Employee Spotlight with Julia, Red House Lead Designer

This week, we’re getting to know Red House Lead Designer Julia Vandal a little better. Coming up on her one-year anniversary at Red House, Julia brings some serious design chops to the table and enjoys fostering meaningful connections with our clients and making their dream homes a reality. If you ask nicely, she may even reveal where you can find the best cappuccino in Rhode Island. Maybe. 

Tell us a little about yourself, Julia

My husband, Pete, and I recently returned to Providence two years ago after living in Chicago for a brief period. I’ve always enjoyed Providence’s eclectic scene and have a sense of nostalgia for being back since my college years (way back when) at RISD studying interior architecture. It was here that I was first introduced to the design approach of embracing old and new architecture and exploring design details that bridge the two together in an artful and unique way. It’s something that I continue to keep in mind with new projects.

What is it that you find most rewarding about your job?

I truly enjoy meeting our prospective clients and listening to their ideas and reasons for change within their house. Using that information to then work together in creating a vision that embraces those thoughts and hopefully exceeds expectations is always a great moment in the process.

What sort of things does your role as a Lead Designer entail?

My role as a lead designer at RHDB entails many elements, but I would say that the most prominent ones would include listening to the stakeholders, developing and drafting design options, collaborating with our team on various aspects of the design process, drawing, sourcing products and new design ideas in our field, more drawing, site meetings with our production team ….did I mention drawing?

So much drawing! What other sorts of things do you enjoy outside of work?

More things about me, when I’m not at RHDB drawing, you might see me around the Providence area at one of the many cafes enjoying an oat milk cappuccino with my husband and our spunky dog, Jack. If not at a cafe, I try to find time to drive down to the cape to visit longtime friends and return to our old hangouts like Pie in the Sky for a popover (yes, that’s a cafe) or Landfall for a Greyhound and fish bites depending on the season.

Sounds like a fantastic day out–thanks, Julia!

If you’re ready to be paired with a personal lead designer to bring your dream home to life, contact Red House today and get your design-build journey underway!