I am so excited & honored to have been featured on the fabulous “Modern Bird Studios” blog! Check out my interview below!

Why interior design?

It is a wonderful career! Even after 19 years, I still love it! I wouldn’t be doing anything else. Even as a girl, I knew this was the field for me. I drew floor plans, “decorated” my Barbie houses with detail, and took lots of art classes. I went on to graduate in Interior Design at Florida State University (Go ‘Noles!!) I eventually received an opportunity to start my own business, so I did! I am thankful to have had many great clients and projects over the years. Now, we have some big plans and goals to go national, if not international! We are also hiring some new staff, so we are enthused about that. Needless to say, we have not been participating in the recession. It is a very exciting time in our business!!

Which do you prefer designing for–commercial or residential?

Our firm designs both commercial and residential projects, and I personally oversee all or most of them. I probably enjoy residential a bit more; I find the clients are much more “into” the project, and I like the fresh creativity that residential design brings. I have a love affair with unique colorful fabrics, wall coverings, and unusual light fixtures—these typically are used more in residential. With that being said, one of my dream projects would be to design a boutique hotel! I also enjoy restaurant design.

For regular folk, where is the best place to get home accessories?

That is tough, because we buy wholesale, directly from fabulous vendors, like Arteriors, Global Views, DK Living, Cyan, Oly, etc. However, when we are in a pinch or need extra items during an installation, we love local antique stores and boutiques where the project is located, Home Goods, Ikea, and so forth.

What is your best quick/inexpensive fix idea for someone to redo a room?

Definitely paint….whether it be the walls, ceiling, trim, floors, furniture, whatever! You can give a room an entirely new look with some cans of paint!!

How often do you overhaul the design in your home?

(Smile…) That is a sensitive subject, as I have a tough time with my own home. I adore so many colors and styles that I deliberate way too long on my personal interiors decisions! My husband brags to friends that he had to pick the paint colors (not true!) I will tell you that I am getting a major itch to move……We built our current home eight years ago, and it is wonderful. It has a great floor plan, in the perfect family neighborhood, etc. It is our third home as a married couple. But, within the next couple of years, I foresee us building a new home, or performing a major renovation on a home that needs TLC. We really want to live on the water, so that is the difficult part…finding the perfect view/location AND having a great house = LOTS of $$$!

Fashion trends seem to influence home decor. Do you think high waisted jeans and shoulder pads will ever make a come back, and how do you see them translated into home decor?

I don’t see high waisted jeans and shoulder pads in home décor. LOL! Seriously, I do think fashion certainly influences interior design. The colors, styles, fabrics, influences all translate well to interiors.

(BTW, I am seeing some wonderful high waisted pants out there. I kind of like them, since so many of my low rise jeans have my rear end hanging out, especially at project installations!) (Shoulder pads don’t need to be resurrected!!—I am just sayin’.)

Tell us something random about yourself.

I would like to own a thoroughbred race horse someday.

Why do you think Modern Bird Studios is so insanely awesome?

It IS so insanely awesome! I love the artwork; it has an urban, hip feel, but could fit easily into so many interior genres. It is unique, personal, and affordable. We look forward to using Modern Bird Studios in many, many projects! Plus, you guys are a lot of fun!

What are your must-read design blogs?

My name is Michelle Jennings Wiebe, and I am a design blog junkie right now. I admit it! The list would be too long, but some of my favorites are http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/, http://www.allthebestblog.com/, http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/, plus dozens of others! We have our own newish blog, http://thestudiomblog.com/. We are getting ready to update the look and format, and we have gotten good response from the content!! We’d love new subscribers, and we’d love any feedback!

Our website is http://interiorsbystudiom.com/. So please visit us here, also! We will be adding some new project photos to our portfolio later this summer or fall! We are loving our new twitter followers at http://twitter.com/StudioM_and face book fans http://www.facebook.com/Studio.M.Interiors , too!!

Thanks, Modern Bird!!