When I began my adventure as an Interior Designer, my focus was on the design … how to make it notable, breathtaking. I had an instinctual sense of how color, prints, furniture played well together but I discovered there was more to it. Apprenticing under Michael Blocker ASID, I learned the essence of good design is creating an environment where people felt welcome, happy, relaxed and comfortable. That wasn’t grounded in money or the best fabrics, the most expensive accessories but in the hopes, love and memories that belonged to the client. I began creating environments that felt like home, like ones haven.
On Hilton Head, the idea was to have visitors so happy in that rented villa that they requested it every year they returned and the owners so relaxed and happy with their property that they came to visit every year. I accomplished that.
But … Hilton Head spoiled me in a way. I began with a blank slate and created an environment that captured you. Going from that to a chair here, drapes there just didn’t challenge or satisfy. I had to find an approach that worked for me and the client.
It started with “Shuffling Spaces” … an interior design business I began in 2005. This venture was put on hold to be there for family but the seed was planted and I have returned to that idea.
The Rhett Effect is about taking what you treasure, what you have and rearranging your home so it is welcoming, embracing and comfortable for you and your family, your friends. I only use what you already have … sometimes packed away or stored, sometimes a lovely piece just in the wrong place, sometimes something you just like but haven’t a clue where to put. I figure out how to make it work … giving you a home that is your respite from the outside world.