Written By Megin Potter
Photo by Five Oceans Photography
If these walls could talk…
Lauren Magina’s illustrations of Saratoga’s buildings, facades, hobbies, and horses create connections to the past and to this place.
What started out for Lauren Magina as a form of creative expression has turned into a personalized statement piece in homes across the region.
Custom wallpaper bearing Lauren’s illustrations of Saratoga landmarks and local gems tell stories that go beyond the objects themselves. This high-quality traditional wallpaper honors the ideas and memories that these structures embody, as well as the past, present, and future that they represent.
Photo by Megan Mumford
The brainchild of Interior Designs Atelier’s Diane Meyer, the collaboration began as a project for the powder room of an approachably elegant Circular Street home built by DSG Builder Group and was slated for the 2024 Saratoga Showcase of Homes tour. After the SOH appearance didn’t happen, we were able to show a glimpse of this exquisite home in the Holiday ’25 issue of Simply Saratoga.
Images of the navy wallpaper (with its repeating pattern of a dozen, or so, distinctive white images of Saratoga’s iconic places) really helped the product take off, said Lauren.
In addition to exhibiting Lauren’s intimate understanding of space and scale in residential applications, this paper, completely customizable and available in a variety of colors, makes for a notable conversation piece on public walls, like those in Broadway’s Bear’s Cup Bakehouse, as well.
Designing a Saratoga Style Statement
Lauren started sketching, both digitally and with paper and pen, as a creative outlet. In 2016, after helping to develop advertising with The Coca-Cola Company, Lauren, an Atlanta, GA native, and her husband, moved to Saratoga, where she started LC Magina Designs. Developing logos, branding, and package designs for global corporate brands, which led to her work being published by Forbes, CNN, and The New York Times, among others. Not bad for someone who started sketching, both digitally and with paper and pen, as a creative outlet.
During the pandemic, however, Lauren began scaling back her corporate work to focus on raising their two children. After taking photos and drawing the quick doodles onsite that give life to her images, Lauren hones her digital sketching skills and refines the images in her home studio.
When working with clients, Lauren encourages them to choose an average of 15 local landmarks from a long list that she’s compiled (but adds they are open to include images of spots special to them).
After approving the digital
mock-up, clients can purchase samples, and work with Interior Designs Atelier experts for professional installation.
Sharing the Spirit
In addition to engaging audiences with wallpaper, Lauren’s illustrations are featured in Saratoga ABC’s, a rhythmic board book published last year born from an alphabet poster she designed for her children’s room.
Happy to sketch all day, Lauren also completes commissioned residential architectural and pet portraits in her signature style.
The unique spirit of Saratoga is also featured on Lauren’s clothing line. Fashioning matching ‘Toga Kids Club t-shirts bearing the logo, “Jockeys & Juice Boxes,” and ‘Toga Moms Club shirts emblazoned with the tagline “Running Horses & Households,” this is apparel that highlights the strength of moms and the joy of children in this unique region.
Get inspired by Saratoga’s special charm by following @lcmagina on Instagram. Shop online at lcmagina.com
