A window seat tucks into a niche in the entry foyer.
Raised in the DC area by parents who owned a graphic design company, Rice embraced her affinity for interior design after the loss of a close friend 10 years ago. “She was a person who was always chasing her dreams,” Rice recalls. “I always loved design, but until then, hadn’t thought I could do it as a profession.”
Leaving a job at Lululemon, Rice enrolled in the master’s program at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design. She subsequently worked for the Alexandria firm Ivy Lane Living, then took time off to have her son before going out on her own in 2016. “With my parents as mentors, I’ve always wanted the freedom of working for myself,” she observes.
Growing up in the DC area has made forging connections and getting referrals “an organic process,” notes Rice, who hopes to take on an assistant this year. In fact, the home pictured on these pages belongs to the daughter of Rice’s fourth-grade Spanish teacher. “I really value relationships,” the designer says. “The joy for me is in creating spaces for people—they care so much about them and I love that.”