A fondness for antiques and an eye for quality vintage treasures are the intangibles that, for one entrepreneurial-minded spirit, turned a hobby into a thriving business venture. Laura Ramsey’s acquisitional knack for spotting unique collectibles inspired the founding of Laura Ramsey Interiors, which grew from a source for English antiques to a showroom where she shares her interior design expertise with clients. An institution in Alpharetta, Georgia, since 1984, her studio has a long-standing reputation for exceptional style and service throughout the region and beyond—a distinction she shares now with her daughter, Leslie Anne Barnett.
“I always had an interest in the home, furnishing my own home, especially in a unique way,” says Ramsey, who has an undergraduate degree in international business from the University of Georgia and an MBA in marketing from Georgia State. “I was working as a marketing consultant when I made the decision to go into business importing antique furniture for my retail store.”
Business was brisk. To accommodate the high demand for the 19th-century English antiques Laura Ramsey Interiors specialized in, she traveled to the source, bringing home four containers a year directly from the United Kingdom. She offered a mix of formal mahogany pieces and more casual pine. “It kept me moving, that’s for sure,” she says with a smile, adding, “I’ve always believed that the antiques really set the tone of the home.”
Ramsey began branching out by offering, at first, high-end upholstered furniture from Lee Industries to pair with the antiques, an expression of her love of mixing period pieces with current trends. Over time, inventory was expanded to include rugs, lamps, soft furnishings and one-of-a-kind pieces. Her distinctive aesthetic, what she calls fresh traditional, resonated with her customers. As more and more customers asked for her help with their interiors, the business evolved into a full-service interior design company.
Today, Ramsey provides the expertise and all the furnishings and home décor necessary to create a space that feels personal and unique to the client, with an eye toward being accessible and comfortable. “My philosophy has always been that you should live in your home, that you should use every room,” notes Ramsey, who hails from Roswell, Georgia.
Ramsey and her daughter work as a team, collaborating with clients throughout the Southeast and from Washington, D.C., to Chicago and Philadelphia. “We can go anywhere,” Ramsey says.
While Barnett earned degrees in marketing and fashion merchandising from the University of Alabama, she believes she was destined to work with her mother. She shares Ramsey’s love for antiques, having grown up immersed in the family business. As assistant designer and marketing director, she collaborates with Ramsey on every project while also maintaining the company’s website and handling social media.
“A lot of our business comes from referrals, word of mouth,” she explains. “And we do online sales from our website as well. We ship all over the United States. We’ve really found our niche.”
A new project unfolds with a consultation to establish the scope of work the client is interested in, the services and resources the studio will provide, and how the team can bring the client’s vision to life. “It starts with a room or rooms that the client wants to design,” explains Ramsey. “And that can range anywhere from a new construction to remodeling an existing space that’s gotten tired. We usually ask for inspiration pages—many people have these on social media—which give us a sense of their vision. If they don’t have that, our website showcases a portfolio of projects which can help stimulate ideas. Each of those projects has a distinctive look.”
When a new construction or demolition property is involved, the team plans a site visit and does a walk-through with both the client and the contractor. They are often involved in the decision-making process for rebuilding interior spaces, including the layout of entire rooms and material selections. “On those jobs, the scope of work is much larger,” says Ramsey. “We strive to give the client a good representation of our vision and the actual products we’re recommending. We do a floor plan and meet with them, have them review the fabric samples—we include them in every step. Meeting their expectations is paramount.”
Ramsey has a passion for transforming homes that others may overlook into valuable, desirable spaces. She has done this for both clients and her own family. However, converting a 1970s ranch in Downtown Alpharetta into her personal home was a new and exciting challenge. “My business has been based in Alpharetta since its inception, but I had never actually lived in the city until now,” she says.
The house was initially considered beyond saving, so it became a five-year project with architect Frances Zook to create the home Ramsey had envisioned. Together, Zook and Ramsey designed what some might call a minimalist ranch. However, a closer look reveals distinctive details that make the house unique, including authentic stucco on both the exterior and interior, casement windows, a sloped roofline, antique doors throughout, and soft, rounded edges on all door and window openings. Ramsey sought to capture the essence of a Spanish Renaissance home in St. Augustine, Florida, that her family lived in one summer, and while the Alpharetta home is a simplified version, it serves as a perfect backdrop for the antique pieces she has collected.
Laura Ramsey Interiors also does a fair amount of trade—providing designers a showroom for the various vendors the company stocks. “It may be special order or off-the-floor orders,” Ramsey explains. “They are big buyers of our upholstery lines, including Lee Industries and CR Laine. We’re very aware of market trends and current offerings by meeting regularly with our various reps and also going to High Point Market twice a year.”
Laura Ramsey Interiors also carries Visual Comfort lighting, Eloquence furniture, Theodore Alexander, and all the major fabric and wallpaper lines. *
Wendy Swat Snyder is a Charleston-based freelance writer (sweetgrassandgrits.com).
