Boo Randle refers to her design projects as “stories of love.” In her words: “I really believe if you surround yourself with things that you love – sentimental pieces from family, things you’ve collected along the way, artwork you love – you will love your space.” That “collected aesthetic” allows Randle to help clients to tell a visual story that brings them (and her) a sense of lasting satisfaction.
Randle’s path to interior design wasn’t a straight shot. Growing up, the art-loving Huntsville, Alabama native also excelled in math. Her father’s practical career advice led her toward finance, and it took many years, many moves, interior design studies, and some sage advice from her mother-in-law to redirect toward professional design. As Randle recalled, “She was the one who said, ‘You need to make a decision about whether you want this to be a career or a hobby because if you don’t make it a career now, it’s always just going to be a hobby.”
Randle had long hoped to call New Orleans home and a decade ago made the move official. Since the days of her first project here (an “incredibly cool” mid-century home on St. Charles Avenue), Randle has worked with primarily residential but also a growing list of commercial clients including Pluck Wine Bar & Restaurant, Good Catch, Nighthawk Napoletana and Toulouse Theatre.
Though her residential clients span demographics, Randle enjoys designing homes for families with young children (including her own – a favorite project to date). “They don’t have the expendable income of retirees,” she noted. “And you can’t have anything too precious because that stage of life is spills and Magic Marker on the walls.” They – like all Randle’s clients – also appreciate her careful attention to budget (thanks to that finance background).
Randle loves the collaborative aspects of working with architects, builders, and of course, creating spaces that reflect her clients’ experience. “I get to kind of live vicariously through them and do all these fun, different things that I wouldn’t necessarily do for myself… I don’t think anybody would walk in and say, ‘Oh, this is a house Boo Randle’s done.’ I like that.”
