My origin story

An artist at heart, I studied Business in school to satisfy my practical and caring parents. I spent over a decade in a cubicle doing consulting, marketing, and business analysis. Convinced that my future was in the corporate world, I completed my MBA with honors from Boston University.

Then the tech bubble burst, and my husband and I pivoted to renovation/house flipping.

Then the housing bubble burst, and I started designing kitchens at a box store.

Surviving two bubbles was hard.  My ego and my finances were in shambles.  I was just waiting for the locusts.

But the locusts never came.  Instead, I pushed through.  That was over 20 years ago; I’ve been designing ever since.

Who I am (Nuts and Bolts version)

I am a solopreneur working in partnership with Performance Building Supply, a High Performance building material showroom in Portland.

I design mindful, joyful kitchens for people who think deeply, live intentionally, and want their home to reflect that. 

I support my kitchen clients with additional spaces (e.g., bathrooms, mudrooms, etc.) when needed.

I offer optional ala carte full service – helping clients select, purchase, and manage every material in the room.

Who my clients are

I serve people who care deeply about their kitchen experience.  They may not understand the design process, but they know that it delivers possibilities that they can’t imagine.  And they want that.

My clients view their purchases as votes for a future that their children will inherit. 

My clients buy quality -- not to intimidate, but to last.

They avoid trends.  They prefer either classic or  eclectic styles that stand the test of time.

My clients have a budget of at least $125K for their kitchen remodel or $40K+ to purchase kitchen cabinets for their new build.  As the space or wish list grows, so do these minimums.

Who I am (Why Me version)

Clients hire designers to do what they cannot.  Designers are like sherpas.  Sherpas determine the right destination (because not everyone who intends to summit can make it) and they make the dangerous journey a delight. 

How do I make the destination and the journey a delight for my clients? 

• Regular communication means my clients never wonder what’s happening or what’s next. 

• I limit the number of simultaneous jobs I take to avoid inconsistent progress.

• I track and analyze my time to design efficient workflows. 

• I think, evaluate, advise, and communicate in terms that matter to my clients, not to me personally.

• I integrate tightly with fragmented implementers – which is harder than most people realize.

• And I incorporate important, atypical perspectives in a design lens that I call the BASICS.

What (and how) I charge

I charge a flat fee; the amount varies based on project scope. 

For typical projects, half of the fee is applied to the cabinetry purchase. 

The fee includes three revisions and covers the work to specify and implement the products we sell, namely cabinets and counters.

Optional, ala carte service is available to cover all the other materials like backsplash, lighting, etc. 

Pulling this together: The core service goes a long way in supporting the client.  For the remaining work, I can provide the support, clients can take it from there (which is often harder than they realize), or other pros like architects and interior designers can step in. 

Who my trade partners are

As a former business process engineer (a fancy title implying more experience than I have), I was initially surprised by the fragmented nature of construction.  A typical kitchen renovation can involve eight or more separate trades, inviting many points of coordination and communication failure.  If you aren’t part of a family of trades (which is hard to do) or if that family is dysfunctional, it invites infighting and finger pointing instead of great teamwork. 

I strive to belong to a high-functioning family of trades that are:

• experienced

• curious

• and eager to respectfully collaborate to tap powerful opportunities for efficiency, excellence, and fun

How to work with me

Bring me in early…really early.

Handing me a plan with a placeholder layout is OK, but it hamstrings the value I can deliver. 

Placeholder layouts from (smart, experienced, rockstar) generalists cement in assumptions that are hard to change. If you’re bringing in a (deep) specialist, you’ll get the most out of their deep abilities if you give them a clean slate.

That may mean working differently than you’d expect. I can help you figure out how to do that.