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Luxury Home Design Partner | partnering with homeowners and builders to create exceptional luxury custom homes through thoughtful design, strategic collaboration, and expert guidance from concept through completion.

10/13/2026

You can spend a fortune on finishes, but if the proportions are off, something will still feel off.

It's one of those things you might not notice right away, but you definitely feel it.

Door heights, window sizes, ceiling heights and how they all relate to one another.

It's why two homes can have equally beautiful materials but feel completely different when you walk inside.

Great design isn't always about what you add. Sometimes it's about getting the proportions right from the beginning.

Want to know one reason some dining rooms just feel more pulled together?Centerlines.Before the table is even ordered, I...
10/09/2026

Want to know one reason some dining rooms just feel more pulled together?

Centerlines.

Before the table is even ordered, I'm thinking about where it will sit. That helps determine the chandelier, ceiling detail, windows and artwork.

In this room, everything relates back to that center point.

It's a small detail, but once you start noticing centerlines in well-designed rooms, you'll see them everywhere.

Good design is often more about alignment than adding more.

10/08/2026

The answer everyone loves... it depends. 😂

If you're adding square footage, moving structural walls or making major architectural changes, an architect and/or engineer will typically need to be involved early.

But here's where I get a little opinionated:

Don't wait until the architectural plans are finished to bring in your interior designer.

I want to see them while we're still asking questions. Should that window move? Does this wall need to be here? How is the cabinetry going to work? What happens with the ceiling and lighting?

Your architect is thinking about the architecture. Your builder is thinking about how we're going to build it. I'm looking at everything through the interior design lens.

And ideally? We're all talking to each other before too much gets locked in.

The best projects aren't designer first or architect first. They're the ones where the right team starts talking early.

10/06/2026

After 50+ homes, there are a few things I've gotten pretty stubborn about.

Bring me in early. Tell me the real budget and schedule. Keep me talking directly with the builder and team. And please don't wait until someone is standing on site asking, “What are we doing here?” 😄

Regular communication, site walks and staying ahead of decisions make everything run better.

Good design is only part of it. A good team that actually communicates? Non-negotiable.

10/05/2026

And then there are the questions… 🙋‍♀️

The more I know about what you like, what you don't and where you're unsure, the better I can make the home feel like yours. Here are a few I get all the time:

Q: What do you actually do on a custom build?

A: A lot. 😂 Some days I'm moving walls on a floor plan. Other days it's stone, tile and lighting, or talking a client through decision #437. My clients call me their “tour guide” through the build, and it's one of the best descriptions I've heard.

Q: Do I need to know my style before we start?

A: Nope. That's part of why you hire me. I learn a lot from how you live now: what you love, what drives you crazy and what you never want again. An amazing slab might become the jumping-off point for the whole kitchen, and each choice starts informing the next. Trust the process a little and you end up with something cohesive, beautiful and, most importantly, like you.

Q: Can you work with the builder and architect I already have?

A: Absolutely. I prefer joining the team early. Your architect and builder bring their expertise, and I make sure every decision comes together in the finished home.

Q: Does hiring a designer add to the budget?

A: Yes, I'm a line item. But a good designer can also save you a LOT of money, time and expensive mistakes. I can help you decide where to spend, where to save and where you'd be paying more for little in return. Changing something while it's still a line on paper costs a whole lot less than after it's built.

Q: What happens when something goes wrong during construction?

A: Something will. A material gets backordered, something gets installed differently than expected or a box opens and the color is way off. We figure it out. My job is protecting the vision while staying flexible enough to pivot, and sometimes Plan B ends up being better anyway.

Q: How much experience do you have with homes like mine?

A: I've worked on 50+ homes, including custom builds and high-end remodels, and I intentionally take on a limited number of projects so I can stay hands-on.

What did I miss? Drop your question below. Keep 'em coming!

Sometimes the better design decision is knowing when NOT to add another material.I don't have a signature kitchen look. ...
10/02/2026

Sometimes the better design decision is knowing when NOT to add another material.

I don't have a signature kitchen look. And that's intentional.

Every kitchen I design should feel like it belongs in the house it's in.

This home called for something clean, modern and sleek, so we kept the wood tone consistent throughout the cabinetry rather than introducing another finish just for the sake of adding contrast.

But with this much cabinetry, I also didn't want the island to feel like one big wood box.

Wrapping the countertop down both sides of the island with a waterfall edge breaks up the wood and gives it a lighter, cleaner feel.

The oversized pendants bring in scale and softness, while the slatted wood detail carries the warmth of the cabinetry into the architecture around it.

Same wood. Same palette. Plenty of interest.

That's really the goal. I don't start with a formula for what a kitchen “should” look like. I look at the architecture, the scale of the space and the overall direction of the home, and design from there.

10/01/2026

Some custom home features are practical. And some make me think, okay... I might need to build another house. 😂

A sauna and cold plunge? Yes. Heated bathroom floors? Absolutely. A hidden scullery that keeps the kitchen looking clean when people are over? I’m in.

But here’s the part that isn’t nearly as exciting to put on Instagram. Most of these features need to be thought through way earlier than you’d expect.

Plumbing. Electrical. Framing. Flooring. Venting. Space planning. All the things happening behind the scenes so the fun stuff actually works when the house is finished.

That’s really one of my favorite parts of custom design. We get to ask what would make this house really freaking cool to live in?

Then we figure out how to make it happen.

Now I’m curious... what’s your “freaking cool” feature you’d put in your dream home?

09/29/2026

This may sound ridiculous, but I basically play Pac-Man with every floor plan. 😂

I mentally walk through the house and trace the paths I know are going to get used over and over again.

Front door to kitchen. Garage to pantry. Primary to laundry. Kitchen to outdoor living.

Then I look for the little Pac-Man ghosts getting in my way (No, not really, but I look for any roadblocks or things that just don't flow).

A weird door swing. An island you have to walk all the way around. A pantry that's somehow 20 steps from the kitchen. A hallway that creates a bottleneck. A wall at the end of a hallway. Anything that makes me think, why am I going THERE to get HERE?

Those are the things that mess up the flow.

They might look perfectly fine on paper, but repeat that same annoying path 10 times a day and you're going to notice it.

And now you'll never look at a floor plan without seeing Pac-Man. You're welcome.

09/28/2026

Designing a forever home doesn't mean designing only for the way you live today.

Life changes. Kids grow up. Work-from-home needs change. Parents get older. And eventually, the way you use your home may look completely different.

That's why I love creating spaces that can evolve with you.

A bonus room can be a playroom now and an office later. A main-floor primary can work beautifully for a young family and make even more sense years down the road.

I don't think you need to design your home around some imaginary future buyer. I think you should design it around you, while being smart about how your life might change.

That's part of what I'm thinking about when I review a floor plan. Not just, does it work now? Will it keep working for you later?

Tag someone planning a custom build in Lake Oswego.

A two-story great room needs a fireplace that can hold its own.With this much ceiling height, something that looks perfe...
09/25/2026

A two-story great room needs a fireplace that can hold its own.

With this much ceiling height, something that looks perfectly proportioned on paper can suddenly feel tiny once it's built.

Here, we took the plaster all the way to the ceiling and kept the TV flush so the entire wall reads as one strong architectural element.

It's big, but it doesn't feel busy. And that's the balance I'm always looking for.

Scale isn't about making everything bigger. It's about making it feel right for the space around it.

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Lake Oswego, OR
97034–97035

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