Lauren Shadid had an idyllic childhood growing up in her neighborhood near Cherry Creek State Park. After nine years in Washington, D.C., and 20 years in Los Angeles, Lauren longed to return to Colorado. Owner and Principal of Lauren Architecture + Interiors for more than 20 years, Lauren and her husband, Gabe, owner of Epic Score, a music production company, and their two daughters moved to The Village at Castle Pines in 2018.

It was in high school that Lauren knew she wanted to be an architect. Lauren and her mom went to open houses together as they were searching for a new house. The experience opened Lauren’s eyes to ways to personalize a home.

In Washington D.C., Lauren’s college was two metro stops from the Capitol and the National Mall. “At first, I didn’t like the weather and felt like a fish out of water, coming from the West. I ended up falling in love with D.C. and staying after graduating,” Lauren shared. Working for an architecture firm specializing in historic preservation in Georgetown provided exciting opportunities to work on projects for the United States Naval Academy and the Pope-Leighey House, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Lauren met Gabe a few years out of college, through mutual friends. While Lauren moved on to Gensler, a large commercial architecture firm, Gabe was working in audio post-production and composing music. The couple moved to Los Angeles, where they continued to grow their careers and had Sophie and Elena.

Lauren left the large firm to focus on being a mom and wanted to work as time allowed. In Los Angeles, she started her own firm doing residential remodels, additions and custom builds. Lauren said, “I love that you truly get to help people create the most important space of their lives.” Lauren is LEED-accredited (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and incorporates sustainable and passive house standards into her design and construction, which result in highly efficient, cost-saving and healthy, green buildings.

“I’m all about family, the outdoors, travel, community and design,” Lauren stated. The empty nesters visit their daughters as often as possible. Sophie (23) works in Life Sciences Consulting in Los Angeles, and Elena (21) is a rising senior at Gonzaga University studying digital media and documentary film production.

Lauren and Gabe walk their rescue dog, Beck, every day. Lauren is training to hike her first 14er with Elena in July, while Gabe is an active member of the Castle Pines Cycling Club and is training for the Triple Bypass, also in July. Lauren said Elena wants the family to hike the Dolomites in Italy when she graduates
next year.

To learn more about Lauren’s work, visit laurenshadidarch.com.

 

By Lisa Nicklanovich; photos courtesy of Lauren Shadid