Montana Roots to Stunning Spaces: A Mountain-Loving Interior Designer

You, my mountain-loving friend, are the star of the show.

This Interior Design world I live in actually revolves around you. Your desires, your pain points, your future happiness.

But before you hire me, perhaps you want to know more about me. And that only makes sense because if you hire me, I am going to get to know a LOT about you! Therefore, you need to ensure that the one who will help you be surrounded by beauty in your home is the right fit for you and your family.

So, just some tidbits about me!

A daydreamer from a small town in central Montana.

A wife to an amazing husband!

A momma to 4 great kids (most of them now grown!)

A mountain girl who loves hiking, jeeping, and all the things.

An interior designer who loves to help others be surrounded by beauty in their homes.

From the time I was a little girl, I would watch my dad at his drafting board designing several homes he went on to build for our family. And Mom always made the interiors look fabulous so as a young dreamy girl, I knew I wanted to follow in my dad’s architectural and mom’s decorating footsteps.

I loved growing up in Montana only 40 minutes from the mountains and have so many fond memories of spending time in the mountains with family and friends and yet there was something in me that longed for the big city life too.

Interior Design and Me

In my early 20s, I just knew I had to find a way to learn all about interior design and move to the big city. But how was this mountain girl, single mother of 2 two sweet little boys, going to do that from my small Montana town? I gave that idea up for a season and attempted to find contentment in other vocations but to no avail.

One day Montana State University opened up an interior design program right there in my hometown! I enrolled as soon as I found out and started classes.

I loved my interior design courses and I knew this was where I belonged.

I graduated with honors while working as a kitchen designer at a local cabinet shop. After graduation, I got my big break in Portland, Oregon.

I spent the next ten + years as a kitchen designer and design-build remodeling contractor.

I was at the height of my career, designing and managing high-end renovations.

Life was good.

And then…

A tall, handsome man from Texas

swept me off my feet and brought this Montana girl down to Houston. Judd is his name.

A year after we were married, we had our daughter, Lydia.

I spent the next several years helping clients in Houston be surrounded by beauty in their homes with luxury new builds, renovations, and new furnishings and decor.

Our time in Houston was wonderful.

But there was still that Montana girl who longed to be back in a Rocky Mountain State somewhere soaking up the mountain air and vistas.

During our courtship, I had warned my husband that we were moving back to the mountains someday. He always said, “ok babe, whatever makes you happy.”

And then…

Our first mountain family vacation

…the summer of 2015 we took our first family vacation to Yellowstone.

During that trip, Judd experienced what I had been longing for ever since I moved to Texas...the crisp mountain breeze, tall pines, and mountaintop views.

Ahhhhhh.

He looked at me that morning on the front porch of our little cabin in the woods of Yellowstone NP over a hot cup of coffee and said…

“How are we going to have this *Mountain View* experience every day?”

That’s when we set out to achieve our mountain living dream as soon as we possibly could make it happen.

Is that you?

Are you planning your move to the mountains and need help finding, renovating, building, or furnishing your mountain home?

If you’re curious about the costs involved in hiring a designer to help with all of your mountain living needs, below we created an Interior Design Investment Guide to help figure it all out!

Judd had fond memories of a trip he took with his college geology class back in the ‘90s to the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. He was certain I would fall in love with them as much as he did during that trip.

So in 2018 we set out on a family RV trip through Southwest Colorado and had a wonderful time. He was right. I absolutely loved Durango, Pagosa Springs and Telluride. Every inch of that area of Colorado is breathtaking and full of wonderful mountain surprises.

Fast forward to 2020.

I don’t have to remind you that it was a crazy year for the world but for our little family, something magical happened.

I was the owner of a boutique interior design and home staging firm and Judd was working for Shell in Houston. In 2019 we already started making plans for uprooting our family and making our way to the mountains someday but in 2020 things just all came together and made sense.

We bought an RV right as the pandemic was in full force. We fixed it up, sold all of our belongings (other than a few keepsakes), and hit the open road. Just my husband, 12-year-old (at the time) daughter Lydia, 16-year-old Australian Shepherd, and loads of anticipation.

We spent that entire summer traveling the Rockie Mountains to Glacier NP and over to Spokane to visit my parents then back down to Texas.

The perfect mountain spot

On the way back, we spent a couple of weeks near Durango and found a property in Pagosa Springs, Colorado that was perfect for our living situation at the time.

We have spent our summers there since and in 2023 made our official move to full-time residents of Colorado!

We hope to build our forever home in 2025, Lord willing!

Why me for you

So, how does all of that history of my mountain-living dream make me the perfect designer for your mountain-living dream?

My journey to this place might be similar to yours! Do you have a dream to live in the Colorado Rockies? Tell me about it in the comments!

But more importantly than our stories perhaps being similar, it is my expertise in Custom Home Construction, Custom Renovations, Interior Furnishings and Decor, Interior and Exterior Finishes and much more that makes me YOUR designer of choice.

I have over 25 years navigating this industry.

Working closely with builders, remodelers (and being one myself!), industry trade partners, suppliers, subcontractors, and the list goes on, makes me the perfect choice to transform your mountain living dreams into REALITY!

Let’s connect! I would love to get on a call with you and learn more about your home project.

Whether it’s a full custom home build, a renovation or you just need furnishings and decor, I am here for you!