Happy, snowy January 2017 to you! Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. This is my first post.  (Boy!, it’s taken a long time to get here).

My name is Mary Charles Smith and I’m an interior designer located in Raleigh, N.C. I have traveled a lot of roads to find a career that I am passionate about, and I’ve finally nailed it. From jobs as an advertising media planner/buyer (qualitative and quantitative information wasn’t for me) to working with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, I didn’t realize my passion until I worked for a local residential developer’s onsite real estate office.

As the first point of contact in a multimillion-dollar residential community, I was fortunate to develop open, honest relationships with potential new homebuyers. This was during the height of the “old world” design trend (2004-2009?), and it was going gangbusters in my local market. However, a lot of the prospective homebuyers weren’t in love with the color restrictions in the community’s covenants. (Let’s be honest, I wasn’t either…)

When it came time to buy, the customers had to dig deep and really think about making such a large investment in an area with so many restrictions. Don’t get me wrong- the covenants were put in place to keep continuity within the neighborhood, but when making such a large purchase who wants to be told what colors you can paint your home? The resistance got my wheels spinning, and I had a light bulb moment: Why couldn’t I help people with their interior and exterior design selections?

In the late summer of 2008, I immediately quit my job to attend Meredith College’s Interior Design program. (My parents will tell you I missed the “recession memo”.) Yet, regardless of the financial recession I had a dream, and I pursued it. After graduating in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and a Minor in Studio Art, I set out to start my own interior design business: May I Suggest Designs by MCS.

Since opening my doors in 2013, I have met many, many kind designers, worked with fantastic clients and worked hard to build my business. Now, hopefully, with the platform of this blog, May I Suggest Designs by MCS will continue to grow and I can help YOU with your design dilemmas! Through the trials of multiple design “lessons” I have learned a lot. So, take me up on it and learn from my past mistakes; I will gladly share what I’ve gleaned through blog posts on past and future design projects.

Thanks for following,

xoxo,

mc