Take 10 With COUPAR’S Julia Marani
Design legend Michael Taylor said, "Interior decorating is the frivolous sister of the architectural profession." It would have been natural for COUPAR Studio Design Director Julia Marani to have chosen a career in the more "serious" field of architecture. Her father, Grant Marani, is a partner at RAMSA; her mother, Anne Rieselbach, is the Program Director of The Architectural League of New York; her brother, Matthew Marani, is an editor at Architectural Record. Instead, the native New Yorker chose an adjacent path in interior design and now works on both the COUPAR Studio and COUPAR Design sides.
CC: COUPAR recently added COUPAR Design to its Studio and Marketing offerings. Are you excited?
JM: I am! I love working with our design firm clients, but I can't wait to be able to offer direct-to-the-homeowner design services. As a team, we are so well versed in different aesthetics because we have worked with so many design firms over the last several years and have become true chameleons. I’m appreciative of these experiences we’ve had because we’re malleable and really strive for our projects to reflect the clients that we are working with. I’m a modern minimalist but nothing brings me greater joy than working with a transitional maximalist so I can stretch my muscles and grow.
CC: What attracted you to COUPAR?
JM: COUPAR reached out to me about a design assistant job five years ago when I worked as a showroom manager and stylist. I went in for an interview and had such a great experience with the staff. I was inspired by how friendly, engaging, and creative the all-woman team was. The business model is unparalleled, and I think it's a unique experience for a young designer to work with an array of established clients.
CC: You grew up on the East Coast. Has the San Francisco Bay Area been an adjustment?
JM: It was a much-needed adjustment. I was born and raised in New York City and went to college in Upstate New York. After graduating, I spent a few years working at a small interior design firm and was growing tired of the city. A group of my friends from college had moved to The Bay Area and a room became available at one of their places, so I bit the bullet. My husband and I met the first year I lived in San Francisco and we ended up moving to Tahoe several years later, getting married here, and buying a house. My roots are definitely now in California after eight years of living here.
CC: You come from a family of architects; how did that influence your choice to go into interior design?
JM: Growing up, I felt like I was signed up for architecture marches whenever we traveled. My dad would be a block behind us, taking photos of every angle of every building. My mom would be nose deep in a guidebook reading about every angle of every building. My brother would be writing about every angle of every building. I was happy envisioning and creating a narrative for the interiors. I grew up around their amazing friends and colleagues; this exposed me to conversations and spaces that inherently impacted how I perceive and analyze my surroundings.
I've always wanted to have my passions independent of my family's vocations. Interior design became something to tie my opinions to art, furniture, fabrics, and finishes but stand apart from my family. My parents always supported my interests growing up and connecting the dots from my childhood until now; the trajectory makes perfect sense as far as ending up in a profession adjacent to theirs.
The Robert Goldwater Library and The Visual Resource Archive
CC: Favorite place to view art?
JM: I went to high school across the street from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I spent many hours studying different art forms. I very much took that privilege for granted, but looking back, I realize how special it was that I had constant access to what shaped my high school, college, and professional experiences. Whenever I travel back home, visiting The Met is always at the top of my list.
CC: What would be your dream design project to take on?
JM: My husband and I bought a house in Tahoe two years ago, and we (mainly my husband) took it down to the studs and put it back together again. It’s a 1969 Eichler-esque summer cabin that we had a vision for as soon as we saw it. We’ve been able to customize the house to our needs and our lifestyle, and it’s been very fun. I would say designing a space with my husband has been a dream realized.
CC: What’s inspiring you in the industry right now?
JM: Everything is so saturated with sameness these days. Everyone thinks they can be an interior designer, so I've found that going back to the books I've had sitting on my bookshelves and coffee table has been the best source of inspiration. I also follow a handful of young female designers that I've enjoyed keeping tabs on and feel inspired by on Instagram.
CC: The book that everyone should read?
JM: I’m a fiction girl and I have been loving Isabel Allende and Elena Ferrante. I’m going to Italy this summer for a wedding and have been pretending I’m a character in Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet. Similarly, Allende’s writing is very transportive, and she writes, for the most part, about South America. I think I love these two writers so much because the stories they write about are so far removed from my life in Tahoe - and in the dead of winter up here, I need that.
CC: What’s your wake-up ritual?
JM: I have a 5-year-old rescue dog named Kenzie, who is the center of my universe and whose life has been made complete now that she’s a country girl. My day starts with a walk with her in our neighborhood, rain, shine, or snow. If we’re lucky, we see some of her friends, and if we’re really lucky, I have a latte waiting for me at home from one of the amazing coffee shops up here courtesy of my husband.
CC: What are three things you can’t live without?
JM: My dog, my cat, and my husband. In no particular order.
Kenzie in Tahoe, December 2020
