JulieAnna Reinhardt started her own interior design business in January, but her journey to the Castle Valley neighborhood began decades ago.

Born and raised in southern California, JulieAnna did a lot of volunteering. So much in fact, that in 1989 she received the award for youth volunteer of the year for Los Angeles County and received a letter of congratulations from President George H.W. Bush.

College took JulieAnna to Arizona State University where she achieved a degree in fine art. She began her career doing marketing and advertising for small businesses. She met and married an Army special forces soldier, whose job eventually took them to Italy, North Carolina and then back to Arizona. Along the way, the couple had two kids, Alyssa and Andrew, and after a divorce, JulieAnna moved with her children to Colorado in 2009 to be near extended family.

“I was looking everywhere for a place to rent, and by the grace of God landed in Castle Pines,” shared JulieAnna.

She went to work as a designer for Pottery Barn’s in-home interior design department.

“I loved the store; I loved the job; I loved the clients,” explained JulieAnna, saying that is when she realized what she was meant to do. She also worked as a writer for The Castle Pines Connection from 2009-2011.

One late night, JulieAnna got an alert on her phone from Richmond American Homes, a national homebuilding company, for a job in their design department at DTC. She vacillated on applying because she was happy where she was but after a divine moment, she decided to apply thinking she would not likely leave Pottery Barn.

“I met with Richmond and they hired me as a senior interior designer at their home gallery. I was there for 10 years,” said JulieAnna. She did all the hard finishes for more than 1,500 homes, averaging 175 houses per year.

“I really found my niche; I found out what I was absolutely passionate about; I loved doing designs and really found the best version of myself,” added JulieAnna.

After the pandemic, Richmond laid off more than half of its employees, including JulieAnna.

“It was the best thing to happen to me because it would have been hard for me to leave,” she said. “I loved it so much, but I was in a bubble.”

JulieAnna took some time and traveled twice to Mexico (once by herself) and to Italy with Alyssa. She then went to work for one year for a Denver firm that did an HDTV show where JulieAnna learned the construction side of things.

“Leaving Richmond and then learning construction was pivotal for me starting my own business,” said JulieAnna. “The light bulb went on.”

She launched Designs by JulieAnna and is off and running doing design construction management for half a dozen clients to date. She has four showrooms in Denver and has partnered with several construction and contract companies.

JulieAnna met her now husband who was studying for a second doctorate at DU,, Dierk Reinhardt, in 2010. He is a corporate attorney in Germany, and splits his time between Europe and America. Dierk brought daughter Giselle into the blended family. Lucy is the family dog, a German dachshund.

JulieAnna treasures the outdoors and enjoys pack rafting with Dierk. One of her favorite things is a predawn walk. “I sit in the grass at Elk Ridge Park and watch the sunrise; it sets the whole day.”

 

By Hollen Wheeler; photo courtesy of JulieAnna Reinhardt; photo courtesy of LeAnn Peralta