Design

ludesign

Artfully Designed by Lu French

From the East Coast of Florida to Los Cabos Mexico; Austin Texas to Manchester Vermont, Lu has been designing interiors and curating finishes for breathtaking oceanfront estates, country manors, urban dwellings, town home projects, yoga studios, healing arts centers and real estate offices for the better part of 25 years. Her approach runs the gamut from holistic, organic, and understated to fun, hip and colorful. The main thread Lu weaves into every design project is a peaceful zen quality that awakens the five senses and the subtle ones, resulting in that certain je ne sais quoi that clients find healing to the soul. What follows is a small but significant sampling of Lu's many design projects.

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Faces of Eve Art Book

As a graphic designer, the pinnacle of achievement in my mind is to design, soup to nuts, a gorgeous oversized coffee table art book. That it is also a work of service to my community is even more important. Three years went into designing, writing, curating, editing and collaborating with an amazing community of women in Vero Beach Florida. I'm proud of my graphic design opus magnum: The Faces of Eve - A Tribute to the Power of Women in Community. It tells stories of women working hard to better their community and to support one other in making their brilliant ideas come to life. Net proceeds from the sale of this book benefit The Gifford Cultural Center Project to restore the heart and dignity of the historic, predominantly black community of Gifford, Florida.

Plus, as an interior design, I must say that it looks fabulous on my coffee table!

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Silver Fork at the Historic Mark Skinner Library

To re-imagine the beloved historic library in the heart of the village that is my home was a true labor of love. As always, I made it a point to honor the bones. This magnificent building was initially built in the late 1800's. In 1964, a prominent mid-century modern architect built the large reading room that is now the dining room of the Silver Fork Restaurant. Mid century is one of my favorite design styles, which harkens back to my childhood and the furnishings I grew up with. To say that the interiors designed themselves would only be a mild exaggeration. Good bones, easy design, but only if you get out of the way and let the bones dance!

I also focused on the natural beauty that embraces the space through the panoramic windows, creating warmth with earthy jewel tones that are the hallmark of the mid-century modern style.

I designed these interiors at the beginning of the pandemic, so COVID safety was of paramount importance. I was thrilled to learn that I had been awarded a coveted Wayfair Tastemaker Award in 2021 for Most Cohesive Design with Social Distancing. Getting creative with space was actually fun, as I love a restaurant that allows diners to have privacy and intimacy. It's no wonder the Silver Fork was awarded Best Date Night restaurant in the US by Trip Advisor in 2021!

1940 South A1A Vero Beach, Florida

The largest oceanfront estate in Vero Beach, 1940 provided a broad canvas upon which to design interiors with relaxed, effortless intimacy and understated elegance. The design imperative was to highlight the fine Côte Sud architectural features of the expansive indoor and outdoor living spaces, without competing with the breathtaking ocean to river views. Lu featured gorgeous lighting by Curry and Company and Visual Comforts. Working in collaboration with their design team, Lu curated the tasteful furnishings, fine artwork and sublime area rugs in large part from the exquisite showrooms of Clive Daniel Furnishings in Boca Raton and Naples, as well as many gorgeous pieces from local Vero Beach design shops. This magnificent estate is currently offered at $29.9 Million.

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Casa Bellamar, Los Cabos, Mexico

This iconic Hacienda-style oceanfront estate located on the East Cape of Los Cabos in the exclusive enclave of Playa Tortuga sits on a 1-1/2 half acre parcel with 196 feet of ocean frontage. Lu's team designed the approximately 6000 sq ft of interior living spaces in "mid-century modern meets Hacienda Style", a nod to the time-honor architectural design, spiked with a little L.A.-Circa-1963 color. The interior and exterior furnishings focus on lush shaded verandas, terraces and balconies, highlighting stunning views of the Sea of Cortez to the southeast with panoramic sunrises, moonrises and nighttime starry skies that are nothing short of spectacular.