saturation each space has to give certain rooms more personality.”

FRESH IDEAS

“We do a lot of bathroom and kitchen renovations, so it’s been fun to take a classic shape like the subway tile and lay it out in an interesting pattern or play with a couple of different colors to give it a fresh new look.”

Photo by Eric Lucero

OFF THE CLOCK

“I love to cook and do anything outside—running, hiking, gardening. The fresh air rejuvenates me! I have a little one and a pup, so we’re constantly trying to get the family outside to do something fun.”

See the rest of the 2022 Five Under Forty design award winners.