Mark Roberts, 35, Cedar Rapids
Interior designer @ Larry Roberts Interiors
When Mark Roberts submitted photos of a completed design project to Traditional Home magazine last fall, he was hoping the magazine would recognize the beauty and style in the design and feature it in an upcoming issue.

He had no idea that submission would lead to the magazine naming him as one of the 20 “young designers to watch” in their March 2010 issue.

“I wasn’t seeking this out,” says Mark. “I was just trying to get one of our projects into the magazine.”

Mark, who works with his father at Larry Roberts Interiors in Cedar Rapids, is listed among designers from large metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Dallas and New York City – including one who was once a set designer for HBO’s “Sex and the City.”

He joins those ranks, he says, “to show people that some really good work gets done in the Midwest, too.”

The honor may not come as a surprise to many that know Mark.

He told Traditonal Home that as a child “instead of going camping, we toured Monticello and Colonial Williamsburg.”

There have been many projects over the years that have caught his eye, but one he completed in September really stood out.

“It was really well-developed and was filled with all the accessories and draperies and everything that I would want to do to really finish a room well,” Mark says. “I thought it was something that should be submitted to a magazine.”

So he contacted a design editor at Traditional Home, who seemed interested, but in the time it took to talk with various editors and make arrangements for professional photography, the home, which housed the design had been sold and the project was partially dismantled.

Then the original design editor asked Mark an odd question.

“She says, ‘Can I ask how old you are?’” he says.

He told her and she asked for more images of other projects. That’s when Mark learned that she wanted to feature him as one of the 20 young designers in the March issue.

It wasn’t until the magazine came out a few weeks ago that Roberts found out there was a contest attached to the feature, as well.

Readers can vote online for their favorite designer and enter for a chance to win a custom room. The prizes also includes Duralee fabric, up to a $5,000 value. At the same time, one randomly selected designer will win 50 yards of Duralee fabric to be used in future projects, also up to a $5,000 value.

Two weeks into the contest — which runs through the end of February — Mark is in second place.

“We’re encouraging our clients to vote, it’s just something fun,” he says. “It could be a good plug for Cedar Rapids if we do well.”
— MOLLY

What he can do for you
To see some of Roberts’ designs, and to access a link to the contest, see the firm’s Web site, www.larryrobertsinteriors.com Vote for Mark. You never know. You might win a custom designed room.

Did you know?
Mark’s father, Larry, started his design firm in 1979. They’ve been family-owned and local ever since. Mark joined the firm in 1997.