Penny Font

3 days ago | businessreport.com | Kelli Bozeman |Penny Font

From a “Party at the Pyramid” to a star-studded astronomy-themed affair, Dan Bergeron has been the mastermind behind the lavish decorations for the Louisiana Art & Science Museum’s fundraising gala every year since 2014. And that was on top of his work as a designer with McMillin Interiors, which he joined in 2012 in a major pivot from his first career as an accountant. “I was hired on faith and passion,” Bergeron says of that leap after his first meetings with company founder Bill McMillin.

3 days ago | businessreport.com | Kelli Bozeman |Penny Font

Baton Rouge native Laura Cedor was studying interior design at the University of Southern Mississippi when she had a light bulb moment: To be successful, she had to give 120% every day. “What person wants to hire someone who is giving a B effort?” she reflects. That attitude carries through even now as owner of Laura Cedor Interiors, where she calls herself “extremely hands on” from the start of each project to the finish.

3 days ago | businessreport.com | Kelli Bozeman |Penny Font

RIP to the all-white room. So say all five of the interior designers and decorators featured we interviewed for Business Report‘s Real Estate Report. Ranging in age from 27 to 38, these rising design stars are redefining “home” as they buck the Baton Rouge norms and lean into new tools and techniques to help clients achieve their goals.

3 days ago | businessreport.com | Kelli Bozeman |Penny Font

Sewing curtains and pajamas with her grandmother as a child eventually led Emily Wood to her career as a decorator. “Her knowledge of fabric selection and sewing deeply influenced my understanding of textiles,” Wood says. “My time spent sewing with her made a lasting impact on my life and honed my eye for design.”Wood turned that passion into a degree in textiles and merchandising from LSU, and then an opportunity to assist an interior designer opened a new door.

3 days ago | businessreport.com | Kelli Bozeman |Penny Font

Laura Roland is more than a next-generation designer—she’s a third-generation boss lady in Baton Rouge. Laura’s grandmother Cheri McDaniel was a successful homebuilder when no women in the city were doing that job. Her mother, Susan Roland, opened Fireside Antiques—the city’s first European antiques dealer—alongside Cheri in 1982 but shifted much of her attention homeward when she gave birth to quadruplets.