Human Sciences senior turns dorm-room design into growing business — with Auburn as a client

There’s decorating your dorm room, and then there’s getting so good at it that Auburn asks you to decorate theirs.

That’s how Lucy Folmar spent her summer — transforming two empty rooms inside Concourse Hall, Auburn’s new freshman residence hall, into showrooms for future students and families.

The interior design senior in the College of Human Sciences and owner of Living Well Design was given plenty of freedom to bring her signature soft, classic style to Auburn’s newest residence hall.

This time, Folmar wasn’t designing around one client’s style. She was designing for hundreds of future Auburn freshmen she may never meet.

Blank walls, big plans

Concourse Hall sits at the heart of campus near Haley Center and the Melton Student Center. The $80 million, 125,000-square-foot facility is now home to over 350 freshmen.

But before the students moved in, Auburn University Housing needed to turn two of its brand-new rooms into the showrooms future students and families would see on tours.

Enter Folmar.

Housing connected with her in May, giving her floor plans and photos to start dreaming up the spaces before she could even get inside. She gained access in July and got to work.

She leaned on what she knows best: what Auburn students actually like.

“I wanted everyone who walks in to feel like, ‘Oh, I could see myself living here,’” Folmar said. “I pulled from what clients have told me in the past that they like and want, just to be in tune with the student experience and what they want to see.”

For Lindsey Sharpe with University Housing, having an Auburn student behind the design made the project even better.

“It’s not just another design company,” Sharpe said. “She’s a student in the interior design program. So why not bring together the student, the program and the new hall all together in one new opportunity.”

Designed between classes

The funny thing is, Folmar almost was not an interior design student at all.

She came to Auburn as an event planning major. That lasted a few days.

When she saw a seat left in an interior design class, she made the switch.

Growing up, Folmar rearranged her furniture, asked her parents for new bedding as a birthday present and regularly convinced them to repaint her bedroom whenever inspiration struck.

“Why wasn’t I choosing interior design in the first place?” she said.

Folmar didn’t stop at changing her major.

She started a business, too.

Living Well Design goes well beyond dorm rooms. Folmar works with students and families to also design apartments and townhomes.

And sometimes, one room turns into several.

Many of her clients first find her as incoming freshmen, then call again when it’s time to trade the dorm for an apartment or townhome. As their spaces and styles change, Folmar gets to follow some students and families through several years of their Auburn experience.

“They’ll call me back their sophomore year, and even sometimes in their junior year,” she said. “It’s just really special to get to keep up with them.”

For families coming from out of state, having someone already in Auburn can make move-in a whole lot easier.

“They arrive and then all they have to do is just bring their personal items," Folmar said. “We fully take care of the rest.”

Parents and students interested in working with Folmar can connect through the Living Well Design website.

And as the business grows, Folmar wants to bring other Auburn students along with it.

She hopes to expand her small team and eventually bring on interior design students looking for internships, giving them the chance to work directly with clients and gain real-world experience before they graduate.

Room to grow

A lot can change between freshman and senior year. Folmar has gotten to watch that happen with many of her clients, and now, she’s seeing it from the other side.

At convocation this fall, Folmar watched the Class of 2030 begin their Auburn experience as she prepared for her last year.

“It’s just so cool how much you can grow and learn from freshman year to graduation,” she said. “Auburn is so special.”

Folmar plans to stay in Auburn after graduation and keep growing Living Well Design. And with a new class arriving every fall, there will always be another blank wall, empty room or first apartment waiting for a little help.

So while Folmar’s time as an Auburn student may be winding down, she’s nowhere near finished decorating the place.