Hi, I'm Valerie.
I’ve been working in the field of design in one capacity or another for 15 years.
Since I was a little girl, I’ve always been acutely aware of and affected by my immediate surroundings. I remember spending an entire weekend once when I was 12 painting and styling a new bookshelf in my bedroom. I became obsessed, adding and taking away different things, and I loved the improvement it made to the entire room once I was done.
I love manipulating my surroundings, and the feelings that doing so evokes. I truly believe that our physical environments can directly affect our health and overall happiness.
Creating beautiful spaces that flow well and work for those who dwell there is one of my favorite things to do.
Welcome to Quill Decor
I'm so honored you're here.
Let's back up a little bit.
Part of the reason my career has taken so many twists and crazy turns is because I married a (very brilliant) business professor named Matthew.
I'm one of the lucky ones. He is my best friend, and an amazing life partner. But because he's so brilliant, we've moved frequently in our 9 years together, to ultimately settle in Cambridge England where Matthew has landed a tenured professorship.
Before we moved to England, I started a design firm called Quill Decor in the small mid-western town where we lived. I was fortunate to land an awesome Airbnb design project, that I was able to film an e-course in before we leapt the pond.
In the midst of our cross-continental move I wrote and filmed the course that's on my site now. I poured my heart and soul into this thing and it's one of the hardest things I've ever done. But I believe in the course I built. I believe in the message and I believe it can be an invaluable tool to those who want to learn design skills related to short term rentals.
Turns out I LOVE teaching and in particular on the topic of Short Term Rental Design. I feel like I've landed exactly where I'm supposed to be, and I'm so glad you're here.
So Why Focus on Short Term Rental Design?
I'm so glad you asked...
My husband and I had the wonderful experience of owning and running our own Airbnb. We LOVED everything about it, from the extra money we made (and used to travel with) to finding ways to go above and beyond for the pleasure of our guests.
Designing, furnishing and outfitting a Short Term Rental Property is a special skill.
I have knowledge and experience to pass along to YOU so that YOUR temporary rental can be a show stopping success.
Besides owning and designing Short Term Rentals, we've also stayed in dozens of them all over the world.
From northern Canada to Australia to the United Kingdom and Italy and all across the US. We’ve stayed in great places, and we’ve stayed in some that I knew had potential, but that I had lots of advice for!
I’ve decided to apply my knowledge of Short Term Rental design towards an e-course helping you to design your own. You can do this! I'm here to help!
In my Short Term Rental Design Course, we will discuss loads of tips and tricks for saving money while decorating your space, everything your rental must have, and must not have, and lots of ideas for how to stage and style your space.
We’ll also provide plenty of resources for the best places to buy everything from furniture, to curtains, to mattresses. This is based on my own experience with purchases and my extensive research.
The Airbnb Design Course
My goal for this course is to help you maximize the return on your investment, and to make it easy for you to make the plethora of decisions involved with getting your Short Term Rental up and running. Let me help you break down the daunting task of decorating your space, with this guided course full of valuable information.
Some Fun Facts about Val
- Cleared and cleaned countertops make me feel like I can conquer anything my day throws at me.
- Dogs. I love all the dogs.
- I missed my calling to the broadway stage. But oh do I sing. I sing very very loudly while I'm making dinner almost every night. In my opinion singing (loudly) can turn any bad mood completely around.
- I'm a mother to two beautiful girls, and I strive for presence not perfection in this role which I'm so grateful for.
- I love needle felting tiny animals. Look that up if you need a Pinterest rabbit hole to wonder down.
- I love to work hard, and I LOVE to help people, which is why I love entrepreneurship so much.
"We couldn't have been happier with Valerie's help on our remodel project. My partner and I decided to move our coworking space in a pinch (much of what we sell is our aesthetic) and Valerie made all the right decisions way faster than we should have asked her to. I think I'm extra picky, but Valerie did a great job of taking my input seriously without letting me make choices I wasn't qualified for. We'll continue working with Quill as long as she'll have us."
Tyler from CoWork
Commercial Client
"I really like that Valerie was able to adapt to my particular tastes quickly. Only after a few hours, she was able to recommend colors, fabric, placement, and purchase decorative items that matched not only my style, but made the house look fresh and fantastic. Of the three designers I used, she was the best at providing recommendations that matched my style even while she was remote."
Dan Martin
Residential Client
"Working with Valerie was fantastic! Not only did she come to the table with a ton of great ideas, but is super fun to work with and flexible depending on your budget. She provided several great options for each area of our space, so we always felt like we had choices for each area, depending on our tastes/needs.. Also, she was great with incorporating some items we already had into the original design, that we would have never thought to keep. 5 out of 5! Can't wait to recommend her!!"
Liza Kawaller
Commercial Client
"Valerie guided us through an improved layout to best utilize the (tricky) space, choose the perfect pieces, maximize every inch of real estate, and design an aesthetic that blends together both of our styles. I am not good with the details - thank goodness she IS. And she worked around our very tricky schedules and competing priorities! Valerie was an absolute pleasure to work with. Persistent in just there right way to keep the project on track, and flexible with each curveball I threw her way. Highly recommend!!!"
