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Classic modern style
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As the owner of MRI Inc., my goal is to create active living spaces that are inviting and comforting. Throughout my studies and travels, my curiosity has always been to see and understand how humans make their dwellings and what makes a house into a home.
I was born and raised in the Midwest by parents involved in the sciences who believed in hands-on learning. And as the second of five active siblings, I learned from my mother the most crucial fact that the best fabrics and carpets hide dog hair, mud & chocolate, though not necessarily in that order!
While at college studying the psychology and economics of human behavior, I was singled out for my friendly and upbeat dorm room décor, and truthfully, it seemed like I spent more time rearranging my belongings than studying. Later on, I studied cultural anthropology and lived in Italy to research my family history.
While exploring life in Italy and France, it struck me that beauty in one's surroundings is not a luxury. Beauty offers peace, balance and harmony. It is, and should always be, an ordinary part of one's daily life. When creating a home, aesthetics must be balanced with functionality.
I believe in living fully in the present, not in the distant past, nor in the far future. That means using your good things daily, NOT saving them for your grandchildren; furnishing your home as a place to live, not a museum to visit; and creating a space that's sensible as well as beautiful.
Simple sheers on the windows, with fuss-less second layers, fabrics that breathe, not showing every mark, classic frames for the furnishings, colors used with boldness for variety and warmth, and patterns and textures many-layered or one alone, all are meant to allow for relaxed living.
Warm, rugged, natural, colorful, classic, modern, refreshingly simple and comfortably sumptuous... Anything that defines living today is my goal.... and translating my clients' natures into their home spaces is what I do best.
In 1996, I started out working for friends who liked my down-to-earth approach toward design as well as my sense of style. I officially opened my design firm in 1997, incorporating in 2000, and have been busy helping people make their homes ever since.
Projects have been published in The Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine and North Shore magazine. I am featured in the Chicago Magazine Home Issues and The Franklin Report of Chicago. I have done pro bono work for Saint Athanasius Parish and The Round Table in Evanston, Illinois, and the Jane Adams Hull House in Chicago.
Prior to beginning my business, I learned about the best in American and European furnishings while working in marketing for Baker Furniture and then in sales for Luminaire in Chicago. I earned a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago, did graduate studies at the University of Bologna, Italy and received my Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University in Rhode Island.