Talk Shop: Annie Delaporte // Annie delaporte designs
ABOUT ANNIE
Born in New Orleans, Annie Delaporte grew up exploring antique stores and auction houses where she was constantly inspired by the unique charm of her hometown's aesthetic. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Annie worked for fashion designer Tory Burch for several years, where her passion for interiors expanded and she developed her eclectic sense of style. She decided to take a leap of faith and turn that passion into a career.
She attended the New York School of Interior Design and worked for several notable residential design firms before starting Annie Delaporte Designs. Influenced by her New Orleans roots and time spent working in fashion, Annie focuses on how to best shape the character of a home using color, pattern, and proportion. She also understands the balance of creating beautiful spaces that are still comfortable and functional. When she’s not working on projects in Connecticut, New York, Louisiana, and beyond, she’s running around Brooklyn Heights with her husband and two daughters. Enjoy our Talk Shop with Annie, below!
Describe your style in three words or less:
Colorful, timeless, and comfortable.
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
My New Orleans roots, my time spent working in fashion for Tory Burch, and my darling daughters.
How did you start your company, and what is your favorite thing about what you do:
Interior design is my second career. Because I moved a lot as a child and my mom loved to decorate our homes, it is something I have always loved and had a passion for. After working in the fashion industry for over 8 years, I decided to take a leap of faith in myself — I quit my job, went back to school at The New York School of Interior Design, and immediately started interning for residential design firms in NYC. It was an incredibly humbling and exhausting (but also rewarding!) experience. After several years working for others I officially went out on my own in 2020 and have not looked back since.
My favorite thing about what I do is the variety. One day I can be in Connecticut for a site visit, the next I can be at the D&D pulling samples, and the next at my computer all day creating a budget or client presentation. No two days are the same. And the absolute best part is that I can do all of this and still be home for dinner with my girls.
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
I am very fortunate to have a small group of extremely supportive friends and women in my corner — the definition of women supporting women (really)! While I am a one-woman shop I could not do it without their guidance.
My sister-in-law, Lauren Weiss, is also an amazing designer based in San Francisco and has definitely been a mentor to me. She is insanely talented and passionate about design, but more than anything she's taught me how to stay balanced and be an amazing mom while still having my own company and career.
What does your home say about you:
My home is eclectic and personal. My mom's childhood chest of drawers serves as our entry console — it still has the wallpaper she used to line the drawers in it. The mirror above it is also from my own childhood bedroom as is a chair that sits in my daughter's nursery. Photographs of places I've traveled and love — Paris by Ludwig Favre and Nantucket by Lauren Martilla — hang on the walls in my family room and bedroom. Artwork my husband and I bought at a flea market on our honeymoon in South Africa brings color to our bathroom.
Where do you find inspiration:
Travel, trips home to New Orleans, and (of course) Instagram.
Who are your style icons:
My mom has always had amazing style — her outfits have always been classic, but effortless and chic, and her homes are always meticulously decorated. She was not a designer but should have been.
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
Good company and great wine.
Do you collect anything:
Silverware! I have boxes and boxes of antique silverware sets... some belonged to my grandmother, and others have come from auctions.
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
I love following other women in the space who have unique and amazing eyes — @alliemacaluso, @louiseroe, and @alexyeske to name a few.
What are you working on right now:
Several projects on the UES in New York and wrapping up a house in Litchfield County. I also just started a new build on Shelter Island — I'm excited to have an excuse to head out there this summer!
Wardrobe staples:
Veronica Beard jeans, Lou Lou Studio sweaters, and comfortable sneakers...I've given up on cute footwear. I am on my feet way too much!
Best interior advice you ever received:
If you're going to do it — do it right. It's better to have a room sit empty rather than trying to rush it.
Best career advice you ever received:
Be confident and ignore the noise!
Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:
Invest in: Artwork, case pieces you can easily take with you/move
Save on: Kids' bedrooms. It's easy to make them so cute without going overboard!
Your greatest extravagance:
Visits to my eyebrow guru, Azi Sacks.
Favorite places to shop for home:
Porta NYC is a local favorite here in Brooklyn. In San Francisco, I always stop by Marche. If I need an easy gift for someone I call Ed at F. Gerald New in New Jersey — my husband's family has shopped there for decades.
Most prized possession and why:
The necklaces my husband gave me when our daughters were born.
Your interiors motto:
"Resilience and flexibility are important in life (as well as in design)." Having beautiful things around you is wonderful but living beautifully is more important." — Suzanne Rheinstein
Your life motto:
Grace under pressure
Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style:
Don't overthink it!! Go with your gut and it usually works out.
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: Obsessed with Miss Ada in Fort Greene. I could eat there 5 nights a week
Drink: Lately I'm very into mezcal, but can never pass up a classic Cakebread Chardonnay
Film: Good Will Hunting
Hotel: Ellerman House in Capetown
City: London
Bedding: Leontine Linens
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Cold brew coffee with a lot of oat milk and ice. Wandering Bear is my personal favorite
Playlist: Anything Taylor Swift
Weekend Activity: Running around Brooklyn Heights with my girls and husband
Design Book: Any book by the late and inimitable Suzanne Rheinstein