In design, we talk a lot about beauty. About aesthetics. About the luxury of it all.
But the most powerful rooms we’ve ever helped create aren’t about any of those things.

REIMAGINING A ROOM WITH MEMORY AND MEANING

Just last week, we reimagined a space for someone I adore: my great aunt Zelda. She’s my late grandmother’s baby sister, my mom’s dearest aunt, and one of the chicest women I know. We’ve always shared a love of handbags, shoes, fantastic chinaware, and gorgeous draperies—so when her space didn’t reflect any of that, I knew we had to step in.

Zelda had recently transitioned into an aging facility. While the care was excellent, the space didn’t feel like hers. The layout wasn’t functional. The paint felt cold. The lighting was harsh. And maybe most painful—it felt like none of it remembered who she was.

WE DIDN’T START OVER. WE STARTED WITH WHAT MATTERED.

We’ve designed several homes for Zelda over the years. She’s always had a distinct point of view. She’s traveled, collected, lived fully—and her spaces have always reflected that. So when I walked into this new room, filled with standard-issue furniture and the kind of art you hang just to say the walls aren’t empty, it didn’t feel like her. It didn’t feel like home.

We leaned into what she already loved—nearly 90% of the furnishings came from her previous home. We edited for scale, rehung her art with care, repurposed her rugs, and resized her drapery to soften the light. We repainted the walls in a warmer, more familiar tone. It wasn’t about reinventing anything.
It was about remembering.

A SMALL CHANGE WITH A BIG IMPACT

And when she saw the finished space, she smiled in a way I hadn’t seen in months. It wasn’t a big, showy moment. It was quiet. But everyone in the room felt it.

A few days later, her son texted:

“She’s over the moon. Proud. Loves everything.
That makes me beyond happy.”

He called the space thoughtful. Said it looked bigger.
More “forward-thinking.”

And what stayed with me most:
“Seeing how happy she was blew all of us away.”

There was no photoshoot. No glossy final reveal. But this kind of work reminds us why we do what we do.

THOUGHTFUL DESIGN ISN’T ALWAYS FLASHY. BUT IT’S ALWAYS POWERFUL.

Because design—when it’s done with empathy and intention—can offer something powerful: familiarity in a new chapter, dignity in a difficult transition, and comfort when the rest of the world feels unfamiliar.

Whether it’s aging in place, downsizing with grace, or simply making a small space feel truly personal, thoughtful interior design has the power to do more than look beautiful—it can make someone feel seen.

That’s the kind of beauty we’ll always fight for.