Like many other designers, my love for interiors started at a young age. For as long as I can remember, I’ve rearranged furniture I was probably too small to move, and mixed colors and patterns fearlessly. Next year, I am starting construction on my own family’s Mediterranean home renovation and celebrating ten years in business. These milestones feel surreal and I’m so grateful for this journey. It seems only fitting to take a look back at how my personal style has evolved over the years.

Project 1: My First Apartment

Back in 2013, my husband Luke and I fell in love with a two-flat right off Logan Boulevard in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. As renters, we were limited in what we could do, but we loved creating our first little home together. At the time, the show Mad Men was all the rage, and the Midcentury modern style was making a big comeback. When designing the space, I mixed those Midcentury design elements with my innate bohemian spirit. Back then I was definitely more influenced by trends and less sure of my personal aesthetic. I used what was available (Midcentury), in addition to vintage pieces that told a story. We didn’t have a big budget so we used a lot of what we already had and got creative with DIY projects.

Throughout my 20s, I was always looking for more ways to be creative outside of my career in community outreach. This apartment redesign filled that creative void. I was so flattered when our landlord saw how we transformed the space and asked if I was a designer. That compliment, and my job at Lillstreet Art Center is what ultimately drove me to go back to school for interior design and start Centered by Design. Fast forward a couple of years and our apartment was featured on The EveryGirl and an Apartment Therapy Home Tour. This was SO exciting as an emerging designer. This project fueled my passion to make a house a home and started to develop my design eye.

A couple of key learnings from this project:

1. The value of custom items: We bought curtains from World Market and they weren’t long enough. Today I would definitely have custom curtains made, they make such a statement!
2. Get creative and DIY pieces that aren’t available in a retail context or in your budget. Luke made our dining table and built my standing desk from an IKEA table top and birch plywood. I did lots of sewing projects and always sourced more affordable vintage pieces.

Project 2: The Warwick Bungalow

In 2015, we were ready for our next adventure and purchased our first home, a Tudor style bungalow in Chicago’s Portage Park / Old Irving neighborhood. Luke and I both grew up watching “This Old House” and loved the idea of a more significant renovation. We loved the potential and character in older homes, plus you can contribute lots of sweat equity and see the return when you sell. Around this time, I started interning for Nate Berkus and officially joining the design world helped to develop my taste. I intentionally didn’t go into the renovation with an agenda — I wanted the house to speak to me. In design school and the field, I was learning more about time periods of furniture and appreciating antiques. The bungalow was built in the 1930s – 1940s and had Art Deco characteristics, such as symmetry and geometric patterns. My style became more defined during this renovation and I settled into my love for a traditional/transitional home.

While renovating the bungalow, I was a new designer and being in the industry opened my eyes to all the design possibilities and options in a designers toolkit. I had started Centered by Design and spent a lot of time on the blog and social media documenting what I called the “Warwick Reno”. I brought my audience along sharing my design process and room reveals with posts like: Designing A Classic Black & White Bathroom with Flair, The Nursery Reveal, and The Master Bedroom Design Plan. The bungalow has a very special place in my heart. It’s the first home we brought both our babies home to and it was labor of love with significant mental and physical work put into it (Luke demoed everything!). Relive the process with me through the blog archives!

The Mediterranean Home Renovation

Next up: Chicago’s North Shore. In 2023, Luke and I moved our family to Glencoe and are planning a full home renovation of a beautiful 1920’s Mediterranean house. It’s important to me that the renovation honors the historic elements of the home and stays true to it’s Mediterranean roots. That said, the design will include a light color palette, tile and arches, while still adding my own traditional spin on it.

Sneak Peek into our Mediterranean Vision

Before Photos of our Home

It’s so fun to see the evolution of our homes. Clearly my style has evolved a lot over the last ten years! These experiences have led to my focus on restoring historical homes for young families and adding historical character to new builds. In each project, our goal is to curate a storied interior that feels authentic to the house and family.

This trip down memory lane has gotten me even more excited for our next project. We hope to begin construction this winter so make sure to follow along on Instagram for many more updates coming soon!