Urban Country’s Rachelle Roth

Posted on October 20, 2011 by jbutler in Dealer Spotlight

We’re kicking off a new series this month similar to our Blogger Spotlight series, but with the spotlight focused on some of our dealers and their designers, who inspire our creative team. On a recent trip through Virginia and Maryland, Carl Bundy, our senior vice president of product development, was inspired by Rachelle Roth, owner of Urban Country.

Pictured from left to right: Sascha, Rachelle and Jillian Roth of Urban Country

Urban Country, a retail store in Bethesda, Maryland, was named “Bethesda’s best kept secret in Interior Design” by the Washington Post. Celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year, the retailer has everything from furniture to fabrics to custom window treatments and bedding. They offer full interior design services and have five accredited designers on staff.

We caught up with Rachelle before she left for fall High Point Market, and here’s what she had to say.

Obviously, you have a passion for home furnishings and interior design. Where did it all begin? Tell us how you got started.

Growing up in a family of European heritage, style and fashion were almost inherent. After earning a graduate degree in art history, I entered the world of fashion on 7^th Avenue in New York, where I developed a love of fine fabrics – very fine fabrics, as in Haute Couture and the likes of Geoffrey Beene, Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren, and a great color sense. I forecasted the season’s hottest color trends, worked one-on-one with some of the fashion industry’s most respected buyers and attended the most coveted fashion shows every season.

Fast forward some years later to Washington, D.C. where I started a family, designed a line of children’s clothing, enrolled in design school and started my own interior design business. My husband, Jeffrey, and I both loved to travel, and we wanted to work together so we blended his corporate retail experience with my design experience and founded Urban Country, a home furnishings store for countryside and urban spaces.

Twenty years later (my husband passed away 12 years ago), two of my three daughters and I continue to provide fashion-forward design in an exciting retail atmosphere. When asked what I buy, I say I buy what I love, be it furniture, bedding, bath, accessories, jewelry, baby or haute couture-inspired pet beds and accessories.

You’re a pro. Can you share a favorite decorating tip or approach that can help take a design project from good to great?

Scale is of utmost importance. Color should speak to the client’s personality.

The room should evoke great emotion by incorporating an important piece like a family heirloom, an accessory that makes a statement, special detailing that subtly makes its presence known, like a cashmere throw or a salvaged rose window from an old church that hangs in the hallway and encourages the eye to look upwards.

What’s your favorite, must-have Drexel Heritage piece…and why?

The Lainey Chair. It’s luxurious like an Armani dress and elegantly styled in tones of brown mohair and velvet. What more could I ask for?

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Rachelle!  Happy anniversary and cheers to another 20-plus successful years!

 For more about the Maryland furniture retailer, visit urbancountrydesigns.com and Urban Country Designs on Facebook.