About Me

 Here is a lot about me...where the journey began and which direction I am headed! 

I am a wife to a handsome wonderful hard working man (here is your shout out hubby) I don't know where I would be without this man in my life and the blessings we share of three beautiful children. We have grown so much through our marriage and life together truly through sickness and health. He is my rock, my everything! 

My children are growing so fast and it has me torn. Should I be sad that they are not babies anymore to hold and rock to sleep or should I be happy that I no longer have to change a diaper! I think as moms we are both and always conflicted. I am both sad and happy, each day they grow more with those baby and toddler years growing further and further away in my memories.

I spent so much of my days caring for them that I kind of got lost in the shuffle of being a SAHM (stay at home mom). I started to realize when they entered elementary age that my time had come. They are not going to need me as much and now I can go to work while they are doing school. I quickly realized how bittersweet “working” would seem. I very quickly became ill and wasn’t able to last but a few hours each day up and out of bed. The sicker I got the more I longed to just be normal and have normal everyday tasks. 

Friends continued to encourage me and express how talented I was with each home I had built, designed and decorated, so I decided to do take it slow and I started the Blog. I decided that would be the best way to share my designs, ideas and DIY with everyone while keeping me motivated to get past my illness. It’s now 2 years later and I am so happy to finally open up for business as an Interior Designer. I plan to continue the blog, because I love DIY and I know some of you that have been with me from the beginning love it too! 

Thank you to all who encouraged me, and believed in me. I never imagined that this would be my career path! I can’t wait to dive in and start meeting new clients. Time for me to fulfill my heart’s desire to do what has always been a passion, obsession and so much a part of my life… Interior Designs

For those who are new to my page, below is a bit of my experience and how I have made it here today.

My background…

My early years as a child were in the South, a small town in Louisiana. I am so thankful for my loving family and all the great memories and fun I had throughout my childhood! My Southern family was always big on food. I mean DUH we are southern, there will always be too much food on any given occasion. I like to think of it as being prepared for anyone who might stop by to visit and chat! That way there is plenty to share or at-least you will have lots of leftovers.  Gumbo, Jambalaya, Shrimp Po’boys my grandfather always made the best food for the family. Even breakfast was an event, despite your request of " a bowl of cereal". Your plate would arrive with eggs, bacon, biscuit with gravy and grits. Yes I know, we were totally spoiled, my kids will read this one day and say " why didn't you cook like that for us"? My grandfather was the cook in the family, but my grandmother was the glue that kept it all together. Her home was always comfortable and fashionable for its time. The beds were fluffy, soft and full of pillows. The kind of bed you would sink into and have a hard time rolling out of each morning. My grandmother LOVED Pillows and Porcelain Dolls. She had loads of both all over the house. I remember my grandfather mumbling under his breath about his dislike, for all her pillows as he would throw them off the couch or bed! Every bedroom had a t.v. so you could stay up late and watch a movie. This was a big deal! I mean a T.V. and VHS player in ever bedroom was as good as it gets! Electronics were expensive and having one in every room was extravagant. You can STOP trying to guess how old I am…seriously STOP. Junk food at maximum capacity. If you wanted M&Ms, Chocolates, Cokes and every Debbie Snack Cake ever made it was in this house! I’m sure you can see why as a kid I was in Hog Heaven.  My grandmother stashed boxes of chocolates all over her house. Each time she would pull them out of a different hiding spot. She was always offering them up as if she was giving you the best thing in the world. I can still hear her voice asking " want a piece of chocolate"?  She loved Chocolates and Cokes. Both were sacred and you knew you were not allowed to have either unless you asked because those were " granny's"! It because of her I continue the chocolate obsession of stashing chocolates all over my house. Reason #1 You gotta hide it from the kids! Reason #2 Its a fun surprise you forgot about, or when your supply in the pantry is gone you have a back up! 

My grandmother and two of her sisters were always up to some sort of craft, home project/renovation, or shopping for home décor. Over the years I watched as they would draw up furniture designs, curtain patterns, or they would make us do a craft. I loved it. My grandmother NEVER paid for Curtains from a retailer. Her and her sisters always made them custom to match each room. There was always this constant changing of the home, to make it better! Architectural Digest Magazines, Better Homes and Garden, just to name a few that were always around. I remember my grandmother shoving an ad in my face from Architectural Digest saying “look at this house it is so beautiful”. She loved design and architecture. She loved to decorate and design in her home and much later on in life I discovered, one of her sisters was an Interior Designer! So now it all makes sense, it must run through my veins. 

My grandmother passed those design skills and talent onto my mother who I have memories of shopping and dreaming up all the design possibilities we could achieve in my childhood home. She created and I helped with some of the projects she took on. God bless my mom for her dreaming and determination to make our home look beautiful, cozy and inviting no matter how much money we had. She taught me how to decorate on a tiny budget and because of this I am forever grateful. I have utilized this skill through the years as a one income family and I am always thrilled to share my thrifty decor finds with others. I learned how to repaint furniture to give it new life and how to make the most out of what you do have for decorating. Making a room look cohesive and put together with little money available, if any to use for decorating. This takes real talent and my Mother and Aunt take the cake when it comes to rearranging a room. I’m sure my husband wishes I never learned this skill as I move items in our home around “ALL THE TIME”. My mom and I spent lots of time going to Garage Sales and Craft Malls. I learned how to negotiate over an items price and to appreciate handmade items. Sometimes it can be better to shop local. It’s exciting and you never know what you will find. A garage sale or flee market find could end up being the best item in a room. 

When I look back now, I realize it was unusual for a child to want and enjoy looking at furniture and décor. Bored with no money to spend, my summers were often spent browsing the air conditioned mall and department stores, with my mom. It was too hot to be outside, so we walked around looking at and wondering what it would be like to purchase some of these expensive items and design a room with them. My favorite part of the department store was the bedding department! I loved looking at the perfectly made beds and dreaming of it in my room. When I was a teen, I spent my first couple of paychecks on bedding! A 16 year old girl buying herself designer bedding... are you shocked? Most of my friends bought clothes and typical teen stuff, while I’m totally splurging on bedding. I was weird! I should have known then that my future LOVE would be in design as I dreamed of chairs, couches, paint swatches and don’t get me started on fabrics…so many choices and textures!!  

My Experience…

Four houses and 12 years later; thru trial and error and several color schemes I have now created numerous room designs. All my homes, past and present have brought me so much joy to design and create in. I learned how to match wall color to textiles in the room, how to plan out a space for furniture placement, how to accessorize a room, how to paint wall murals, how to select art, how to make a bed several ways for that Model Home/Staging Appeal, how to make custom textiles and a multitude of many other tasks that go into a room design. 

I also built one of my homes and gained experience choosing a multitude of options from: interior and exterior color, exterior materials such as brick and stone, kitchen and bathroom materials. selecting light fixtures, flooring and many other textiles available. Design Centers are my playground! I never feel overwhelmed, but instead full of joy for all the creative possibilities. I am still trying to convince my husband to let me buy a Fixer Upper home so I can do anything I want in the design from scratch....He is still not on board. In time, he will come around to the idea or at least I can hold out hope!

I have renovated areas of a home to include closets and bathrooms. These are fun projects but also lots of hard work. For me it was easy to design a closet from scratch. It felt so natural like second nature. I absolutely loved every minute of it! It taught me so much about which elements to consider when planning this type of space. I have utilized this experience with designing and organizing, other projects such as Garages, Pantries and Storage Closets. 

I have taken “builder grade” bathrooms and with small renovations changed them to create a more custom overall design. I’ve planned out and drawn up sketches for wall moldings and barn door designs for installation. I have worked with and have experience hiring trade jobs to come and help bring my project ideas into reality. I am currently working on furniture designs to bring to life my vision of what I want to see in the marketplace. I am constantly creating and designing. Things can always be better!

My credentials are my life experiences that exposed me to Interior Design through countless design projects in my grandparents, parents and now my own homes. If you choose me as your designer, I am happy to say I have Lived, Loved and Breathed Design most of my life and still do! We all come from different backgrounds that make us who were are today and for me, my entire life has groomed me for this job. I may not have a Design Degree to show it, but I have the experience to prove it! 

I am always soaking up new knowledge in the industry and excited to take steps towards making myself a better designer. You can rest assured if I need help with a large project I have a friend/mentor with a Design Degree to help. I will never take on a project that I feel is out of my expertise, but I am confident with my current experience that I am suited for this job. 

So if you’re ready to hire someone who has learned the trade from experience. I am your girl! 

 In the footsteps of my grandmother and mother; I will always keep throw pillows, scented candles and chocolates (hidden) in my home! If you’re lucky enough to know me or if you hire me as your Designer, maybe one day you too will enjoy some chocolates with me! FYI: Chocolates are a requirement to book a consultation....LOL just kidding! 

Maggie the Pillow Queen (AKA Little Margaret)