motor city
Designworks
bio
the whole story
We think it is really important you get to know people that you work with in creating a space for you. Personalities as well as styles should mesh well when selecting a designer. Read as much or as little as you would like! If you feel like we would be a good fit for your project, contact us to get the process started!
personal
I was born and raised in the heart of the midwest in Indianapolis, Indiana. I grew up in a loving family of 4, my parents and younger brother. I spent the majority of these years playing as much basketball and volleyball as time would allow.
I have lived in the metro Detroit area for about 4 years but have been in Michigan since I was 18 years old! I live in St. Clair Shores with my fiance and 3 dogs. We both love living in St. Clair Shores as we have direct access to Lake St. Clair, are still within 20 minutes from downtown Detroit, and it still has an small lake town feel. Jeremy and I met online and both had dogs at the time named Benson + Stella which just seemed crazy and a little bit fate to me!
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We spend the majority of our summers on the water and our winters hibernating and working on the 8 million projects I come up with for our 1970's ranch home.
Background
I grew up watching my parents turn our 100 year old house in a historic Indy neighborhood into something amazing! I remember watching my mom use the bathtub to wet her wallpaper and my dad finish the third floor which eventually became my bedroom and hangout spot (which was pretty cool at the time for a 13 year old).
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I also remember crying the day they showed me the new house they bought. It was a tiny little limestone house with bright turquoise door, shutters, and trim, a lime green + pink kitchen, and my future bedroom that had lime green ceiling, walls, and trim! I spent many days that first summer with a heat gun scraping turquoise paint off of the front porch. I watched over the next several years as my parents (with some child labor from my brother and I) turn this house into a home with a ton of DIY projects. Ironically, this house must have made a big impact on me as Lime Green is my favorite color and have sneaked it in to most of my own houses' designs, I painted my own 100 year old house renovation's front door bright turquoise, and I still have some of the original turquoise, wood shutters from this house hanging on my wall!
lansing before:
turquoise door after:
the hole in the bathroom floor:
where i came out in the kitchen:
how I found design
I have taken an extremely out of the ordinary path to design. I am not one of those people that dreamed about design when I was a kid and in fact, looking back at what I chose for my bedrooms at the time, not the most amazing style!
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I pursued business in undergrad at Central Michigan (Fire Up Chips)! I signed a Marketing major and added a Supply Chain Management major since it was only a few extra classes, despite not having any idea what it was. Turns out I ended up really liking the Supply Chain side and got a job with UPS right out of college. A goal of mine was always to get my MBA, so I started this a few years out of undergrad at Grand Valley State.
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During this time, I bought my first house in Grand Rapids, MI and really enjoyed turning this house into a home. I painted every room and started to buy furniture that was not handed down from one of my relatives! From here, I moved up quickly in my career running Distribution Centers for companies including Target, Meijer, Amazon, and Chrysler. I moved several times throughout this career and which each move came a new house that was a blank slate.
I started to really get into designing the new spaces and renovating them myself. I have done everything from roofing, to tiling, to refinishing hardwood floors, to drywall, to paint. I love DIY and I have learned (sometimes the hard way) what works and what doesn't. I have even fallen through my bathroom floor into my kitchen!
Over this time, I developed a deep passion for interior design and renovation. After remodeling 6 of my own homes and freelancing for 8+ years, I decided I needed to pursue this passion, get an interior design degree, and help others with designing amazing spaces in their homes.
my style
I have a lot of styles I love so it is pretty hard to call it just one thing. My current house I would call Contemporary Cozy Cottage, with a touch of Industrial + Rustic elements. I love that cozy look and feel of a transitional cottage with clean neutrals, pops of color, light woods, and comfortable textiles.
I love clean lines of contemporary design paired with rustic + industrial elements that bring in warmth and character. Modern Farmhouse has that warm + inviting feel while keeping a bright + clean look. I also have fun with more Contemporary spaces that have a bit more edginess to them with bold color + inviting textures.
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Something that is key to all styles I design in is the addition or enhancement of character and architectural details in the space. I never want any space I design to look like it has nothing special about it. I want every space to have those details and elements that are conversation starters because they are just so unique and freaking cool! I love to highlight unique aspects original to the home if they fit with the overall style. I also enjoy finding ways to repurpose something from the home and making it a distinctive element in the space, whether it is turning wood from the old dock into a guest towel rack, using the old fence pickets to create a one-of-a-kind wainscoting, or old oars found in the basement rafters turned into the focal piece on the living room wall! Finding new character pieces to add to a design also helps make my designs feel like they have that exquisite element that makes the space stand out.
house's old fence pickets:
turned into wainscoting:
our pups - benson, maverick + stella:
demo day:
lake st. clair sunsets:
things I love
volleyball
I have played volleyball since I was 10 and have never really stopped. From coaching to playing, I just truly love the game! I still play as much as I can make time for!
dogs, dogs + more dogs
While my family growing up was never really a family for pets, I always was envious of my friends that had dogs. After I got older and had the ability to care for an animal, I got dogs, and have never stopped loving them! My fiancé and I currently have 3 awesome pups, Benson, Stella, and Maverick!
diy + renovating
I truly have a deep love for renovation and DIY. Learning new skills and putting sweat equity into my home brings me so much pride and joy. I am extremely fortunate to have parents that are willing to come to help me with my DIY projects and teach me what they have learned over the years. It is amazing quality time I get to spend with them!
michigan
I didn't always have a love affair with the state of Michigan, but over the 18+ years I have fallen in love with all of the beauty this state has to offer. I have lived in Mt. Pleasant, Grand Rapids, Lansing, metro Detroit, and had vacation homes in Cadillac and Cheboygan. This has allowed me to explore and enjoy so much of this state!
lakes + boating
There is something magical to me about being out on the water with the wind in your hair and sun shining down on you. I am so thankful and lucky that I live in a place where I can experience the lake all summer long.
beer, beer + more beer
I am a beer girl through and through. Luckily a live in a state jam packed with breweries and a city that has 4 of them within 1 mile from my house. There is nothing better than a coconut porter on a cold night or a hazy IPA to refresh you on a hot summer day. My favorite beers I have ever tried: Crankers Coconut Porter, Baffin Trop SIPA (Tropical Sour IPA), and Baffin + Copper Hop Collaboration Hare of the Dog P4 Tropical New England IPA.
fun facts
school tour of michigan
I have seemed to make my rounds around the lower peninsula of Michigan in my schooling! I have an Bachelor of Science in Business from Central Michigan University (I will always be a Chippewa). I then received my Masters in Business Administration from Grand Valley State University. And finally (hopefully no more degrees) I graduated Summa Cum Laude with my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design at Wayne State University.
something most friends know about me
I played volleyball in college at CMU (when you meet me in person you will see I am very tall)! I still play today but everything hurts a little more than it did back then! There wasn't a lot of sand volleyball where I grew up so that is something that I am working to get better at.
something most don't know about me
I'm a secret race fan! Most people do not know that I LOVE IndyCar and NASCAR! I grew up working for my grandfather's catering company as a suite coordinator in all of the suites at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Watching the sheer speed during those days was absolutely amazing.
college teams
After playing a sport at Central, the Chippewas will always be #1 in my heart no matter who they are playing. However, behind that it gets a little messy! I grew up an Indiana Hoosier fan and will cheer for them over anyone else. I am a fair-weather Michigan fan because my fiancé and I have season football tickets. And I will cheer for the MAC and Big Ten and Butler. I will not cheer for Grand Valley or Wayne State because they were the rivals of University of Indianapolis where my younger brother played football.
pro teams
I am a die hard Indianapolis Colts fan! Also a Pacers fan but don't enjoy pro basketball that much any more. Since Indiana never had a baseball or hockey team, I never really got too into those sports growing up. But I have adopted the Tigers and Redwings and have fun going to those games.
what i wanted to be when i grew up
In grade school I was dead set on being the first woman in the NBA. I would watch Reggie Miller, Dale + Antonio Davis, Rik Smits, Derrick McKey, and Mark Jackson tear it up for the Pacers and just dream about being the first female to join them. I was extremely disappointed when the WNBA was formed and crushed my dreams. Then in high school I had a slightly more realistic goal and wanted to be an ER Surgeon. But someone unkindly told me that my name would be Dr. Dum and no patient would want to come to me and that just ruined that dream for me!!
sand volleyball tournament:
indiana vs. michigan game:
