- October 15, 2026
- Gina Russoniello Tiwari
Let’s set a familiar scene: you’ve acquired a beautiful waterfront property on Lake Norman or Lake Hickory.
Perhaps you’re preparing to build a new residence, or the existing home has extraordinary potential that you’re eager to explore.
You’ve hired an architect whose work you admire, and the first drawings are beginning to take shape.
You have ideas, of course. You’ve traveled extensively, collected a few extraordinary things along the way, and developed some rather specific opinions about how you want to live. This could become your primary residence, or the place where you’ll spend summer weekends, entertain old friends, and eventually host grandchildren.
You already know the house will be beautiful. Now you have the opportunity to make it exceptional.
Maybe there’s a particular variety of Italian marble you’ve admired since you first encountered it in a centuries-old palazzo. You’ve been imagining an enormous contemporary painting above a sculptural fireplace. Or you’ve inherited a piece of furniture with such beautiful craftsmanship that you’d happily design an entire room around it.
I want to know about these things.
And I’d love to be sitting at that table with you while the drawings are still taking shape.
This is one of my favorite moments in the design process: when we can explore what a home could become, with tremendous freedom to develop its character.
A home of this significance deserves that kind of attention from the beginning.
Begin While the Possibilities Are Still Open
If you’re planning a substantial renovation or custom home, I encourage you to involve an interior designer while the architectural plans are still being developed.
At this stage, the architect is beginning to give the building its form, and we have the opportunity to explore how the interiors can contribute to that vision.
A beloved painting could inspire an architectural detail you hadn’t originally considered. A remarkable piece of furniture could influence the proportions of a room. Sometimes we discover a natural material so compelling that we decide to rethink the surrounding design entirely.
I love those conversations.
When the interior designer joins the process early, we can explore these ideas alongside the architect and builder, with everyone contributing their own expertise.
And when a particular idea has implications for construction, the team can evaluate those considerations while the project still has flexibility.
That early collaboration creates opportunities to develop ideas that become integral to the finished home.
Let the Interiors Influence the Architecture
I am a designer who comes from a long line of architects. I’ve inherited a deep appreciation for architecture and the discipline required to create buildings that will remain compelling long after their original occupants have left them.
I find it fascinating how the experience of an interior can influence the architectural decisions that give a home its character.
Consider a piece of original art that the homeowner wants to display prominently.
The painting may be unusually large, or its composition may deserve to be experienced from a particular distance. It could look extraordinary at the end of a long gallery, where the architecture creates a moment of anticipation before the work comes fully into view.
Imagine developing that gallery with the architect from the beginning.
We can consider the proportions of the walls and how someone will experience the painting as they approach it. We can study the lighting and the relationship between the artwork and the surrounding rooms.
All of those decisions become part of the architectural concept.
The same applies to furniture with particular significance. A remarkable dining table passed down through generations could influence the dimensions of the dining room and inspire a completely new approach to the surrounding furnishings.
These are the opportunities I enjoy exploring while the plans are taking shape.
The interiors can participate in shaping the architecture, and the homeowner gets to experience the pleasure of seeing their personal interests influence the house in unexpected ways.
Give Beautiful Materials the Attention They Deserve
Some varieties of natural stone are so expressive that I would happily build an entire room around them.
Imagine a marble with spectacular veining, perhaps a variety you’ve admired for years and finally have the opportunity to use in your home.
I’d want to see the available slabs before making too many decisions about the surrounding design. The movement of the stone and the way individual slabs relate to one another can inspire ideas that are difficult to anticipate from a small sample.
We could use the material for a sculptural vanity. Or a carefully planned bookmatch could create an extraordinary backdrop for a bathtub.
I love the moment when a material begins to suggest its own possibilities.
When we’re still developing the architectural plans, we have the flexibility to explore those ideas with the fabricator and the rest of the project team.
Custom furnishings and architectural lighting offer similar opportunities.
Imagine commissioning a contemporary Italian glass artisan to create a chandelier specifically for your home. The piece has a sculptural form that deserves to be experienced from several rooms.
I’d want to consider how people encounter it as they move through the house and whether the ceiling proportions give it the presence it deserves.
Perhaps the architectural setting could become part of the sculpture’s effect.
These are exciting and high-impact design decisions, and early collaboration gives us time to develop them thoughtfully.
There are practical considerations, of course. Specialty materials and custom commissions require planning around fabrication, lead times, and installation. I want those considerations addressed early enough to support the creative vision.
Design for the Way You Actually Live
I love learning about the people who will inhabit a home.
You may have very strong opinions about the architectural style you’d like to pursue, but I’m equally curious about how you spend an ordinary Tuesday.
You may entertain with elaborate dinners and a dining room that gets used every week. Or your favorite evenings could involve six people standing around the kitchen island while someone opens another bottle of wine.
Those households have different priorities, even if the architecture of their homes is similar.
And a family lakefront residence introduces its own considerations (I know it all too well from living in my own!).
How do you want to move between the house and the water? Where will everyone gather after spending an afternoon on the lake? Is there a quiet corner where someone can read while the rest of the family makes an unreasonable amount of noise elsewhere? I want those experiences to inform the design while we’re still developing the layout.
I’m also very curious about the things you’ve collected throughout your life.
You could have an extraordinary library and want an entire room devoted to your books. Or an extraordinary wardrobe, requiring a two-story custom closet. There may be a family portrait that deserves a beautiful setting, or a collection of contemporary sculpture you’d enjoy seeing throughout the house.
At Studio Russoniello, we specialize in incorporating meaningful objects into sophisticated interiors. I enjoy discovering what people treasure and finding ways to give those things a place within the architectural vision.
Often, a conversation about something personal leads us toward a design decision that becomes one of the most compelling features of the home.
The Pleasure of a Thoughtful Collaboration
Before founding Studio Russoniello, I spent more than a decade practicing corporate and securities law, advising clients through complicated transactions involving substantial financial risk.
That experience shaped the way I think about professional relationships.
I learned to appreciate clients who were passionate about what they were building. I also learned the importance of counseling them candidly, particularly when a decision required technical analysis with multiple potential outcomes. I always kept a genuine interest in their individual goals.
I bring that perspective to design.
I want to understand what my clients love and what they’re hoping to accomplish. When I see an opportunity to make a design more compelling, I’ll explain what I’m imagining and why I think it deserves consideration.
And when a client has a preference that surprises me, I’m curious about it. I want to understand what draws them to a particular piece or idea. Sometimes those conversations reveal something important about the person, and the design becomes better for it.
I want the spaces we create to reflect the creative possibilities of their own time, with enough artistic integrity and quality to remain compelling long after that time has passed.
I also value working with architects and builders who take pride in their work and enjoy developing ideas together.
A substantial residential project brings different forms of expertise to the same table. Each person approaches the work with a different perspective, and the possibilities become especially exciting when those perspectives inform one another. There are budgets to manage and practical decisions to make. Clear communication about those matters is essential throughout the process.
I also think creating a home should be an enjoyable experience.
When a homeowner brings together professionals whose work they admire and gives them room to collaborate, extraordinary things can happen.
Creating a Home Worth Getting Right
If you’re developing plans for a custom residence or considering a substantial renovation, I’d love to hear what you’re imagining.
You may have spent years thinking about the house, or recently acquired a property and begun exploring what it could become.
At Studio Russoniello, we’re particularly interested in projects where we can become involved early, develop a thoughtful relationship with the architecture, and create interiors that reflect the people who will inhabit them.
I’d love to learn about the home you’re planning and explore how our studio could contribute to its design.
Considering a custom home or substantial renovation?
Studio Russoniello is an art-forward interior design studio based in Hickory, North Carolina, serving Lake Norman, Charlotte, and select projects beyond. We create architecturally sensitive interiors with a particular appreciation for exceptional materials, original art, and the personal histories of the people who inhabit them.
