We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Karen Campbell and Mercedes Brennan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Karen and Mercedes, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

We were approached by a lovely woman in Southern California who was converting her garage into a tiny house. The goal was to use the profits to fund college educations for each of her four children. We were hired to design the property for her because one facet of our interior design business specializes in Airbnb’s. Given the small square footage, we knew how important the design would be to make the space impactful. We started work during the building phase and suggested that they maximize sunlight to create the feeling of a larger space. Besides adding several skylights and windows, we specified shiplap for all of the walls and had them paint it in Benjamin Moore’s Super White. To create a warm and inviting space, one that would also stand out from their competition, we used a lot of bright pops of color. We designed a playful, happy space in which guests can relax and unwind. We and our client could not have been happier with the result. She had almost instant success and has enjoyed amazing reviews from her guests. Such as this one- “This is one of the best-designed Airbnb’s we’ve ever stayed at…and we’ve been staying at Airbnbs for years! Yes it’s a “tiny home” as described so if you’re coming in expecting that you will just be wowed with how thoughtfully everything is designed and presented. It’s like you’re in one of those Airbnb renovation shows on Netflix. It looks gorgeous and they’ve also thought of every last detail. This is now our favorite place to stop when going between the Bay Area and LA/San Diego”. Our client is well on her way to funding college for her children!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We were good friends before we became partners. After graduating from UCLA with a master’s degree in Interior Architecture, Mercedes worked for designer Windsor Smith in Los Angeles, with the ultimate goal of eventually striking out on her own. Karen grew up working in her mother’s art galleries outside of Chicago. After taking time off to raise her children, she went back to work for a high-end luxury real estate builder that focused on large-scale homes in Southern California. When Mercedes came calling to ask if she wanted to become partners in an interior design firm, Karen jumped at the chance.

Besides designing residential properties, they also specialize in vacation homes. In 2013, they founded the blog 1 Chic Retreat, a blog about vacation home hospitality design. It has become the foremost authority on vacation property interior design.

Our design philosophy is we believe that homes should be timeless, livable spaces that are fresh, playful, and modern with a twist of traditional. Using our sense of color, we create functional, personal spaces that reflect our client’s lifestyles and needs. Our work is driven by the belief that design should create feelings of comfort and happiness.

By combining the best of our individual aesthetics, Mercedes’s coastal style, and Karen’s traditionally influenced east coast design, we make a unique team.

We work collaboratively with clients to create individual spaces that are layered in various furniture styles, patterns, and textures. We embolden rooms with individuality and personality, providing warm, comfortable spaces for every client. We pride ourselves on our clients becoming not only repeat clients, but also our friends.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Mercedes and Karen met on the side of a lacrosse field. Our daughters started playing on the same travel team and we quickly became fast friends. We had a lot of mutual interests, first and foremost design. And we also spent a lot of time making one another laugh.

When we decided to go into business together, our friends expressed their concerns. Naturally, they were worried that it might not work out and could potentially create a rift in our friend group. But we never doubted it. We quickly settled into a great work routine, recognizing one another’s strengths.

Our partnership made our friendship stronger. And we are still making each other laugh every day.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We built our audience through our blog. To be honest, we weren’t paying as much attention as we should have to social media. But as we recognize the importance of it, especially in the design world, we recently began posting every few days on Instagram- both in posts and on our story. Our audience continues to grow weekly and we have committed to posting every few days.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://campbellbrennandesign.com/. https://1chicretreat.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1chicretreat/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1chicretreat/?locale=sw_KE

Image Credits
Nicole Catherine Photography; John Adrian Photography