A business degree propelled Anne Pulliam into a marketing career, but she felt unfulfilled. “I’m a creative person and it didn’t feel like the right fit,” she admits.

Pulliam loved décor and “house-stalking”—peering into the windows of beautiful homes—but never considered the passion a career option until an interior designer friend invited her to a lunch for creative women in DC. “I met designer Erica Burns, who was looking to hire someone,” recalls Pulliam. “Erica took a total risk and gave me a job.”

The novice spent almost five years learning the ropes from Burns and falling in love with the industry. When covid hit in 2020, Pulliam decided to move back to her hometown of Richmond with her husband and their baby girl and launch her own firm.

With seven projects underway near DC, Pulliam finds herself in Washington often, but enjoys the quieter pace of Virginia’s capital. She and her husband, who welcomed a son last fall, are renting and “looking for that perfect historic gem in need of renovation,” she says.

Richmond has influenced Pulliam’s approach. “Its historic architecture first triggered my obsession with design,” she reflects. “I love the contrast of modern and traditional and in my designs, I think that shows.”

Interior Design: Anne Pulliam, Anne Pulliam Interiors, Richmond, Virginia.