It’s a big year for Laura Ruth Edge. Not only is her company L. Ruth Interior Design celebrating its 15th anniversary as a small business, but Edge is celebrating turning 40.
“When I started this business at 25, I think I kind of always wondered what it would feel like when I got to this point,” she said. “It’s a very humbling sense of accomplishment.”
Edge said her “team” has helped with this milestone, even though some have left.
“Some will be with us for the long haul, but every single one of my teammates has been a direct influence in the growth and success of this company,” she said. “I will never take that for granted.”
Edge said that her interest in interior design began at an early age, and even an installer who she works with now said there was something different about her as a child.
“He had been installing carpeting in my parents’ house and while all the other children were outside playing, I was interested in what they were doing and asking questions,” she said.
She was also known for her joy of beautiful spaces, including the dolls in her doll house and “frequent rearranging of furniture.” It wasn’t long before others were asking for her help with smaller projects.
While Edge credits God for the desire and talent in the design field, she knows it goes hand-in-hand with her training, which began at the University of Alabama in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. Edge said the program is dually accredited by CIDA (Council for Interior Design Accreditation) and NASAD (National Association of Schools of Art and Design).
After a comprehensive course load, Edge graduated with a degree that qualified her to sit for the National Council for Interior Design Qualification Exam after 2 years at a firm working under certified interior designers or a licensed architect. Because of that certification, Edge applied for certification with the Kentucky Board of Architects. She completes continuing education yearly, but she also attends trade shows and markets, takes historical tours, and watches or reads design programming.
She also holds a professional membership with the American Society of Interior Designers, which has different membership criteria.
Edge said she knew there was criticism for her return to Owensboro with people wondering what she would do with a design degree, but she saw the opportunity to make Owensboro a place where great design “isn’t only deserved but expected.”
“Thank goodness for my family and friends back here who fully believed in my decision to pursue a life in design,” she said. “Owensboro has been very good to me and has supported L. Ruth, and the amazing growth we have experienced over the last 15 years is a product of that support.”
The day L. Ruth Interior Design opened was the feast day of one of Edge’s favorite Saints, St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
“It was certainly not coincidental, yet I had not thought about the dates coinciding until several months later,” she said. “It was a beautiful sign that I was on the right track. The timing was right.”
Edge said that she and her team are always excited to be a part of making someone’s dream come true. Edge said she looks everywhere for inspiration.
“In people and places and objects, in things I like and don’t like,” she said. “My personal style is typically more colorful … however I can easily get bored with the same style, so having a wide variety of personalities and characteristics in clients keeps my job more interesting and my designs fresh.”
L. Ruth Interior Design has served clients in other cities and states and she is appreciative of this honor and trust.
“Those are the projects with the best outcomes – less stress, less time involved, closer to deadline,” she said.
For the future, Edge said they will continue what they are doing – making residential, commercial, and hospitality spaces more beautiful and functional; and continuing working with “the finest vendors in town – manufacturers, installers, and contractors.”
“I know I speak for myself and the team at L. Ruth when I say this never gets old,” she said. “Every project, every space, and every client is unique – God made people unique so shouldn’t their homes and workplaces reflect that uniqueness?”
