We sat down with Lawrence Allan Levy for a peek behind the curtain to learn more about his work as Principal Designer at The O’Dell Group. Check out our conversation to learn about his design process, biggest inspirations, most memorable projects, and collaborative approach. Lawrence also gives advice to aspiring designers and what it’s like to work on a design-build team!

Background and Inspiration

How did you become interested in design?

Lawrence: When I was a kid, for most of my childhood, I wanted to be an architect. As I got into my early teenage years, I got involved in acting and singing, and ended up pursuing that as a career for 16 years. When I was looking to make a change from theater in my mid 30s, I returned to that original idea of architecture. Interiors also interested me and I went to New York School of Interior Design, which has a very architecturally based program, so I figured I could get the best of both worlds there. That's how I ended up going for two years then ended up doing the four-year program. Then, I was hired by the dean at NYID to work at his firm and that's what started my career. In short, I switched gears back to my original interest as a child, really.
What is your biggest design inspiration? Is there any kind of theme or style that you're drawn to?

Lawrence: The client is my primary inspiration. I really am not an advocate for one particular style. I love traditional design. I love modern design. What I'm most proud of is that we get to know our clients and we deliver to them something that's uniquely theirs, which is why if you look at our portfolio, everything looks so different. Right? It's usually the client that inspires me. It's so interesting. I was sitting with a client having coffee, and she was telling me a story about her and her husband who were high school sweethearts; They were both very successful. He was a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He was telling me that he used to sit in the bathroom with her while she was putting on her makeup at night; That was kind of their time to visit with each other. So, we did a pied-à-terre for them in New York after they retired. We took a primary bedroom, and we took down all the walls between the lounge and the bathroom. There was a big lounge with a fireplace with double vanities; The toilet and shower were behind glass and that's where it ended up being. That's where that idea came from. It came out beautifully.

Creative Process

What are your first steps when you're approaching a new design project?

Lawrence: Because of my love of architecture, I approach the existing conditions and ask “What do we have? What is the setting and where is the house? What's the landscape of the house? Those are the first things that I look at.

Thinking back to a recent project that you worked on, what was something that's most notable or enjoyable about it?

Lawrence: I was sitting in the office saying to the folks who work for me, “I really want to work on an old house”. We had been doing a lot of modern work in the office, at the time I wanted someone to bring us a really historic home. It materialized in about six months, the project I was hoping for simply appeared.”

I think the client was a little nervous about hiring me because our recent portfolio was full of modern works. We ended up expanding beyond the footprint of this little house. It became this integration of something very old, that both looked like it belonged there from the exterior. But, on the interior, it was this small cubby hole house we wanted to create an open plan with. So the challenge was, “how do we reimagine this very old thing inside in a more contemporary language?”

Would you say you succeeded?

Lawrence: Absolutely. I was with the client yesterday and we were picking out some things and she said, “These seem too traditional.” while we were picking out hardware for the kitchen. It's a massive renovation for the kitchen in the modern and primary bedrooms and I said, “What you're picking is so modern.” And the client said, “Yeah, I know. I like that mix.” I said, “You were the person who thought I was too modern and you wanted something much more traditional.” I said “Remember when you thought I was too modern?” We definitely reversed roles.

Linda Lane, Interior Designer: Lawrence Levy. Photo Credit: Julia Dags.

Challenges and Solutions

Are there recurring challenges that you face as a designer? How do you overcome them?

Lawrence: The biggest challenge is the common misunderstanding of what an interior designer really is. Interior designers and interior decorators are not the same thing. Anyone can call themselves an interior decorator. You can hang up a shingle, and have some nice taste, but to use the term interior designer you must be educated at an accredited school. You have to work with an NCIDQ-certified designer or architect. You have to work a certain number of hours and take the NCIDQ exam to get credentials. An Interior Designer is a person who is both educated and trained in the field.

Are interior designers required to have a license?

Lawrence: The highest form of accreditation in interior design is called the NCIDQ exam. That's your highest form of accreditation in interior design. It is really important! I went to an interior design program that was the highest accredited in the country. I worked under a Yale school architecture teacher for two years. Then, I took the NCIDQ exam. When people come to work with us, we understand what a big investment they are making in their houses. Just as you would seek out the best credentialed doctor or the best credentialed attorney. Clients should do the same with design. We bring a lot to the table with our collective experience. To sum it all up, all interior decorators are not interior designers. But all interior designers are interior decorators.

Interior Designer: Lawrence Levy. Photo Credit: Julia Dags.

Can you describe a time when you had to come up with a creative solution to a problem that came up while on a project?

Lawrence: This happens every day. My mentor said to me, “In design, there are no obstacles. There are only opportunities.” It was the best thing I ever learned. The structural column that's in the worst possible place becomes an opportunity to get creative. When you're renovating existing conditions, you don't always understand what's behind the walls until the walls are down. You have to think on your feet and problem-solve on site while relying on experience and education. We encountered a problem on-site about five years ago on a project in Manhattan. The clients bought a gorgeous Penthouse and there were these drop ceilings and floor to ceiling windows. It was on the 50th floor. When we removed the drop ceiling, we realized the main living dining space of the house had no air conditioning. We were assuming that the air conditioning was up in those drop ceilings. Think about this apartment, with two south and east views and floor to ceiling windows. All day long, the sun was beating in and the reason they didn't have air conditioning was because there was a structural beam. We had to redesign the entire ceiling to simply get ductwork for air conditioning.

Collaboration

How do you collaborate with The O'Dell Group team on a project? What does the collaboration process look like?

Lawrence: One of the most appealing things about working with The O’Dell Group is the collaboration. Coming from a theater background, where things are innately collaborative. Having my own business could be lonely, right? It's like I was so used to collaborating and, and I love having a builder who sits 10 feet away from me in an office who I can ask a question to and say, “Hey, what's the implication If I take down this wall or move this wall?” and Chris will say “$5,000 implication" or like he said, a couple of weeks ago, “that's a $50,000 implication”. We can bring a lot of value to our clients because unlike most things where you're designing a project and then sending it to a builder for a price, and then it comes in at three or four times what you plan on spending you know, we are sitting in a room together. The same people are sitting in an office together also going on site together. Sometimes, we can solve a major design issue or construction issue in a five minute phone call or visit because we have been developing the project with each other from the very beginning. That is a huge benefit that is invaluable for our clients.

What sets The O’Dell Group apart from other design build firms?

Lawrence: Issues are resolved quickly in a matter of minutes because we're working side by side. We have an integrated team here of you know, builders, architects, designers, right. I'm a phone call away from an electrician, a plumber or a carpenter. Right. The fact that we're this, this large design-build entity brings both value and efficiency in a way you would never get if you had to go out and hire an architect and hire an interior designer and hire a builder.

Advice and Reflections

Can you describe a particularly inspiring project that you've worked on? What makes it stand out in your memory?

Lawrence: We are currently working on a project with a very strict budget in place, and we've known that from the start. When I walked in, I knew the floor plan was everything. We needed to completely open it up. There was a lot to do with this old house and we started with transforming this old little cottage through its floor plan. It told the client, “By opening it up, we don't have to buy the most expensive cabinets and the most expensive stone. Your house has been transformed by the plan alone”. I love the fact that we're able to make such an impact on a project because we have the skills to reconstruct. The reason I'm down on “decorators” is because they tend to like to dress up bad components. Whereas as a designer, I can step back and look at a floor plan, and recreate a family home with a very tight budget. It's been completely transformed. That is something I'm just really proud of.

How does The O'Dell Group ensure that the work completed meets the needs and expectations of clients?

Lawrence: We're a team that is in constant contact with each other. We are on construction sites and having office meetings. We review plans here regularly. I'm a phone call away. They're a phone call away. It's the kind of integration of the design-build experience that allows for a really seamless process.

How do you balance creativity with all the practical considerations that you might be hearing from the rest of the team? And, when are you most creative?

I learned as an artist, in structure lies freedom. When you have very specific parameters, budget often being the one, it forces your creativity. It forces you outside your box. If someone brings me an unlimited budget, it's easy to design. I have everything at my fingertips. With infrastructure lies freedom. That's when we're most creative. I have 20 years of experience in problem solving and I think at that point, it comes down to skill. I think that my creativity comes from having been trained in the arts for two different careers.

What advice can you share who's someone just starting out as an interior designer?

Lawrence: Go to a good school. Don't give into the temptation to start your own business. Work under experienced people who will pay you so that you can learn!

What do you think is the most important quality for an interior designer to have and why?

Lawrence: Patience. As the central point where the team is coming to you for design, you have to be able to step back, stay quiet and listen whether they're venting or shooting ideas at you. Step back and absorb all of that. I always tell clients, if you give me a day I’ll come up with a decent idea. If I have a month or two, I'll come up with a great idea. Rushed work is not the best and I understand that it's frustrating because clients want to move fast. I say this all the time, “Creativity is a living thing”. We discover something we didn't know and we have to make an adjustment. The more thought and effort that goes into a project, the greater flexibility we have in making changes because we gain a deeper understanding of the project.

Tell me about your sustainable or environmentally-friendly approach to design.

Lawrence: We have a planet of limited resources. Many of our clients who are younger with families, they're future oriented. They're looking into the future, concerned about what's in their fabrics, materials… they don't want a bunch of chemicals. I’m thinking about it all the time because our clients demand it. The reality of the planet demands it, too. We have limited resources. Clients don't want environmentally destructive materials in their home. I look at this everywhere and it starts from the HVAC systems. The mechanical foundation of the house, down to the content of the fabrics and the carpets.

Can you describe the time when you had to make a difficult design decision and how you came to your decision?

Lawrence: Sometimes, when we're in the design process, the clients expand the project, oftentimes that is because they say, “Hey, we're doing this.. We might as well do this, too”. There’s a point where they're dreams and wishes hit reality of budget. Sometimes we can't go as far in executing the project as we intended simply because the budget didn't allow for it. And when I tell clients it's a painful thing, because we've designed it, you branded it for them, flaunted it, and they can see it. When this happens I remind clients it's a living process. There's next year. If a project is designed well and comprehensively, we can often go back to it in a year. Two years, five years, and keep executing that project further and further. So when budget and dreams clash, I always tell clients, “Don't give up on your dream. We're just going to delay it a little bit.” It hurts when clients realize “oh my, we're $100,000 over budget! We have no more money.” People recover from renovations quicker than they think financially and in a year or so, we're back in there completing it.

BIO: Lawrence Allan Levy

Lawrence Allan Levy has spent his entire professional life working in the creative arena. He is a passionate advocate for the arts, with the deeply held belief that a society’s artistic expression is the strongest indicator of the character of our culture. At the age of 16 he began his professional life as a working actor and singer, a career that he would be fully engaged in for the next 18 years. With an unending dedication to his classical training as an actor and singer Lawrence would be able to play an expansive range of roles from Mark in The Shadow Box to Tony in West Side Story as well as a host of Shakespeare’s most indelible characters. Looking to expand his creative horizons Lawrence next turned to his lifelong love of architecture and design. In 2001 he enrolled in the BFA program at the New York School of Interior Design, fully immersing himself in the study of this new discipline. During his time at NYSID, Lawrence was the recipient of the prestigious Angelo Donghia Foundation award, The Decorator’s Club Elsie May Gross Award and the 2004 IIDA Scholarship Award. Lawrence graduated in 2005 with highest distinction and was asked to join NYSID Dean, Scott Ageloff’s private firm, Ageloff and Associates. In 2006 Lawrence started his own firm Lawrence Allan Inc. and went about busily creating a wide ranging portfolio of high-end residential and commercial interiors. Lawrence brings his great love of the creative process to every endeavor.

From Broadway to High-End Interiors