We have worked with Melissa for over a decade, having just completed a major new construction project from start to finish with her.
The Process
For our most recent project we built a new home from start to finish. While we started the process with a high degree of trust in Melissa’s abilities having worked with her in the past, we were still amazed at the full range of her contributions given the large scale and complexity of our most recent project.
Melissa really operated as much as a Project Manager for us throughout the project as she did as a traditional decorator. This was vital to driving the project forward and the value she added working with the entire team (architect, builder, subcontractors, etc.) cannot be overstated. Some form of “Wow, Melissa is amazing” was a conversation I had with nearly every person involved in our project.
From big picture design elements during the construction document phase, to real time in the field adjustments with subcontractors, Melissa was involved and adding tremendous value in moving the project forward without delay. The end results in all aspects of the project were significantly better due to her contributions.
Her Vision
One of the things we have appreciated most when working with Melissa is the design process itself from start to finish. Our conversations always start with how our family intends to use a room or living space and from the there the discussion of style and furniture and colors flows quite naturally.
Melissa has an extraordinary spatial sense. She shows a in-depth of understanding of the interaction between a room’s scale, colors, lighting and the tangential spaces we find remarkable. Somehow there is a 3-D technicolor model of your project always running throughout her thoughts and ideas.
She consistently finds amazing colors, fabrics and furniture that match your vision and is a true talent in the space. Her gallery of projects will make this obvious to anyone who sees the finished product, but the intense focus on details during the design phase is what makes this all work in our minds.
Accompanying this vision is a fiscal sense we really appreciated, as with any size project there are budgetary trade-offs that must be made. Melissa sincerely cares about your budget and really works with you to understand how different decisions will impact costs.
Working Style
There is a boundless sense of positive energy when you discuss your project with Melissa, she is simply always into it, day in and day out.
There is also a relaxed confidence about her that we truly appreciate when working with her, as you feel like you are in great hands throughout a project. She will share her valuable opinions, sometimes strongly, but will always incorporate what you’re looking for in a space and makes sure you love the final decision.
While Melissa’s incredible vision and positive energy are what you notice first when starting a project, equally important to us were her organizational skills and dogged tenacity to keep the project moving. With any large project decision making fatigue can easily set in, and Melissa did a fantastic job of prioritizing critical decisions and presenting us with options, while also handling less critical decisions on her own. That professional persistence to keep a project moving on the timelines that are required is incredibly valuable in terms of both project time and cost at end of the day.
What we really love about her whole approach is that in the end she is not trying to achieve some vision she has for “your” project, but instead is driving the project towards your ultimate satisfaction.
Summary
We could not be happier with the finished product after working with Melissa, and our friends/family are amazed when they come into our home and see her work Quite literally we could not have achieved anything close to what we ended up with without her.
- Jim & Kelli Morrow