All images courtesy of The Suite Shoppe and Access Real Estate Photography
Tell us a little about you and your firm?
Cathy Haskell and I met in 1991 as Freshman graphic design students at Virginia Tech when we were randomly assigned to do a group project together. On graduation day, both of our portfolios were stolen out of the professor’s locked room, which gave us both a rocky start to our corporate design careers, as we had nothing to present at a job interview!
We found a way, and after 15 years in the corporate design world, we formed The Suite Shoppe together, strictly designing nurseries and children’s rooms while working from home to care for our young families. Clients immediately asked us to help them with other spaces in their homes, and today we are a full-service design studio with a niche for large-scale basement renovations.
Who is your target customer?
The Washington Metro area is a bubble of wealth with largely two-income households. Most of our clients are women who work full-time and make as much money as their husbands, giving them the financial freedom to invest in a luxury service like ours.
How has your design business changed post covid?
We were only impacted positively during Covid because everyone was trapped in their homes and realized the value in investing in them. There were a lot of home office projects, mainly because government executives need a nice-looking Zoom background. Families needed to use every square inch of their homes, so finishing basements also became a priority.
Obviously, the supply chain was a problem during Covid, if anything, it opened our eyes as to which vendors and manufacturers were honest about their situation and truly worked with us to meet the demand, versus those who simply lied about when product would be available (we have since eliminated them from our sourcing list!)
Have you incorporated any new technology since then?
It’s not amazing technology, but during Covid, we transitioned the entire company process to a Cloud platform so that every document pertaining to a project can be accessed by anyone in the company with permission. This is also the hub for price lists, inventory lists, and official business documents. Previously, these documents were privately held on different computers, which is an inefficient way of working and certainly not conducive to growth (sometimes the left hand didn’t know what the right was doing).
We also invested in a few iPads, so now our notes at a consultation are handwritten directly into the iPad, that document can immediately be uploaded to the client folder so that the notes can be accessed by the rest of the team instead of hidden on a physical notebook on someone’s desk.
It seems like you are great at family-friendly design, what is the key to making a home comfortable and stylish?
At The Suite Shoppe, we design spaces that we would want to live in, and the reality of our lives includes kids and dogs. We do everything in performance fabric when possible, and stick to neutral fabrics so that the client can swap out the rug and throw pillows in a few years to get a new look that still flows with their original investment. We look for pieces with natural distressing so that little nicks and scratches, which are a reality, won’t matter. What makes us unique is how we incorporate antique accessories, we love old things that can’t be found at a retail store and also function as a unique conversation piece.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
We complete our room installations in a single day, so the most rewarding moment is when the man of the house, who often is not in total agreement that we are even necessary, sees the finished product, and is so blown away that he insists that we now finish the rest of the home!
Why do you turn to Sarreid for certain pieces and do you have a favorite?
We love Sarried for the traditional furniture in updated finishes, and nobody does an enormously long buffet cabinet better! Overall, the large scale of Sarreid case goods fit well in Northern VA homes.
Cathy and I have always hoped to use the Blue Dress Secretary in a project. The color is gorgeous, and it’s such a unique and functional piece. Right now my favorite piece in the line is probably the Maldives 4 Door bookcase – it could work in any style including coastal, transitional, contemporary, or traditional. The two-toned finish gives it more of a bespoke look, and family photos and treasures will pop against the creamy white interior.
All images courtesy of The Suite Shoppe and Access Real Estate Photography
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