Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Lerner.
Hi Lauren, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started Living with Lolo in 2017 out of a pretty simple but bold conviction: that luxury interior design and construction should not be two separate conversations. Most homeowners were managing a designer on one side and a contractor on the other, and the gap between those two worlds was costing them time, money, and a lot of frustration. I had a background in business and a deep passion for design, and I saw an opportunity to build something different. We became one of the very few firms in Arizona holding both an interior design credential and an active Arizona ROC general contractor license, and that dual capability became the foundation everything else was built on. Today we are a nine-person team based in Scottsdale, serving some of the most discerning homeowners in Paradise Valley and the greater Phoenix metro, doing whole-home remodels, new construction interiors, and furnished design projects that are fully realized from concept through completion. What drives me is the same thing it always has been: owning the outcome for our clients, not just the aesthetic.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth? Not even close, and I would not have it any other way. The steepest learning curve has been construction. Breaking into that world as a designer meant learning an entirely new language, new compliance requirements, new licensing obligations, and earning the trust of subcontractors who had never worked with a design-led firm before. The Arizona ROC general contractor license did not come easy, and neither did the credibility that goes with it. But building those relationships with our subs, understanding how a job site actually runs, knowing when something is off before it becomes a problem, that depth of knowledge is what separates us now. I did not just want to offer construction services. I wanted to truly understand the trade, and that commitment has made us a better firm at every level.
We’ve been impressed with Living with Lolo, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Living with Lolo is a full-service luxury interior design and design-build firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona. We work with homeowners across Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and the greater Phoenix metro on whole-home remodels, new construction homes, and fully furnished design projects. But what really defines us is how we work, not just what we do.
We hold both an interior design credential and an active Arizona ROC general contractor license. That combination is rare. Most firms are one or the other, which means clients are constantly managing two separate relationships, two separate timelines, and two separate visions for their home. We eliminate that entirely. One team, one point of accountability, one seamless process from the first design concept through the final walk-through.
We are also a technology-forward firm in an industry that has been slow to evolve. We built a proprietary operating system called Lolo OS that runs everything from construction project management to procurement to client communication. It means our clients get the attentiveness of a boutique firm with the infrastructure of something much larger.
What I am most proud of is the reputation we have built for actually delivering. Luxury design is full of beautiful portfolios and big promises. We back ours up with a licensed construction team, deep subcontractor relationships, and a nine-person staff that treats every project like it is the only one on our plate.
We are not the right fit for everyone, and that is intentional. We work with clients who want the full picture done right.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I think about this a lot. There is a version of my story where I credit luck, and honestly, some of it was. Being in the right market at the right time, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley are places where people invest seriously in their homes, and that has worked in our favor. Meeting the right subcontractors early on who took a chance on working with a design-led firm. Clients who trusted us before we had the portfolio to fully back it up.
But I also think luck is something you have to be positioned to receive. When Covid hit, a lot of businesses went quiet. We leaned into marketing when everyone else pulled back, and that decision changed our trajectory. That was not luck, that was a bet. It paid off, but it required believing in the business when the timing felt terrible.
The bad luck has been real too. Projects that went sideways, relationships that did not work out, growing pains that cost us time and money. I do not think you build anything meaningful without a few of those. They have made our systems tighter, our contracts clearer, and our instincts sharper.
So I would say luck opened some doors. But we did the work to be ready when they opened, and we did the work to recover when things did not go our way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.livingwithlolo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livingwithloloaz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livingwithlolo/
Image Credits
Life Created
