How many ways can you say something is beautiful? How many times can you call it amazing? As a design writer, my job is to interpret the craft of home with precise language that goes beyond the clichés to capture the story that professionals working in the residential industry are trying to tell.
My articles appear nationwide in Luxe Interiors + Design; locally, I cover homes for Home & Design, Washingtonian, Arlington and Bethesda magazines.
You can read more about my editorial work and see my clips here.
My blog, DC by Design, is the only local design blog that avoids the typical “how-to” decorating tips and delves exclusively into the talents that shine throughout the DC-Maryland-Virginia region. For that reason, Washingtonian named it one of the area’s three top design blogs.
In addition to my editorial work, I create content for design firms, developers, manufacturers and real-estate brokers who need help finding words to describe their projects—“beautiful” and “amazing” only takes you so far!
With more than 25 years of journalism and design-marketing experience, I know how to ask the right questions to elicit the most revealing details and anecdotes that will carry the design narrative to describe your work. To avoid a conflict of interest, I don’t cover these clients in my editorial work.
You can see examples of my copywriting here.
Beyond my keyboard, I live in a post-and-beam Deck House in Arlington, Virginia, that we affectionately refer to as The Brady Bunch House. My husband, Jim, helps me with graphic design when he’s not at work as the design director of USA Today, and we’ve got two sons—Henry, 17, and Chal, 14. They all tease me because I’m the only one without an iPhone, but my Samsung takes better pictures for my blog, if I do say so myself.
My favorite gifts of all time have been furniture and art: lipstick-red Victoria Ghost chairs by Philippe Starck add zing to my office; a custom chest by our friend, woodworker Caleb Woodard greets visitors in our entry hall; and a commissioned painting by our friend Mark Giaimo of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (inside joke) hangs proudly in our library. Each of these pieces, like many others in our home, has a story behind it—one of the reasons I love learning about the stories that dwell in the homes I write about.
Want more details about my work experience? My full resume is on LinkedIn, right here.