“We want to be approachable. Like, come on into the house. Take off your shoes—or leave them on if you want. Have a glass of wine. We want that feeling in all our projects… Like this feels elevated. I think a designer did it—but I still feel at home.”
– Ann Lopez

Some people are born into design. Others find their way back to it after years of doing what they were supposed to do. For Ann Lopez, it was both.

“I knew since I was a little girl that I wanted to transform spaces,” she says. “I would always have emotional responses and connections in different spaces that I walked in.” With a mother who was a “decorator fanatic” and a grandmother who shared the same passion, design wasn’t just an interest—it was in her blood.

Still, when it came time to choose a career, Ann took the practical route. “This dates me a little bit,” she laughs, “but when I went to college, creative fields weren’t really prominent. It was like, go to school to be an accountant, to be a lawyer, to be in finance, to be in business.” A degree in interior design wasn’t even something she knew she could pursue.

Instead, she built a successful 18-year career in luxury hospitality, working in leadership at Marriott. And yet, design never quite left her. “I would design for friends… My old boss let me design our office space in Chicago, and that led to my first pay client.”

She gave herself permission to go all in. “I said, it’s now or never. I’m not getting any younger. This is a burning passion I have. I love business, and I love design. So what better hybrid than to start my own business in design and build this thing?”

That’s how Studio 790 came to life—a full-service design firm driven by what Ann calls approachable luxury. “We always say internally, we’re people over profit here at Studio 790. The money will come when we do the right things for our clients.”

Ann is quick to clarify that while Studio 790 doesn’t stick to a singular design style, their signature is in the experience. “Our style? We don’t have one,” she says with a smile. “Our clients dictate what they want. When you look at our portfolio, it runs the gamut—we have mid-century modern, traditional, elevated classic, modern, eclectic. But I would argue there’s definitely a Studio 790 string holding all those together.”

Rather than imposing a look, the team interprets each client’s vision and builds it with care. “We partner with them, bring our expertise, and bring to life what is meaningful and personal and emotional to them—even if it may not be to me. That’s what makes a good business person.”

For Ann, the joy isn’t just in the creative process. It’s also in what follows. “If I’m going to be honest,” she admits, “my favorite part of the process is when it’s done. When we get the photos back, when we get to tell the story—I thrive in that part.”

And she does. A marketer by trade, Ann leads her studio with both a creative heart and a strategic mind. “We have a full marketing platform that we use to reveal our projects. I get to share my team’s designs, the obstacles we faced, the fun before-and-afters… We want to inspire people to live better lives, and I think we play a role in that.”

But behind it all, Studio 790 is about people. “Designing and creating is a small percent of my day-to-day,” she shares. “And I’m perfectly fine with that—because I get to employ people, train them, and give them opportunities they wouldn’t have had.”

That’s what sets Studio 790 apart. It’s not just a firm that makes beautiful rooms—it’s a place built on values. “We want to be approachable. Like, come on into the house. Take off your shoes—or leave them on if you want. Have a glass of wine. We want that feeling in all our projects… Like this feels elevated. I think a designer did it—but I still feel at home.”

Ann Lopez didn’t just start a design studio. She built a business that mirrors the way she lives: intentional, welcoming, and rooted in purpose.

Visit Ann and her team at www.studio790.com

Photography by Jackie Knabben