Lawrence Lazzaro and Nicholas Hertneck operate both Nicholas Lawrence Design and Modern Hacienda.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ETHAN KAMINSKY PRODUCTIONS
Lawrence Lazzaro and Nicholas Hertneck joke that they don’t always see eye-to-eye (Nicholas is 6-foot-2-inches tall; Lawrence stands 5 foot 6), but they appreciate one another’s point of view. This is very fortunate, since the couple co-own two thriving businesses in Palm Desert.
Together they run Nicholas Lawrence Design, a full-service interior design firm that specializes in luxury residential properties, and Modern Hacienda, a retail shop that offers home furnishings and décor. They operate both businesses in the same 6,000-square-foot showroom.
The pace of life in the Coachella Valley suits them well, including the quiet summers that allow them to be especially productive. “We have a great appreciation for the desert style of living and enjoy creating environments for our clients to play, relax, and entertain,” Lazzaro says.
In addition to overseeing their companies, the two are corporate sponsors of The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens and Tools for Tomorrow, which provides free, after-school and online arts programs for local children. As Director’s Circle sponsors of the Palm Springs Art Museum they are pleased to be sponsors of The Modern Chair exhibition at the museum’s Architecture and Design Center. The exhibition is of particular interest to them, since several of the modern chairs represented in the exhibition are sold in authentic, licensed production at their store, Modern Hacienda.
Both men view the Greater Palm Springs area as filled with potential for other creative types. “There is so much opportunity in the Coachella Valley for people who work in architecture and design,” Hertneck says. “We encourage talented, skilled people to relocate here — and interview with our firm first.”
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