What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

“Your first idea is rarelyyour best idea.” I was told this by one of my professors in school and itpushed me to lean into the iteration process.

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What’s your favorite project that you’ve worked on and why?

Of everything I’ve worked on,the transformation of the old Financial Center tower into Mezzo on Walnut is the project I’m proud of most. There’s something moving about taking a building that shaped the downtown skyline for decades and finding a way to give it asecond life. The lobby is where it all comes together for me. We wanted it tofeel less like a threshold and more like a place that people want to gather in- warm, human-scaled and inviting enough that its energy spills out onto Walnut Street. I think the space strikes the balance right between honoring thehistoric past while still creating something that feels genuinely modern andwelcoming for the people living and working there. Watching that corner ofdowntown come alive again, after years of going quiet has been one of the mostrewarding parts of my career.

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What book is on your night stand?

I’ve got a big stack of TBR that I rotate between, but these are next up in the queue – Leaders Eat Last,Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Whole Brained Child.

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Do you have anything in your home that you’ve designed/created?

My husband recently took up woodworking, and we collaborated on the design of a new set of upper cabinetsfor our midcentury kitchen, complete with slider-style doors. I also love tocraft and sew so I’m always working on a project here and there, but my biggestendeavors were designing and making bed-size quilts for both my kids when theywere born.

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What inspired you to go into your line of work?

I have always had an intrinsic sense that I needed to be an interior designer. I set my sights on this career path when I was in early elementary school and never my passion for it despite the many changes I went through growing up. I used to have Christopher Lowelland HGTV constantly playing in the background while I redesigned every space I had ever been in - sketching floor plans, cutting up magazines and paint chipsto build mood and material boards.

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When needing a break from it all what helps you escape?

I thrive on a predictable daily routine, but when I need a hard reset, getting immersed in nature or traveling to a new city is my favorite way to stop the churn of the day-to-day grind and find inspiration again.  

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