Sometimes you can go home again.
Or at least go back to where you started.
For Lindsey Coral Harper, this starting point is the Decoration & Design Building on the corner of 3rd Avenue and 58th Street in Midtown Manhattan.
The D&D building, as it is affectionately known, is an 18-story playground for interior designers and decorators of all tastes and styles. Its more than 100 showrooms showcase product lines from fabrics to furniture – many of them custom-made. Harper is studying interior design at UGA. BSFCS ’99 spent the last 10 weeks of her senior year in this building and interned at Carleton V Fabrics.
Six weeks into the internship, Harper’s life changed forever.
“I was in the warehouse folding patterns and they offered me a job in sales,” she recalls.
Four weeks later, Harper flew back to Athens to finish her degree, only to start her first job right away. She worked at Carleton V for a year and then spent eight years on the design team of renowned interior designer Richard Keith Langham. In 2007, with Langham’s blessing, Harper went into business for herself and founded her eponymous company.
One of her first clients was Carleton Varney, co-founder of Carleton V, who hired his former intern to decorate his Washington, DC home.
“I love color. I love texture. I love pattern,” she says, describing her design aesthetic. “I like a layered look. I don’t create spaces where you’re afraid to sit down. But hopefully they’re kind of timeless.”
Interior design is a highly competitive industry and in the early years, especially during an economic downturn, Harper struggled to keep her business afloat. Even when things stabilized, she still wasn’t sure how to measure success. She realized this in 2011 when one of her rooms was featured on the cover of House beautiful Magazine.
“Having clients was enough for me, but a photo shoot and a cover? The stars were aligned,” she says.
Since that debut, Harper’s work has appeared in 35 magazines, including Life in the South And Elleoften on the cover.
Four years ago, after two decades in New York City, Harper moved three hours up the East Coast to Stonington, Connecticut, where she is now headquartered. At any given time, she has a half-dozen design projects around the country in various stages of completion.
However, Harper still makes occasional trips into town to look for jobs and see friends. On these trips, she often visits the D&D building to look around.
She is also expanding her brand. In 2023, Harper opened Coral, a home decor and lifestyle design store in Stonington.
Having a business helps. I can repurpose objects to give them a new life. That’s an urge most designers have.” — Lindsey Coral Harper, owner of her eponymous interior design firm and Coral, a home decor and lifestyle design store she opened in Connecticut in 2023
Harper selects all the inventory for Coral – some original antiques, some vintage pieces that she will reupholster or renovate. And she travels as far as Paris, London or Rome for the products. Harper is also in talks to create a furniture line and perhaps put together a book.
“I love to shop and I love to travel,” says Harper. “I’ll pack my suitcase or ship things back. I once had five storage units in five different states.”
“Having a shop helps. I can repurpose objects and give them a second life. That’s an urge that most designers have.”
As for traveling home, the Cartersville native still travels home — though not as often as she would like. Harper still has family in Georgia, and her last trip back to Athens in the fall of 2023 was very meaningful. She and her family celebrated her grandfather’s 100th birthday.
All four of Harper’s grandparents graduated from UGA, and some of her fondest childhood memories include going to tailgating parties with them at the Georgia Center.
“The University of Georgia was my passion, my love,” Harper says. “There’s really no place like Athens in the fall.”
Gracie specializes in custom, hand-painted wallpaper. Lindsey Coral Harper visits her studio in the D&D building to find ideas and inspiration. (Photo by Peter Frey/UGA)
