Living with Lolo was named one of just 12 Phoenix-area companies on Inc.’s 2026 Best Workplaces list. The recognition is about culture: how a company treats its team, develops people, and keeps them. That matters more than it sounds when you are hiring a firm to design and build your home, because the crew that starts your project should be the crew that finishes it. Here is what the award actually means, and why the people behind a design-build firm are the part of the decision most homeowners underrate.
What the research shows
The Best Workplaces recognition is built on employee feedback, not marketing.
- Inc. honored 507 companies on its 2026 Best Workplaces list, and only 12 of them are based in the Phoenix metro area. Living with Lolo is one of the 12.
- The list is produced in partnership with Quantum Workplace, which scores companies on real employee survey data covering engagement, benefits, and how supported people feel.
- Gallup research has long tied high employee engagement to lower turnover and better quality of work, which is exactly the connection that shows up on a construction site.
- For a design-build firm, retention is not an HR statistic. It is the difference between one accountable team from concept to completion and a rotating cast of subcontractors nobody is coordinating.
What the Inc. Best Workplaces list actually measures
Plenty of awards can be bought or lobbied for. This one cannot. Inc.’s Best Workplaces program ranks companies on anonymous employee feedback collected through Quantum Workplace, which means the recognition reflects what the Living with Lolo team says about working here, not what we say about ourselves. In a year when 507 companies made the national list and only 12 came from the entire Phoenix metro, landing on it says something specific about the culture Lauren Lerner has built in Scottsdale.
Why a firm’s culture affects your renovation
Here is the part most homeowners do not think about until it goes wrong. A high-end renovation is a long relationship, often a year or more. If the firm you hired churns through staff, your project loses continuity every time someone leaves: decisions get re-litigated, details fall through, and you end up re-explaining your own home to a stranger. A stable, engaged team is the quiet reason a project stays on track. That is why we treat the Inc. recognition as a client story, not just an internal one. When you work with our luxury interior design firm in Scottsdale, the people you meet at the start are the people who see it through.
What we have built at Living with Lolo
Living with Lolo is a luxury interior design and construction firm, and the two sides sit under one roof on purpose. Because we hold our own contractor license, ROC #347577, design and construction run under a single contract with one accountable team. That model only works if the team is strong and stays, which is where culture and craft meet. You can see how the two halves work together in our design and build process, and the results across our portfolio of Scottsdale projects.
The Inc. Best Workplaces honor also sits alongside recognition for the work itself. Living with Lolo has been named Phoenix Magazine’s Best Interior Design Firm three years running in 2024, 2025, and 2026. Being recognized for both the work and the workplace in the same year is the combination we are most proud of, because in this business you cannot fake one to get the other.
What this means when you hire a design-build firm
My honest advice, whether or not you ever work with us: ask about the team before you ask about the portfolio. Any good firm can show you beautiful photos. Fewer can tell you that the same project lead, designer, and site crew will be with you from the first meeting to the final walkthrough. Ask how long people stay. Ask who actually manages the build. If you are comparing our general contractor services in Scottsdale against other luxury interior design options in Paradise Valley or Phoenix, the answers to those questions will tell you more than any award, including this one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Inc. Best Workplaces award?
It is an annual recognition from Inc. that ranks companies on anonymous employee survey data collected in partnership with Quantum Workplace. It measures engagement, benefits, and how supported employees feel, so it reflects what a company’s team reports rather than what the company claims. In 2026, 507 companies made the national list and only 12 were based in the Phoenix metro area.
Which Scottsdale design firm was named a 2026 Best Workplace?
Living with Lolo, the luxury interior design and design-build firm founded by Lauren Lerner, was named one of 12 Phoenix-area companies on Inc.’s 2026 Best Workplaces list. The firm is based in Scottsdale, Arizona and serves Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and the surrounding Phoenix metro.
Why does a firm’s workplace culture matter when I hire them to build my home?
Because a renovation is a long project, and staff turnover breaks continuity. When a team is stable and engaged, the same people manage your project from concept to completion, so fewer details slip and fewer decisions get re-litigated. Culture is the quiet reason a build stays on schedule and on standard.
Is Living with Lolo a licensed contractor or just a design studio?
Both. Living with Lolo is a luxury interior design studio and a licensed general contractor under ROC #347577, so design and construction happen under one contract with one accountable team. That single-contract model is what lets the design intent survive all the way through the build.
What other awards has Living with Lolo won?
Along with the Inc. 2026 Best Workplaces recognition, Living with Lolo has been named Phoenix Magazine’s Best Interior Design Firm three years running in 2024, 2025, and 2026, and has earned Best of Houzz recognition across multiple years. Founder Lauren Lerner leads the studio’s design direction.
How do I hire Living with Lolo for a project in Scottsdale or Paradise Valley?
Start by reaching out through the Living with Lolo site to talk through your project scope and timeline. The team serves Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and the broader Phoenix metro, and manages design, construction, and installation under one ROC-licensed contract. From there, the process moves through design, construction, and final installation with one accountable team.
About Living with Lolo
Living with Lolo is a luxury interior design and licensed design-build firm in Scottsdale, Arizona, founded by Lauren Lerner. Named Phoenix Magazine’s Best Interior Design Firm three years running in 2024, 2025, and 2026, and named to Inc.’s 2026 Best Workplaces list, the studio manages design, construction, and installation under one ROC-licensed contract (ROC #347577). Lauren Lerner and the Living with Lolo team serve Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and the surrounding Phoenix metro.
Lauren Lerner is the founder and principal designer of Living with Lolo, Scottsdale’s luxury interior design and licensed design-build firm. Named Phoenix Magazine Best Interior Design three consecutive years, Lauren leads projects from concept through construction for high-end homes in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and Phoenix.