Rod Winterrowd, hailing from Rolling Hills Estates and boasting a lineage spanning four generations in Los Angeles, joyfully embraces his Peninsula heritage while pursuing his passion as a globally recognized designer. With a focus on both interior design and architecture, Winterrowd, breathes life into spaces across the globe, manifesting his creative vision and “an adherence to the tenets of classism- balance, proportion, scale, and symmetry”.
After graduating from USC with a bachelor degree in Communications Rod jumped into the career world with big dreams. He spent almost ten years at Disney Studios working in television. Always pushing himself to reach higher goals. He had a plan to become a vice president by the time he hit thirty, but that came years sooner, and did not have the same luster when he was a young neophyte. His passion for design however only continued to grow. “A few years later when I was offered a senior vice presidency promotion, which meant a move to New York and taking on even more responsibility for a career that left me empty, I just couldn’t ’t do it. I knew it wasn’t right. I wanted to go to design school. I knew I had to get out of my contract,” which luckily he did just in time.
“After six months of haggling with the studio the news came down from legal that I had been released from my contract on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend. I had already applied to the Parsons School of Interior Design, chose my courses and paid the tuition on a wing and a prayer that everything would work out. I took the redeye to New York, just days before school began after the holiday weekend. Fortuitously, I already had an apartment in NYC and a house in Southampton, which made this tight timeline much easier. So I threw a huge party that Saturday night, then began school at Parsons Tuesday morning at 8 o’clock.”
A few years later in 2003, Winterrowd opened his office on 5th Avenue at East 63rd Street taking the design world by storm.
“I was lucky because both my city apartment and my first Southampton house were published, one in House Beautiful and one in Veranda. So, unlike other recent graduates, I was fortunate to be a published decorator coming out of Parsons, which really helped launch my career,” Winterrowd says. “People liked what I was doing at home, and since I entertained a lot, both at the beach and in the city, my work started to be recognized”.
Much of Winterrowd’s work over the past two decades however, isn’t publicly known due to strict NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) he has signed with the majority of his clients. ‘’While my website is comprehensive and I have been fortunate to have been published throughout my career, what I can show only represents about 35% of my portfolio over the past 2+ decades. The NDAs prevent me from publishing or discussing the projects or my clients. It’s a trade-off for the privacy and confidentiality of working with high-profile individuals and families who have multiple properties. To me it’s always been about the work, not the accolades. So while I maybe recognized in a bit of a rarified world instead of a household name, that’s never been my priority,” he says.
Winterrowd is known for his unique approach to design. “No matter how beautiful the furniture, antiquities and art, if the bones are not right at the end of the day, nothing will work. Whether it’s a restoration or new construction my initial focus is first getting the architecture just right. I like to mix periods and styles to create unique, eclectic residences that reflect my clients, not myself”. Whether he’s working on a London townhouse or a private island in the Bahamas his projects are anything but ordinary. “As much as I love beauty and luxury, function and practicality are equally important“.
Winterrowd racked up plenty of awards and recognition along the way, but what really drives him are those passion projects that break the mold and celebrate individuality. He won the Ballinger Award presented annually by The Preservation Society of Palm Beach for the best restoration of a landmarked house. As it is a matter of public record after being published in The Palm Beach Press, as well as the New York Times he was able to share that it was the 50,000 square-foot ocean front residence of Mr. and Mrs. David Koch. Another notch in his belt of excellence and innovation.
It is important to the designer that his talent and services are available and affordable to more people which is why he is proud to be participating in a new venture called Intro.co A relatively new online marketplace designed to book one on one master class sessions, beginning in 15 minute segments with the world’s most sought-after experts in their different areas of expertise offering advice via video calls. Intro.co facilitates seamless connections between people worldwide and experts. Rod is extremely excited to now be a contributing expert in his world of design and architecture. “I am thrilled about this technology and platform. A new opportunity as of way to help people beautify their lives. Additionally, a portion of all profits will go to support a charity very dear to my heart, God’s Love We Deliver. Our motto is food is medicine. We prepare and deliver approximately 14,000 medically tailored meals for our clients with over 500 unique illnesses every day. I was brought up with the understanding that to whom much has been given, much is expected”.
Rod is also fascinated by the history of PV. “I must emphasize, especially for someone who has been fortunate enough to travel extensively and witness the world’s most breathtaking destinations, that returning home to Palos Verdes underscores its place among the top ten. This realization strikes me profoundly,” he admits. “I think about 1920, when the Olmsted Brothers, prompted by Mr. Vanderlip, embarked on the development of Palos Verdes Estates. Their vision was deeply influenced by the Mediterranean travels of Mr. and Mrs.Vanderlip and consequently, the architectural direction was unmistakable; Spanish revival and Mediterranean influences grace every corner of Palos Verdes,” says Winterrowd who was influenced by his surroundings as a child.” I was blessed from the time I was a young boy to begin, family travels abroad, and later in high school with my beloved teacher, Miss Lee Strauss, who taught history through art, politics, architecture, and even juicy gossip, going back to the Greco Roman empires.
He calls his parents, who will be married 63 years this September, the perfect couple and his younger brother Neil his best friend. He is the extremely proud uncle of a nephew and two nieces. Then there is my very own Auntie Mame who I still call Mima to this day. We’ve had so many wonderful adventures. From a very young age, she was taking me to Europe, and exposing me to the arts, fashion, culture, architecture and history that began to fill my head with wonder. Sadly, my Uncle John passed away last year. He was my biggest champion, mentor, and very dear friend”.
Palos Verdes was such an idyllic place to grow up. My childhood friends are still my best friends today. However, while most children were reading comic books and skateboarding, I had my nose in the latest edition of Architectual Digest. I spent much of my childhood living within my own imagination. I loved going up to the show rooms with my mother. I used to draw elevations of the exteriors of houses I wanted to live in when I grew up. Ironically, although I did not know the language, I was drawing neoclassical facades with columns, pediments and classically scaled windows and doors.
Beyond the professional, Winterrowd’s journey is really about personal growth and staying true to himself. “Unto thy own self be true“. He is proof that you can make it big on your own terms, and that embracing who you are is the real key to happiness, and that’s a lesson worth remembering for anyone chasing their dreams and passions.
Direct link to Intro.co –
Intro.co/Rod Winterrowd
Website-rodwinterrowd.com
