A parlor with panache combines bold House of Hackney patterns in fabric and wallpaper with a chic swinging chair and a coffee table crafted of banana bark.
Asked whether quitting her job in finance to launch a design firm was a scary decision, Julia Rose Schweyer responds promptly: “No, it felt scarier not to take the plunge. I was ready to do something on my own that made me happy—I felt drawn to a creative outlet.”
Schweyer counts herself among many in her field who spent their childhoods rearranging their bedrooms; she recalls a feeling of warmth and safety in that space. She moved to the DC area after college and launched Julia Rose Interiors in 2021.
The firm has quickly taken off. “I started out decorating but found I couldn’t implement the designs I wanted without changing things from a structural perspective,” observes the designer, who has since enrolled in homebuilding courses online. “I see my business expanding to be more full-service, including custom construction and renovations.”
Schweyer currently works solo out of a studio in Old Town Alexandria. “I’ve ended up somewhere between classic and maximalist, creating unique and luxurious interiors,” she relates. “I want my clients to have something original and sophisticated; I don’t want to do anything that reproduces what they’ve seen on Instagram. I want their homes to feel true to who they are.”
Interior Design: Julia Rose Schweyer, Julia Rose Interiors, Alexandria, Virginia. Contractor: Sanchez Remodeling LLC, Washington, DC. Styling: Kristi Hunter.