Hi, I’m Meredith, and I’m a design-addict.
I like wild wallpaper, sculptures of critters, and old houses. But you don’t have to.
Hi, I’m Meredith, and I’m a design-addict.
I like wild wallpaper, sculptures of critters, and old houses. But you don’t have to.
I’m a Baltimore-born designer, but I have lived and worked in Brooklyn since 2005. Like any good New Yorker, I have snuck storage into every nook imaginable, shoved a refrigerator into my living room when the kitchen was too small to hold it, and generally let the city be my classroom for space-maximization. Zillow is a minor religion. I hate-watch House Hunters along with the best of them.
My renovation chops were built over 15 years of site visits and project management in residential design firms. Although I have always focused on residential interiors, I have worked less with sofas and curtains than I have with shop drawings, construction sets, and specification schedules. An interior designer is often the go-between for clients and contractors, with the interest of both parties in mind and a backstage pass to their concerns. Client or contractor, the end goal is always the same: a beautiful, functional home with the lest amount of fuss we can manage. I have renovated three properties for my own family, and stuck my nose into countless friends’ and relatives renovation woes.
Did you want MORE background? I’ve been in the professional design world since 2007, but began as a classic artsy-kid and theater-tech nerd. I was also an a cappella nerd. And an academic nerd. A huge knitting nerd. I’ve checked nerd boxes you never considered (ask me how many Magic the Gathering cards my husband owns!). After graduating from Trinity College with a BA in painting, I moved to New York and toyed with the idea of working a gallery. Six months in that world found me mostly wandering through tile stores, so I enrolled in the AAS interior design program at Parsons School of Design. At last, friends who also wanted to walk into Ann Sacks for no reason! Upon graduating, I worked for Darren Brown Interior Design on residential projects in the greater New York area, until the Great Recession ate up everyone’s wallpaper budget and tossed me back into the art world. I found refuge in Brooklyn Art Space managing the studio and curating shows in the gallery. Eventually I re-acquainted myself with carpet samples at Eli Dweck Designs, a busy residential firm focusing on high-end projects in Brooklyn and New Jersey. I found a long-term home at Ben Herzog Architect, PC, where I grew the fledgling interior design department and helped the firm's architects revive the local brownstones I adore.
On my own, I try to shoehorn my ravenous design-addiction into a deliciously chaotic life with two little boys. I read design blogs, I buy design magazines, I frighten my cats by moving the furniture too often. My primary hobby is fantasy real estate shopping, imagining how I would transform a beautiful old house. I play Forensic Floorplans (not a real game) and try to draw a plan just from realtor photos. Don’t I sound fun? I guess I have other interests like knitting and gardening and painting, but really, every time I enter a restaurant or bar, I am immediately trying to identify all lights and plumbing fixtures in sight. A party trick no one asked for.
My brain is always focused on the ways that good design can enrich your daily life. How can you live better in the spaces you have? How can you get the best bang for your buck? What joyful pockets of your personality could you draw out by changing your environment? Can I interest you in a ceramic greyhound?
The intersection of reality and fantasy: that’s where all the good stuff happens.
My first and middle names: Meredith McLean. My grandfather (Mac) used to call me Merrimack, and honestly, no one could ever spell my maiden name. Alcarese. I don’t know, guys, it’s Italian.
