Spaces Design Studio taking on prominent work – Free Lance-Star

Mel Middleton, left, and Stacey Lampman are the pair behind Spaces Design Studio. Photos by Suzanne Rossi. Click all images for larger size.

Mel Middleton and Stacey Lampman have run Spaces Design Studio for almost four years out of a second-floor office in downtown Fredericksburg, but only recently did they even put out a business sign.

That’s because for most of the time the women have run the interior design and architecture firm, they haven’t wanted too much attention. Middleton has children ages 7 and 11, while Lampman’s kids are 3, 7 and 12. Both consider motherhood their most important job.

Lampman and Middleton go over plans for the Vivify Burger Lounge with Blake and Aby Bethem.

But now that their children are a little older, Middleton and Lampman are able to devote more time to their careers. They recently rented the ground-level space at 1004 Caroline St., which is downstairs from their current office. It’s the former home of Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Vintage Boutique, which is now a block over on Princess Anne Street. Lampman describes herself and her business partner as “stay-at-home Moms who can’t sit still.”

Middleton, an architect, and Lampman, an interior designer, have also begun to take on increasingly high-profile jobs in downtown Fredericksburg. Aby and Blake Bethem hired them to design their Vivify Burger Lounge at 314 William St., which will include downtown Fredericksburg’s first rooftop bar. They have helped Parrish, Houck and Snead plan a renovation for the firm’s new office in “The Law Building” at 910 Princess Anne St. They redesigned Foode’s courtyard and are now working on making over the Caroline Street restaurant’s interior. They’ve also done a number of residential jobs together, and have worked on some downtown churches.

The women went into business together not long after being introduced through a mutual friend following Middleton’s move to Fredericksburg in 2007. They had similar ideas on design, and shared a background of working all over the U.S. at prestigious firms while balancing the demands of raising children.

Middleton’s husband is a Marine stationed at Quantico, a job that has taken the couple to Florida, Hawaii and California. Middleton got her degree in architecture from the University of Hawaii at Manoa during one of those stints and has worked at firms including QGR Architects in Pensacola, Fla., where she handled a number of civic, residential and church projects.

One of Spaces Design Studio’s recent jobs was redesigning Foode’s courtyard.

Lampman, who moved to Fredericksburg in 2003 with her husband, a defense contractor, has degrees in interior design from the University of Mississippi and Marymount University. Her jobs at renowned design firms — including HOK, SmithGroup and Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo — have given her experience working on large projects for restaurants, hotels and federal government agencies.

Both have had to make sacrifices in their professional lives to raise their children. But neither has any regrets, and they now want to build a firm locally that respects their employees’ work-life balance and welcomes their children to drop by the office. They now have a second architect and two interns working for them. Both think they can attract top-notch employees by offering them flexibility to get the job done on their own schedule, but neither wants the firm to get too big.

Both women are used to moving around the country frequently. But Fredericksburg feels increasingly like home for both of them, and they’ve now signed a long-term lease on their new office. And they’ve already put up their business signs on the new space.