Genevieve Love Lake discusses Craft, Confidence, and Creating Spaces with Presence
- Adar
- Sep 6
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 8
From starring in international fashion campaigns to shaping interiors that command equal attention, Genevieve Love Lake has never been afraid of reinvention. After a successful career in modeling and real estate, she launched Love Lake Studio in 2021. In just a few years, her referral-only practice has become synonymous with spaces that are as layered and whimsical as they are deeply personal, spanning residential estates, private residences, and hospitality landmarks like Le Bar Penelope in Manhattan and a Four Seasons Surf Club home in Miami.
We got with Genevieve to talk about making the leap from instinct to expertise and the simple systems she and her team employ that earn client trust. What follows is a candid conversation about building from intuition, designing with empathy, finding joy in spaces that feel lived-in from the start, and shaping stories that endure.
Inside Love Lake Studio
You started as an international model, living between London and Monaco, before pivoting into real estate and, ultimately, design. What mindset or skill carried over most powerfully from modeling into real estate development and interiors?
It's funny because many would imagine that as a model, you just show up, take some pictures, and call it a day. But the level of preparedness it takes to (especially before the days of smartphones and Uber) make it to 5-8 castings a day, all over London (and Copenhagen, and Munich, and Stockholm) and be ready for whatever that casting requires, is truly a skill that has stayed with me throughout my multiple careers.
You need to plan your visits on a map the night before and take into account bus and tube routes which are most efficient. You have to pack your bag with all of the requested elements - black heels for casting one, red dress for casting two, make-up and hair essentials, swimsuit for casting three… You get the gist. You also had to be quick on your feet when casting for commercials; you never know what you will be asked, and your response should always be clever and memorable. The actual shoots, once you booked the job, were the easy part!
Modelling taught me that there is a massive amount of comfort and confidence that comes from being as prepared as possible and ready for multiple outcomes. In design, we are problem solvers as much as we are creatives. Walking into any project knowing our process is organised, we have crossed our T's and dotted our I's, and we can problem-solve on a dime, which means a huge amount of stress is taken out of situations, and we can be solution-oriented.
What was the moment that sparked Love Lake Studio? Was it a single project, a client conversation, or a gap you kept seeing in the market?
I remodeled my own house, liked it, but didn't think much of it until my friend, who is an incredibly successful designer, told me it's something she thought I should look at doing seriously. I wasn't convinced but decided to try since I was completely disillusioned with real estate at the time. I was honestly hooked the second I realized that because I loved it so much, it wasn't scary. I just put my head down and learned as much as I could as quickly as I could, and the rest is kind of history.
I just kept going and kept saying yes to opportunities and never looked back. I would like to add here that I started this company in 2021 at 40 years old with no formal design training or schooling. I never truly understood what it was to wake up excited every morning and go to bed looking forward to working again the next day. If you don't feel that way now about what you choose to spend your time on in life, please know it's out there, and loving what you do is a game-changer!
Love Lake Studio is 100% referral-based and works with a very discerning global clientele. What do you believe earns that kind of trust repeatedly?
Transparency and communication are pillars of our business model. We come from a place of truly wanting the best for our clients and go out of our way to make that happen. We don't design from a place of ego, and genuinely try to create spaces that reflect our individual clients. I believe that these values create a unique trust and understanding that brings a level of comfort to our clients.
When you launch a project, what comes first for you: the client's lifestyle narrative, the architectural bones, or a single material that sets the tone?
We are lucky enough to work on both Hospitality and Residential projects, so we get to use very different creative approaches. For residential, we want to hear about how the client lives, their likes and dislikes, and get to know what makes them tick. Hospitality is usually more about the space, the demographic, and how to play to both. We like to conceptualize, create a story and a theme, and carry those through the space in different ways. We really love quirky moments and whimsical details in our hospitality spaces.
One of our favorite projects of yours is Le Bar Penelope in NYC. It oozes Gilded Age whimsy, including a velvet-tented lounge, a Victorian ticket-office-inspired bar, and the restored stained-glass skylight that was actually discovered during demolition. How did you strike the balance between opulence and play in that space?
Le Bar Penelope was such a gift of a project, because the space itself had a history to uncover. We didn't really try to balance much; opulence was the name of the game. We had one large space that we wanted to tell a cohesive story, but also have defined individual moments. The tent is a moment. The bar is a moment. The piano lounge is a moment. The hidden PDR speaks to the lounge but has a vibe all its own. The design balance actually came from the architectural details of the space that we left exposed, such as the cast-iron columns that span the entire length of the space, which we uplit and made a feature, which lends a slight industrial feel.
Surf Club Four Seasons Private Residence was a "full-circle" moment. You once sold the development in your real estate career and later returned to design a home there. What did that arc teach you about long-horizon vision and relationships?
Can I say that I really appreciate these thoughtful questions? Thank you! Yes, wow, Surf Club was definitely a full-circle moment. The clients were introduced to the studio by Emma Frassignes, our Director of Projects, and when we walked in, I knew the space so well; it was a feeling of coming home. I had spent years selling the project in the pre-construction and construction phases. The arc wasn't so much about long-term relationships for me, but more about the idea that everything we learn and experience in life is setting us up for a future that we may not even know exists yet.
Surf Club was my first luxury new development project. They took a leap of faith hiring me, and definitely saw a salesperson in me, I had no clue even existed! So, designing a $12 million home in a place that taught me so much about the construction process and space planning and sparked this appreciation for architecture and design, I don't think I will be able to live that one down!
That Surf Club project leans "sporty-modern," yet warmly layered, with bold stones selected at the slab yard, a minimal 2-inch ceiling drop with Apure's 10 mm fixtures to preserve ocean views. Can you walk us through how you choreograph technical decisions to protect the emotional read of a room?
The most important element to protect in this home was the views. This is a low building of only twelve floors, and it has a very close proximity to the ocean. We didn't want anything to interrupt the connection to the sea, so the ceiling drop was minimal, and the furnishings chosen were a modern, low-profile, so even when sitting further back in the home (it's a flow-through residence), you know the sand and surf are nearby. Dropped lighting, such as chandeliers and pendants, had a floaty translucent feel; nothing weighed heavily overhead.
When you're shaping a home like Surf Club, what comes first - layout, light, or materials - and how do you identify which moments call for a custom collaborator or branded element (say, Gucci) versus something more quietly integrated?
We had a good base to work with; this building was designed by Richard Merier, and he was the interior architect as well for this unit originally. The layout already existed; what we could control was how to break up one large space into individual living areas without walls and how to bring moments of levity to a space that typically felt sterile. We added floor-to-ceiling pivot panels to create a media room that could be closed off to create a snug room or opened for entertaining. Introducing materials to warm everything up was key. Emma was the lead on this design, and she did a great job of introducing warm wood tones and stones that pulled in pops of color throughout, while still keeping everything feeling cool and calm.
It's our typical approach to introduce a cheeky element, or something that pulls a client slightly out of their comfort zone (in a good way), that's where the Gucci wallpaper in this project came in. One of the clients has an incredible fashion sense and wanted something that felt like a bit of a surprise to guests, hence the Gucci-clad power room. It's a special moment that brings a sense of playfulness to an otherwise quiet, design-forward space.
Your projects span hospitality and residential. What cross-pollinates between a nightlife lounge like Penelope and a family home on the UES: circulation planning, material performance, lighting strategy, etc.?
For both types of projects, we tend to bring a little of the other in. Our hospitality projects always have a residential feel. Sumptuous, slouchy, stay a while, soft, layered, moments. Residential, we try to bring a moment of whimsy that feels a bit more like something you would see at an uber luxury lounge or boutique hotel, something that feels a bit like an experience, rather than just furniture and finishes.
You've been retained for the new Luca Steak at Wynwood Plaza in Miami, a campus defined by a 26,000-sq-ft public plaza. What atmosphere are you envisioning for the restaurant and its indoor-outdoor dialogue with the Plaza?
We are in the concept phase of this project, and it's shaping up to be really special. We have over 20-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows, but we want to bring in traditional Italian and Roman elements to juxtapose the modern architecture. The Plaza itself has a gorgeous central art installation and lots of lush greenery, so we definitely plan on making the outdoor experience something special in itself. Lots of layered colors and lounge moments, mixed in with the traditional dining seating in both the interior and exterior spaces, will break the space up and create pockets of vibrancy with visitors both dining, lounging, and enjoying the bar. Every design element we plan to bring to the space will be there to act as a backdrop for the incredible menu by Chef Georgio Rapicavoli.
For founders entering design/development now: what's one mistake to avoid in early client acquisition, and one habit that helped you grow a referral-only practice?
I would say having a solid process and understanding your flow and what you are capable of in your current position (whether you are a team of 1 or 10), and helping to set realistic expectations for what the client will receive from you and when they will receive it, is very important. Setting expectations early and following through are incredibly important and create an instant understanding and a rapidly earned trust. Do not overpromise and do not just tell people what you think they want to hear to get a project. It will bite you in the ass. I promise.
Finally, what's next for Love Lake Studio: new hospitality concepts, residential commissions, or even ground-up work we should watch for? And what "north star" drives the next chapter for the brand?
We have a very exciting residential project in the works that will deliver in late 2026 that I am not allowed to speak about, but we already have incredible press lined up for it, and it is one of those opportunities that puts new designers on the map! We also have the most incredible residential estate due to complete late 2026 in Albany, Bahamas, which is so incredibly exciting.
The clients have such an eye for architecture and design and are really allowing us to flex our creative muscles in such a rewarding way. And perhaps the coolest new project and something completely new and different for the team is a luxury grocery market concept that is going to take everyone back to the time when market shopping was a joyful experience, and food was whole, local, and imperfect.
Our brand is young, constantly evolving, and always up for new twists and turns! We love crafting experiences, and a huge part of that is our custom furniture, so we are moving in a direction to be able to partner with vendors and offer our pieces to the wider public. We have also created a fun outdoor pillow line with Decoscape, which will be available through their site soon—contact-grade outdoor accessories with a residential quality.
We are so grateful for every opportunity, and we will continue to say yes to every design adventure that comes our way and see where they take us! The sky is truly our limit.
Looking Ahead with Love Lake Studio
After hearing Genevieve trace the path from castings and contracts to craft, a throughline emerges: preparation breeds courage, and clarity builds trust. It's why a referral-only practice like hers continues to grow, and why her spaces carry those unpredictable, yet exquisite, touches - a velvet-tented lounge here, or a rediscovered stained-glass skylight there - that transform designs from concepts into lasting memories.
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