WHEN YOU’RE SPOTLIGHTED IN A NATIONAL MAGAZINE LIKE LUXE INTERIORS + DESIGN or land Modern Luxury’s Design 9 Award, the recognition takes you to another level. When it comes to earning a nod, though, Elizabeth Joice is more comfortable in peer-judged competitions, winning accolades for her work—two in 2025—from organizations like the American Society of Interior Designers. Ask the designer what really drives her passion—the praise she really values—and she admits it’s all about the client, ushering them through challenges and transforming a space into something uniquely theirs.
“I’m really focused on the projects that are heavy in original concept development,” says Joice, who was also selected from among the Southeast’s most talented designers to design three rooms in Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine’s 2025 Lake Burton Show House, where she won a Georgia Design Award for Best Use of Color. “I’m in a position where I can be more selective—limit my work to projects requiring lots of creativity, where I take the lead and function as the clear decision guider, based on extensive communication and mutual understanding.”
Joice points to a particularly gratifying project that came to her through a referral from a local builder. She says it demonstrates how the client-designer relationship flourishes when the fit is right.
“Beth really hears you,” says Lyndsey Lie, who moved with her husband, Dr. Kevin Lie, four kids and five cats eight times in 10 years before settling down in the Atlanta suburb of Milton. “I told her when we first met these are the things I like, this is how I want it to feel, and she processed that limited information and produced a comprehensive plan for my home—furniture, seating, lighting, a color palette. She thinks about who you are and your lifestyle—that’s so important because it needs to be beautiful and functional—and she had this vision that I couldn’t see. She saw us, and she saw me, and I think that’s rare.”
“Working with Lyndsey was so much more than a design project,” Joice says. “I’m very intentional about the work we do, who we do it with, why we do it. I get very emotional about my projects; every detail matters to me. It’s so important to me that long after the work is completed the homeowner is going to be excited to share it with others.”
The vision for that comprehensive plan for the Lie home’s main living areas came from a snippet of wallcovering Joice had been drawn to—sensing in it an artistry that would resonate with Lie. “Beth had come over for a meeting,” recalls Lie, still a bit amazed. “As we were finishing, she said, ‘I just want to show you this wallpaper for the dining room,’ and she produced a swatch of this stunning tree mural wallpaper from a Phillip Jeffries collection. I said, ‘That’s it!’ The beautiful tree motif became the muse for the entire first floor.”
Creative from an early age, Joice, an Indiana native, was working toward a degree in interior design when she was tapped to handle business operations for her family’s fruit farm. The farm experience broadened her skill set and, after marrying, provided an idyllic setting for her to raise a family. Over the years, her innate talent for composing intriguing interiors continued to grow, prompting her to return to school and pursue her passion. Today, she operates all facets of her own business, subcontracting work to a rendering and elevation team when necessary. During the summers, she offers paid internships for interior design majors to give them hands-on experience in both the creative process and the business side.
Private residences are Elizabeth Joice Interiors’ specialty, with clients coming mainly through referrals by vendors, contractors and homeowners. A full-service design house, the firm’s scope of work includes everything from a single room refresh to design plans for new construction homes. Asked about how her process unfolds, Joice admits that it’s never quite the same. Because every client is different, she is careful to tailor the process to their needs.
“I always start with a client discovery phone call,” she explains. “I think people are better able to open up over the phone than face-to-face. Then I schedule an in-home consult, and if we decide we’re a good fit, I present a proposal that describes our partnership and a ‘why to hire’ sheet outlining the value and savings in hiring a designer when you’re making this large investment. My favorite thing to tell my clients is, ‘We’re really going to have a good time; you’re going to enjoy the process, and we’ll be building an intimate relationship.’”
“I think that for creative people, when you try to box them in, it must be like torture,” Lie says. “And Beth is so intuitive. So, I just told her this is how I kind of want the house to feel, and she would come back with all these different options. We would pick and refine, and as the plan evolved, it was when we were on-site doing things, that’s where the magic really happened with her—everything clicked into place.”
“I think there’s too much focus on images found on social media,” says Joice. “Pictures people think are beautiful and inspiring, but they may not be real. I’m not going to function simply as a procurer. I’m going to drive the story for you and curate a look that truly reflects your aesthetic.”
Joice’s go-to for home products is the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center, where she sources from high-end distributors that specialize in luxury brand furniture, fabric, wallcoverings, lighting and accessories. She says the furnishings she finds there are a good fit for her contemporary aesthetic, the staff’s expertise is a huge benefit, and the wide variety of curated products puts her in a position to let her creative juices flow. She chooses from a roster of artisans and craftspeople when a custom-built feature is a part of her concept.
Whether it’s the creation of a “Zen Zone,” like the master bedroom retreat that garnered her Best Primary Suite from Modern Luxury’s Design 9 Award competition, or a half bath makeover that stuns, Elizabeth Joice Interiors combines artistry and a talent for truly listening to a client to transform a dream into reality. *
Wendy Swat Snyder is a Charleston-based freelance writer (sweetgrassandgrits.com).
