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One Love
Two Charlotte designers share office space, a love of color, and a passion for serving clients through interior design.
Text by Anne Marie Ashley
In an old house on in the Montford area of Charlotte, two interior designers usher in clients across the hall from each other—and although they’re technically competing for business, their friendship knows no professional bounds.
Ashley DeLapp has operated her interior design business in the home for over eighteen months, and when the flipping and renovation portion of her business outgrew the other suite of the office space, she invited friend and fellow designer Wendy Fennell of Bohemian Bungalow to take it over. “We’re such good friends and share a love of color,” DeLapp says, “and we often share samples, so it seemed like a no brainer!”
As her lease was up, Fennell knew the timing was perfect. “When the seamstress I used for drapery got my order mixed up with Ashley’s years ago, as soon as we met to exchange, I knew I had a new design bestie,” recalls Fennell. “When she asked if I wanted to take over the space this year, it just made perfect sense.”
Fennell's vision board is constantly changing with the latest projects and inspirational samples, and it's also a really cool design element.
Fennell (left) and DeLapp (right) love to share color stories, samples, and the occasional glass of wine in DeLapp's pink-clad ofce kitchen.
Now, the pair operate separately in the same building—but with the comfortability and convenience of sharing samples, and often design ideas, working in the same space is an everyday joy.
Both designers are known for their unabashed approach to color and pattern, and while one designer’s style may zig where the other’s zags, they always find common ground in textiles and wallpaper, and color is at the heart of their design inspiration. “Color is what gives life to a space,” Fennell says. Their shared space is no exception to this rule.
This May, DeLapp finally realized her dream of opening a retail store—Belle—which sits at the front of her office space in the old home. “It’s a colorful resource for home decor, furnishings, barware, and Southern-inspired goods,” she says. “It is also be a great way for potential clients to get a feel for my aesthetic.” Fennell, on the other hand, is excited to launch new introductions this year with longtime wallcoverings partner Mitchell Black, and is heading up the Charlotte chapter of Savvy Giving by Design, designing rooms for children in medical crisis at no cost to the families—a charity that DeLapp is a part of too, of course.
While both women are constantly juggling new clients, projects, and dreams individually, they agree there is plenty of work, and love, to go around.
The hallway that leads to DeLapp's ofce was handpainted by Summer Savin of Stand Out Creative Design.
A vintage table greets clients and is a great space for meetings and cofee.
