Contact Me

#1, I’m glad you hit this page! Now, let us both get to work.

Feel free to call me (847) 209-3221.

If you are looking to partner with me for your next project, please fill out this short questionnaire – it will give me an idea of what you are looking for:

Why Hire a Designer?

They provide solutions: Each project, small or large, presents challenges, whether it is lack of storage, poor traffic flow, color scheme, unusual windows, or maximizing light and space.

They prevent costly mistakes: So many choices, too many options, and this product over that product. There are so many things that are hard to know unless you have encountered those dozens of times before.

They take advantage of their resources: There’s a world of furnishings, fabrics, case goods, and accessories that are “to the trade only.” Designers have access to local and national manufacturers and products that would otherwise be unavailable to most consumers.

They are well connected: Any design is only as good as its execution. Designers work with the best workrooms, carpenters, and painters and have the clout to make sure the price matches the quality.

They help you set priorities: A designer will help allocate your “design dollars” and how best to spend your money now and plan for future phases of your design project.

They are an advocate for you: Designers work with trades-people and manufacturers regularly and have more leverage to get things repaired or replaced when necessary.

They work through opposing taste: Designers can be the third party to join taste and style between husband and wife or significant other.

They get the job done: Designers see to it that everything is completed. Often when a project drags on for months, clients might be inclined to leave those few details undone if they are doing it themselves. It’s the designer’s job to see to it that every aspect is completed to your satisfaction.

“Last year, my husband and I decided to leave the renting world behind and purchase a new home! Of course we had furniture and artwork collected over many years, but it was clear to us that in the new house it all would be somewhat disparate in how it would work together - or not. We especially wanted help selecting paint colors for all of the rooms in the new house since the colors the previous owners selected would in no way have worked for us. That said, my husband and I are terrible at selecting colors for wall paint and carpeting ourselves! We did not want to cheapen the investment we were making in the new house and/or have to worry about the time or money we'd spend initially AND possibly again if we got the choices wrong from the start. We also had a very small window of time in which to work everything out before moving our furniture in.

Upon the recommendation of our realtor, we engaged Mary Kalesz as our designer - or as I liked to call her, "our referee"! My husband and I sometimes have very different opinions, but both like to take very active roles when it comes to home décor. We wanted someone talented and impartial to help us make decisions that would factor in each of our perspectives, possessions, and priorities for our new space in a fair and balanced way. Mary was a smart, small investment upfront that I am confident saved us large amounts of time and money and possibly our marriage vs. if we had tried to tackle everything ourselves.

Mary was responsive, creative and very much a partner to us in the process. She helped us in our decision-making process and she educated us as we went about why some choices worked while others wouldn't work quite as well. We wanted to make the right choices the first time and that also would last a long time. She was a great mediator for our different ideas, helped us think long-term about our decorating and prioritized what we should do first, and why, given time and budget constraints for our move. I think what surprised us most was how she, after meeting with us only one time and taking mental inventory of our current furniture, artwork, colors, tastes and so forth, came back with a decorating scheme for the new place that looked so smart and excited us and tied together everything we told her was important to us. She made use of what we already had and made it look more amazing in ways we hadn't thought of ourselves. I think our biggest "ah-ha" moment in working with Mary was when she presented her suggestions on lighting! The lighting plan she suggested had been one of the most important things we needed to address in order to make our new home look less dated and more "magazine-like" and also more like "us" - and before Mary, we hadn't even given lighting a single thought. She thought of everything. Mary was awesome - Thank you, Mary!!”