Allison Smith: Owner & Interior Designer

Did you know that your home's interior has the ability to transform your mood, productivity levels, and create space where your family feels “at home”? At Gem & Clay our goal is to create a space that friends and family enter, look around, and say “I wish my home felt like this!”. The interior of your home as the ability to blow people away, create an experience for them every time they are over – feeling like an escape from the boring, mundane, and typical home.

What does the interior design process look like?

We start by setting up a time to talk on the phone or come to your home and learn more about your goals and what you’re looking to accomplish. We’ll talk budget, timeline, and the services your looking to utilize. We offer a range of service style from full-service (we handle every pieces of the project!) to concept creation and retainer-style completion. After talking through the details of your project we will guide you to the right services for your project.

When kicking off your project we’ll talk in even more detail about your design preferences, our ideas for your space, and learn more about you and your family. We’ll also work through your current inventory of furniture, art, decor and other items that you would like to incorporate into your space. Our team then gets working! The first piece we’ll present to you will be mood boards that visually show how each room will feel, and space plans to determine the flow of the spaces. After approving vision boards we move into palettes and pricing. By the end of our first phase of design, we will have a comprehensive view of how each space should look, feel, flow, and what the project will cost. 

During the next design phase of development, we’ll do multiple rounds of presentations, showing you what each room will look like, even getting into 3D life-like modeling when necessary. We can build animations of walking through your home, which is especially helpful for new builds. When the designs are approved our team works in connection with the contractors to manage the project, talking that burden off your plate. We’ll develop plans for the contractors to work off that outline, to the inch, walls, trim, lighting locations and more. Contractors praise our detailed plans as it makes their job much easier, keeps your cost down, and eliminates having to redo work or go back and fix issues. Our goal is to create a streamlined process to get your home done as quickly as possible.

When construction is complete we’ll get to the installation part where we bring in your new furniture, decor and accessories, completely styling and transforming your interior. Many clients love to spend a few days away while we complete this process, returning to a reveal that always amazes!

Designing in Orlando & The Surrounding Florida Area

Working with clients in Orlando, Florida is always treat as it’s just a quick drive from our NE Florida office. The diversity of Orlando helps us to draw inspiration, from neighborhoods like Thornton Park, College Park, and Winter Park, Orlando offer a wide array of architectural styles. We also work in other cities throughout NE Florida with a team of interior designers in Jacksonville.

Please contact us to set up a time for us to come visit your location. We’re excited to learn more about your home and talk with you about how we can design an interior that inspires!