Next-gen design
A NEW WAVE OF YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS IS BRINGING FEARLESS FLAIR TO INTERIORS.
BY KELLI BOZEMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACKIE HAXTHAUSEN
RIP to the all-white room
So say all five of the interior designers and decorators featured on the following pages. Ranging in age from 27 to 38, these rising design stars are redefining “home” as they buck the Baton Rouge norms and lean into new tools and techniques to help clients achieve their goals.
In launching their own firms, these emerging entrepreneurs acknowledge struggling to shift from working with a larger team to, as Dan Bergeron says, “wearing all the hats.” Time management, organization and setting boundaries are all part of the challenge when trying to grow a new business. “Balancing the creative with the administrative has been a big learning curve,” adds Helene Dellocono.
An important piece of the puzzle for each of these professionals is social media, which serves as both a source of inspiration and a platform to
showcase their work. Many say that a large percentage of new clients come via these channels. In addition, specialized software allows the designers to determine furniture layouts and millwork designs as well as to easily present multiple design concept options to clients through mood boards and mockups. “Technology helps our clients visualize spaces,” says Laura Cedor.
Though they have high-tech resources at their fingertips, it’s worth noting that the highlighted designers aren’t focused on keeping up with the latest trends, nor are they eschewing the design staples of generations past. To them, antiques and vintage pieces, along with rich colors and textures, help to add dimension to a space. This frees them from worries that their rooms will go out of style anytime soon. “I always strive to make my projects as timeless as possible,” Emily Wood says. And as Laura Roland puts it, “If it’s good, it will last forever.”
Helene Dellocono Designs owner Helene Dellocono transformed several rooms in the City Club of Baton Rouge’s iconic 1894 building downtown.
Laura CEDOR
OWNER, LAURA CEDOR INTERIORS
DESIGN STYLE IN THREE WORDS:
Timeless. Traditional. Functional.
Baton Rouge native Laura Cedor was studying interior design at the University of Southern Mississippi when she had a light bulb moment: To be successful, she had to give 120% every day. “What person wants to hire someone who is giving a B effort?” she reflects. That attitude carries through even now as owner of Laura Cedor Interiors, where she calls herself “extremely hands on” from the start of each project to the finish. That means meeting with architects, interviewing contractors, reviewing landscape plans, and taking those late-night and earlymorning texts with a smile.
“I like to know everything to help my client feel more comfortable during the process and make sure they get the end product that was sold to them,” she says.
“Some people would say I need boundaries, but I always like to know what is going on.”
As a mother of five children age 9 and younger, 35-year-old Cedor says she thrives in chaos. Juggling her business with the duties of parenthood is a challenge she enjoys, though she notes that her husband, Spencer, “pulls a lot of weekends on single dad duty while I work.”
Even as she focuses on creating classic, family-focused residential interiors these days, Cedor draws on what she learned in previous positions as an interior designer with Holden Architects, where she worked on diverse projects like a Naval dormitory, and at Street Collaborative, where she focused on food service design jobs. “My knowledge of construction documents, design and construction sets me apart from other designers,” she says.
Strategy for managing a budget while delivering highimpact design
I like to set a budget! We make a design packet that shows price points of items that we recommend or that meet a client’s expectations. For instance, a client may show me a bathroom with a $50 tile in it. This tile is their dream tile! We want to ensure that this is accounted for when budgeting so they get their end look. We try to educate our clients as much as possible.
Trends I’m loving, and trends
I’m leaving behind
I’m loving warm colors, textures, timeless prints, wallpaper, unique or old hardware, and unlacquered brass. When it comes to what to leave behind, trendy decisions are always a mistake. When designing your custom home, you want to do something that you will not have to go back and say that was so cool in 2020. I also think that all-white homes have to go. And accent feature walls? Don’t do it.
If I could redesign an iconic space—real or fictional I would love to design something in Europe, maybe a castle. I love a large-scale project. I love mixing old and new. The antiques, the finishes, the old buildings. It sounds like a dream.
The next decade
My business in the next decade will have offices in other states and an online storefront. I also look forward to past clients coming back for additional projects.
Dan BERGERON
OWNER, DAN BERGERON INTERIORS
From a “Party at the Pyramid” to a star-studded astronomy-themed affair, Dan Bergeron has been the mastermind behind the lavish decorations for the Louisiana Art & Science Museum’s fundraising gala every year since 2014.
And that was on top of his work as a designer with McMillin Interiors, which he joined in 2012 in a major pivot from his first career as an accountant. “I was hired on faith and passion,” Bergeron says of that leap after his first meetings with company founder Bill McMillin.
In 2024, Bergeron left McMillin to launch his own firm, Dan Bergeron Interiors, where he is leveraging his left-brain background once again. “Interior decorating to me is the perfect mix of client interaction, creative freedom, sales and business,” says Bergeron, now 36. “My previous experience in accounting allows me to understand every sales transaction and profitability, easily understand how to charge for my services, and manage my own books.”
Bergeron says he grew up with an innate sense of interior decorating. He was a sounding board for family and friends in their own home design choices long before he entered the field professionally. Today, he is known for spaces that mix colors and patterns in bold and unexpected ways, yet always with a timeless foundation.
“I like to continuously add new pieces found over time to spaces I’ve done,” he adds. “Each one introduces a new element that enhances the design.”
DESIGN STYLE IN THREE WORDS:
Classic. Intentional. Unexpected.
(I really believe I follow all three, even though together they may seem contradictory.)
Inspiring my work right now
Travel is inspiring me the most right now. I love to explore historic areas and appreciate their preservation as well as how modern design has been incorporated into historic spaces. I am always amazed when I see beautiful marbles stand the test of time from hundreds of years ago, and how certain design elements can remain timeless today. Details as small as a front door, a window design, a siding pattern or a color scheme can inspire a new idea for a project.
First thing I notice when I walk into a room
I do a complete scan of a space within a couple of seconds and gather a feel for the room. I’m appreciating smart design choices, superb color and tile pairings, unique millwork details and thoughtful touches that make the space stand out. I also tend to immediately notice incorrect design choices. My eye can quickly see issues like color mismatches, furniture out of scale, inefficient arrangements, poor lighting, and fabric patterns clashing.
Trends I’m loving, and trends I’m leaving behind I love that design is trending traditional again. I have always had an appreciation for styles and furniture that tend to remain classic forever, usually avoiding most trends, but we are seeing a return to classic English pattern layering, varieties of colors in rooms, and overall warmer palettes, leaving behind stark whites and grays—the return of maximalism.
If I could redesign an iconic space—real or fictional Monica and Rachel’s apartment on Friends. I have seen the 10-season series more times than I’d like to admit, but aside from the iconic purple walls and blue cabinets, the furniture pieces could use a refresh.
KIM MEADOWLARK
Helene DELLOCONO
She calls herself a “homebody to the core,” but it took leaving her native Louisiana and stepping out of her comfort zone to prepare Helene Dellocono for her current role as owner of Helene Dellocono Designs.
The LSU interior design graduate worked with hospitality design companies in Chicago and Dallas, honing her technical skills on projects for high-profile hotels and restaurants, before moving to Houston in 2021 and turning to residential design with Marie Flanigan Interiors.
“What came with living in these bigger cities and working for these bigger firms was the opportunity to be a part of bigger projects,” says Dellocono, 31, who returned home to Baton Rouge and launched her own full-service design firm in 2024. She also teamed up with the existing
design company Texture and now uses its studio as a home base. “I was able to travel the country and work with some of the best in the industry, and I take everything I learned from them with me into my own work now.”
Though Dellocono’s primary emphasis is on residential design, one of her most notable local projects marries both of her backgrounds: the interior design transformation of several rooms within the City Club of Baton Rouge’s 1894 building downtown.
“That felt very representative of me as a designer,” she says. “With its traditional base layer, I was able to elaborate with some contemporary elements and layers of color and texture that brought the club up with the times in a way that will last.”
OWNER, HELENE DELLOCONO DESIGNS
Defining my brand I would say my brand blends timeless design with a tailored, livable approach, offering personalized service to clients who value quality, curated, refined design. I position myself in the mid- to high-end market.
Strategy for managing a budget while delivering high-impact design I start by understanding the client’s priorities—what will make the biggest impact for them—and work from there. I try to make what I call “highlow” selections—investing in key pieces or finishes that will really make an impact while being restrained on other elements and spending wisely.
If I could redesign an iconic space—real or fictional I don’t think the word redesign is what I would use (because I wouldn’t change a thing)–but I would love to be a part of the design process on any Nancy Meyers movie. I’m obsessed with her style and taste, and it would be a dream come true to be in the room and help develop a set design with her and her team.
The next decade I see my business growing intentionally—taking on projects that allow for deep creativity and strong client relationships. The industry in general is shifting, I think, toward a more personalized place where people care most about supporting their lifestyle and values while also looking elevated and intentional. People want to feel like they can actually live in these spaces while also looking good.
Laura ROLAND
OWNER, LAURA ROLAND INTERIORS AND FIRESIDE ANTIQUES
Laura Roland is more than a next-generation designer—she’s a third-generation boss lady in Baton Rouge.
Laura’s grandmother Cheri McDaniel was a successful homebuilder when no women in the city were doing that job. Her mother, Susan Roland, opened Fireside Antiques—the city’s first European antiques dealer—alongside Cheri in 1982 but shifted much of her attention homeward when she gave birth to quadruplets. Laura was one of those babies, and she soaked up the wisdom of her family members from an early age.
“I always knew I would be an interior designer,” says Roland, now 38. “My mom and grandmother had a huge influence on shaping my love for design. I grew up in the homes my grandmother built and watched my mom design them. We talked about interiors a lot.”
Roland left south Louisiana to earn her interior design degree from Savannah College of Art and Design, widely considered the top design school in the country, but she returned home not only to join her mother and grandmother at Fireside but also to launch her own interior design firm, Laura Roland Interiors. “I love selling antiques to interior designers that I admire, and I enjoy designing interiors for clients that want to use our antiques,” she says.
In her current role as owner of both companies, Roland created a showstopping library for the Flower magazine showhouse in Baton Rouge in 2023, the same year that Architectural Digest featured her interior design work on her parents’ St. Francisville home. The latter project is one she calls her most rewarding yet, noting the collaboration with architect Bobby McAlpine. “The attention to detail was an impressive, eye-opening experience,” she says. “He designed a modern home, and we filled it with quality art and antiques. The perfect balance.”
DESIGN STYLE IN THREE WORDS:
Sophisticated. Collected. Whimsical.
Strategy for managing a budget while delivering high-impact design No one wants to talk about budget. Laura Roland Interiors' design clients are also clients of Fireside Antiques, so they know quality, and they know that quality comes with a price. We design interiors and give presentations with an overall budget broken down with options to choose from. This helps clients decide what they want to spend their budget on and how they want to phase the design process over time.
Trends I’m loving, and trends I’m leaving behind People keep saying “antiques are back,” like it’s on trend, but I don’t think antiques ever left. I’m also happy to report that it looks like “The Great Whiteout” is now off trend.
Most unusual item I’ve ever incorporated into a space Taxidermy—and not just your typical deer head. I’ve used taxidermy birds hanging from draperies or chandeliers. It has quite a whimsical effect.
The next decade
It’s human nature to make your house your home, and it’s normal that you might need help. It’s surprisingly hard to design your own interior, so interior design is here to stay. With all the new home decor items being made of such inferior quality, I think people are starting to enjoy and crave how things “used to be made.” People want antiques, and they want to have quality custom furniture made. Hopefully, people will start to see the joy in their parents’ old furniture and give it a new purpose in their younger interiors.
Emily WOOD
OWNER, EMILY WOOD INTERIORS
Sewing curtains and pajamas with her grandmother as a child eventually led Emily Wood to her career as a decorator.
“Her knowledge of fabric selection and sewing deeply influenced my understanding of textiles,” Wood says. “My time spent sewing with her made a lasting impact on my life and honed my eye for design.”
Wood turned that passion into a degree in textiles and merchandising from LSU, and then an opportunity to assist an interior designer opened a new door.
“It introduced me to a field that perfectly combined the majority of my interests: creativity, textiles, business and the art of making spaces feel like home,” she says. “In an effort to gain more experience, I looked for job
opportunities with larger firms. This was right as COVID hit and no one was hiring, so I took a leap of faith and started Emily Wood Interiors.”
The bold move paid off as Wood’s client base grew quickly. Meanwhile, she also unveiled two retail spaces of curated interior items inside The Foyer, giving potential clients and casual shoppers a sampling of her style. “My business minor equipped me with the skills needed to run a retail operation while also educating me on consumer behavior,” she says.
Wood, now 27, says her main priority in any project is creating a design that will endure for years to come. “Before I get too excited about a fabric or wallpaper, I think, ‘Will this be well liked in 10-plus years?’ Things like pillows and accessories are expected to ebb and flow, but the investment pieces should be timeless.”
DESIGN STYLE IN THREE WORDS:
In my opinion, the saying “Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue” not only applies to your wedding day, but your home as well. Every space should have something old (an antique or vintage piece), something new (perhaps art), something borrowed (a special piece from family), and something blue (my favorite color). So only three? Old. New. Blue. In all seriousness, I tend to lean toward a transitional design style. I appreciate funky elements, but my projects almost always include traditional elements like antiques. I always strive to make my projects as timeless as possible.
Defining my brand I want to be approachable and easy to work with. I do not have a onesize-fits-all approach. I meet my clients where they are at and treat every project with the care and attention it deserves.
If I could redesign an iconic space— real or fictional I would love to redesign the Oval Office. It is such an iconic and historic space. The colors are outdated. Obviously incorporating red, white and blue is a must, but the mustard silk drapes are not my favorite.
One design rule I’d love to break I love to replace a ceiling fan with a light fixture in clients’ homes, but in my own home I cannot sleep without a fan.
Most unusual item I’ve ever incorporated into a space
My client has a very intricate and colorful heirloom clock that was purchased in New Orleans around the time of the Civil War. We gave it a new life by giving it a special display; I had a custom-size acrylic block made for it to sit on, and it gave the clock a whole new look. I love to mix in meaningful heirlooms and bring them to life in unexpected ways.