I Design Vacation Homes With a Sense of Place - and a Reason to Come Back

I didn't take the traditional route to interior design - and that's become one of the most useful things about the way I work.

For 15+ years, I built my career in operations and executive support, learning how to anticipate problems, build systems, organize complexity, and make things run seamlessly. I also ran a professional organizing business, helping people turn chaotic spaces into functional ones.

But I always wanted to be an interior designer.

When the opportunity came to create The House of the Golden Turtle, those two halves of my brain finally had somewhere to meet: the design vision I'd been developing for years and the operational discipline I'd been practicing professionally.

Today, I bring both to every project. I care deeply about how a room looks and feels - but I'm also thinking about how guests move through it, what will hold up, what needs to be intuitive, and what has to happen behind the scenes to keep the experience feeling effortless.

I'm endlessly curious about the way a place makes you feel.

It's why travel is such a big part of my design vocabulary. I notice the tile underfoot at a hotel in Italy, the landscaping outside a Palm Springs house, the lighting in a great restaurant, the mix of old and new in a room that somehow just works.

My inspiration doesn't come from one design style - and neither does my work.

I collect ideas from places, fashion, architecture, hospitality, gardens, art, and the way people actually live. Then I edit.

The result might be glamorous or relaxed, traditional or mid-century, colorful or quiet. What I'm always looking for is the same: a sense of place, layers of personality, and something you didn't quite expect.