Robyn Monahan Interior Designer

10/12/2026

Do I Love What I Do?

People have asked over the years, “Do you love what you do?
Hmmm. Do I love what I do?
I think I do. I really don’t know what else to call it, but love. It’s my job, so I don’t spend much time thinking about loving it.

“But I do thrive on it… almost every day, maybe not all day every day, but most days.” (Charlotte quote)
Yesssss. I do love it.

I think you have to be a little hard-wired for interior design. My brain just works this way.

I learned from the ground up, spending time in the workrooms of amazing designers, watching, witnessing, absorbing, and devouring everything I could.
It took me forever to finish my degree because I enjoy learning by doing. I wanted to apply what I learned in the real world as soon as I could.

Know what your customer wants. Have exactly what they want. Don’t confuse them with choices. Your clients hired the designer to make decisions.

There’s a lot more to this business than picking pretty things. Which is one of the reasons I’m writing out loud. I want people to understand the layers of experience that go into becoming a designer.

When I’m working, I’M ALL IN.
My senses are turned all the way up. I’m making decisions, solving problems, and moving things along. One day, I selected 90 items for a client. Ninety! Every single one had to be correct and every single one had to work with everything else.
Architecture, lighting, materials, color, scale, budgets, contractors, and the person who’s going to live in the finished space.

And yes, it can kick my ass. It seems I love that part too.

From the moment I meet a client, my brain starts collecting information. By the time I’m ready to design, I want every possible sample, colorway, and material in front of me.
More is better.

And then comes the moment.
Everything is working beautifully, and then I tilt it just a little.
Or a lot.

One unexpected decision. A little tension. Something that makes the design feel alive, not simply correct.

That’s the success of the Tilt.

I can’t help myself. I have to put it askew….anyone can do perfect!

I love watching clients evolve, too. They don’t always know what’s possible. I do. Knowing when to push, when to pull back, and how far to take someone without going over the edge.
That’s part of my job.

And then there are the houses.
I especially love older homes. The ones with a story. A builder before me. A designer before me. A life that has already happened there.

I see what can be saved, what can be reimagined, and what’s possible. I love giving these houses another chapter.

And I love the new builds, too. We have some amazing builders around here, creating beautiful homes with interesting architecture. More thoughtful homes, more styles, more people creating something that actually feels like them.
We need more of that.

But do I love all things DESIGN?
Ohhhh, absolutely.

Design turns me on. Making all those moving parts work together can be exhausting, but watching everything fall into place?
Well… that’s kind of a turn-on, too.
So, do I love what I do?
I think I kind of do.

I’m an East Coast girl, so naturally, I stay mostly coastal. And some of the homes closer to the ocean are the older ones.
And I like to save them.

Oy.
I’m such a romantic.
Even in business.
I really do see the romance in old buildings.
I’m ridiculous.🌹

09/30/2026

Ok, time to come clean:

I don’t ever look like this for business, maybe from the neck up
….on occasion, for an occasion.

Truth: I have a strict rule in business:
No cleavage…..No legs…..

Listen, I am responsible for my clients’ design, their homes, their money, and how I spend their money. My work is never about my looks.

As much as I work with big numbers, I meet my clients when they are coming off the golf course, or hanging by the pool. They are in town for vacation, in very casual settings. I don’t even wear perfume.

And I work on construction sites, with lots of men, where a 16 of an inch matters… all business

My point to all this: I wanted you to feel interior design.
Not just if you like it or you don’t like it.

I wanted you to:
feel my design.
feel the Energy of my design,
feel the Vibe of my design,
feel the Mood of my design.
That’s the stuff that makes a home
And I think SHE set the tone

That’s all.

To follow is my usual look on a project, and sometimes a little fuller depending on the year

09/25/2026

Let’s talk relationships. They should meet each other, not miss each other

I'm speaking of the relationships between pieces in the room: of course. They should meet each other, not miss each other, kind of like real life.
Have you ever walked into a space where everything is just floating about, and nothing has to do with anything else?

That’s what I’m referring to. It’s all disconnected. This is why hanging art, for instance, is so important. It should be in the room you are in, not above the room you are in. And my own pet peeve…

Chandeliers, wtf, why are we hanging them so high? All they do is light up the ceiling, which is great if your ceiling is beautiful. But most of the time, aren’t we trying to light up the beautiful room we are in? The room you or your designer spent hours designing.
This concept goes back to the castles. They would hang them so close to the ceiling, basically bc thats just how things were done.

Good news! We can do whatever we want now. We can hang a georgeous chandelier over a coffee table, over an end table, or over a bathtub. And of course, over your dining room table.

To do that, decide what your vibe is first. Of course, I always like a little attitude in my chandelier. I don’t want it to be in the way, but I want it to be a part of our experience. Bc it’s usually a fantastic piece. And that can and should create the vibe.

Those equations we have lived by for years are so boring. We need to update them as a standard. The crazy part is we spend a s**t ton of money on it, and then we push it up into the ceiling.

Not me, that's too bourgeois!

09/21/2026

A wise man just reminded me of something I started doing my second year in business.

I just never really thought of it as a separate service.

Property Care and Concierge Service

When I design someone’s home, the relationship doesn’t necessarily end when the furniture is in place and the last lighting is hung.

Especially here in Florida.

Many of my clients have second or third homes here, and some may have more. They may live somewhere else most of the year, travel often, or simply not want to be the person who gets a phone call because there’s a leak, an electrical problem, a broken air conditioner, or a landscape that has suddenly decided to become a jungle.

And my clients just really want me to handle everything for them.
"Call Robyn"

I have a beautiful network of people I’ve personally vetted and trusted over the years. People I know, people I’ve worked with, and people I would send into my own home. And of course, the best contractors.

From the everyday things a home needs to the occasional “Robyn, can you help me with this?”

— I just can’t say NO to my clients.

Just my clients.

But I’m beginning to think other people might want or need or just enjoy these kinds of services, too.

As usual, I’ve always kept this part of what I do rather private. It was simply something I did for my clients behind the scenes.

But the times, they are changing. And so am I.

Property Care & Concierge Services

Home cleaning.
Laundry
Dry Cleaning
Monthly Maintenance.
Electricians.
Plumbers.
Landscaping.
Roof repairs.
Sidewalk repairs.
Tree Root removal.

And then there’s the fun stuff…

Concierge Services

Private chefs.
Intimate dinners or parties.
Beach parties.
Pool parties.
Bands and steel drums.
Airport service.
Travel arrangements.
Excursions to the Islands.
Dinners on the water
Evenings out.
Ch*****ne or w**e service.
Refrigerator stocking.
Holiday decorating
And just about anything custom-sized or custom-arranged
that makes life a little more fantastic.

It’s really just an extension of the way I’ve always worked.
I take care of the details.
I take care of my clients.
And now, perhaps, I can take care of you and your home, too.

“I don’t simply design houses. I take care of your home.”

09/21/2026

So you know that 80 / 20 I talk about with my husband; well, this year he was more 20 %

I’ll explain: I married a really good guy, a good man, a good husband 80% of the time…

Well, what came with this equation was the other 20%, which I like to call As***le!

The problem with this is he’s very proud of his 20%, and when he is an as***le, he says I can’t help it, babe, it’s my 20%…..

The cute, maybe not so cute thing, the husbands in this neighborhood adopted this equation, and then they all got proud of their 20%

Let me tell you, after 32 years, that 20% adds up.

But still, at the end of the day, it’s mostly 80%, and from what I can see out there, that’s not too bad. And he was nice enough to take all the white hair, I still don’t have any. LOL

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MY 80 /20

Thank you to Brie and Sam, the best Bartenders in town at the Driftwood, we had a great time with great libations and delish food, all local foods.mmmm soooo gooood

09/18/2026

09/17/2026

MOOD SHIFT

Okay, we got rid of the formal dining room. Now let’s lose the formal living room. We are Floridians. We are not formal. We are fabulous. So let’s design for the life we actually live.

Tropical: Bring the outdoors in. In Florida, we barely need window coverings; we use trees. It’s our art, it’s our mood, it’s our vibe.

As I traveled through my life, I always wanted to see those palm trees and tropical plants when I came back home. I loved this so much.

I would also drive to South Beach, park my car right on Ocean Drive, run down to the beach, take my top off, and dive into the ocean every time I arrived home. Because that’s how we do it in South Florida.

Especially coming home from Chicago. Brrrrrrr… I needed to thaw. That spot was the best place to go after a very, very cold Chicago winter.

And then there’s fabulous. Delicious, rich, natural textiles. Cushions that feel like down feathers, now made in healthier, more thoughtful ways. A sofa that fits you perfectly because your designer measured you and designed it to your specifications.

Your leg length, your back height, the kind of arm you desire to lean on, the way you like to casually hang out and visit with family and friends… or lounge like me with family and friends.

We tap into your personal style. We customize it to fit you best. We are building it anyway, so why not build it perfectly for you?

That’s the difference between buying online and having it custom-designed. And that’s also why the price is different. Because something made to fit any body is not made to fit your body.

My favorite is the coffee table fit. Sixteen to eighteen inches away from you is the general rule. I say, whatever you want it to be. I like to reach my coffee table. I like to put a spread on my table and have everyone cozy up around it and enjoy their favorite libation and just relax and enjoy my home.

I don’t design for company, but I make sure my guests feel great when they are in my home. Because your home should work beautifully for the way you actually live.

09/08/2026

INTERIOR DESIGN MOODS — PART ONE

Let’s Romanticize Your Life

Instead of a Vision Board, let’s make a Mood Board.

Because I don’t want to know how you want your home to look.
I want to know…
How you want your home to feel ?
Anyone can do pretty.
Please…
Let’s do moody.

I think this comes from the feminine side of us—not female, feminine.
And we all have HER.

So let’s go deeper.
What do you want to feel when you walk through your front door?
What do you want your bedroom to feel like at night?
What do you want your kitchen to feel like in the morning?
What do you want to do in your living room?
What are your intentions for each room?
Because your home should be designed around your life.
Not someone else’s.
Not the way a builder thinks you should live.
Not because every house is “supposed” to have a formal dining room.

Your home should tell your story.
And honestly?

In Florida, we are not exactly formal…
we are fabulous, so live that way

Better than a dining room. I worked with this lovely couple who bought a house with more rooms than they actually needed. So I had lots to work with. The husband wanted his own space. He was thinking of a man cave, but a little nicer. As we worked together, I kept getting to know this husband…..

How’s this for moody? You know I have that traditional influence to me from Chicago. Although this probably started in Miami, I don’t know who remembers this, but in Miami there was this Gentlemen’s Club-style restaurant on Brickell….Filled with Judges and lawyers. It had the feel of old money and corruption. Very Miami.

Anyhow, to follow is his Man Cave: completely designed from my feminine POV

From what I hear, all the husbands come, and the wives can’t resist joining them. The fireplace and leather gave it a sexy, masculine feel, and the room has a hint of black cherry, too. ( I got that from my father’s pipe to***co )

And of course, some Dean Martin playing…this gentleman was in his late 40s. But I think this vibe lives in many men as well as us girls- well, this girl anyhow.

Cute story: my second cousin was married to Dean Martin; lots of secrets coming out.