Interior designer Mary Shipley-Smith, Allied ASID, elevates and celebrates her clients’ aesthetics.
Even after more than 25 years curating and crafting interiors throughout the Columbus area and beyond, Mary Shipley-Smith says she always looks forward to the big reveal.
“I never get tired of seeing that look of surprise on a client’s face when everything is finished,” she says. “Often there are tears of happiness as they realize that this process has transformed their home in ways they never could have envisioned.
”Shipley-Smith does not use the “T” word— transformation—lightly. Rather, she has witnessed time and again the power of good design to improve lives, uplift spirits, and promote organization as well as influence a more powerful interaction of family and community. “Sometimes clients don’t realize how their home’s interior was affecting them until they see the transformation,” says Shipley-Smith.
Shipley-Smith recently completed a major project for a special client, Venus Roby. Her husband had recently passed, so Roby downsized to a home that needed some work to reflect her personality and style.
“It was very much a man’s house,” Shipley-Smith recalls, “very dark and heavy.” Working closely, Roby and Shipley-Smith renovated the kitchen, bathrooms, and finishes to create a lighter color palette with clean, contemporary lines.
Most important to Roby was her and her husband’s expensive collection of French crystal model cars, symbolizing their former business in the automobile industry and love for luxury, one-of-a-kind cars. The collection was incorporated into the design in a special display case with multiple lighting options, creating a prominent focal point.
“Interior design is an investment in your life,” Shipley-Smith concludes. “There’s nothing I love more than turning a client’s house into a home that functions perfectly and reflects who they are.”