You can presently find me gallivanting around Pittsburgh carving out my niche in the world of Interior Design. When I’m not in the studio creating you can find me traveling home to play with my family, visiting one of my 'happy places' or exploring a new destination, all the while searching for inspiration. I’m grateful everyday to my wonderful clients who have entrusted me with their homes and afforded me the opportunity to live my dream. I live and breathe to have a relationship with a home and the people in it. As I continue to experience creative growth and artistic freedom I find myself right where I belong- living the life I have always imagined in a studio I always dreamed of having!

Next, it was off to college- I was on a mission to obtain a degree to back up what I already believe I could do. Attending West Virginia University was all I knew- I have been in attendance at almost every home football and occasional basketball game since exiting the womb. Raised as a ‘mountaineer’ and diehard WVU fan there was no other option. There was also no other path to ponder other than interior design. While my friends struggled with what they wanted to be when they grew up, I was lucky enough to never have wondered. An interior designer is what I wanted to be and an interior designer was who I was going to become. As fate would have it, WVU had an accredited interior design program and I was accepted, along with 19 others, after beating out a hundred other hopefuls during my freshman year.

Fast forward through four incredible years of college, returning home to WV jobless, two years serving time as a retail furniture sales associate, six months as an independent designer and I found myself at a standstill. I was no longer content with life in a small town- I craved more.

My desire for a broader market landed me in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I spent two years working as a junior designer at local residential firm before I landed a reality television gig with HGTV- I was the only designer plucked from the large pool of seasoned contenders in Pittsburgh to appear on national television. I would like to say it was fate, or luck played a part, but the truth is once I had wind of the opportunity to apply for the show I knew deep down they were going to pick me, for this was my moment! 

Once the show aired I began to receive clients of my own and the rest, well, is history! One happy client after another, a few local and national publications of my work, a majority of new clients coming my way by referrals and I was finally able to transition out on my own. After working out of the loft in my home for a little over a year I was able to achieve a life long dream of opening my own design studio with my name out front- Pinch me!

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I enter into every new space and immediately see how it should be — not how it is.

I imagine you were expecting to read a dazzling biography about my life... refined upbringing, Ivy League degree, extensive travels, and numerous publications of my work. But who wants to read another generic bio about an interior designer? They all sound the same to me anyway. The truth is, I’m a thirty-something small town girl from West Virginia with a genuine passion for design.

Choosing a designer to work with is a daunting task for most. I can’t imagine welcoming a complete stranger into my home and feeling comfortable divulging the details of my life. I want to share my story in hopes that should we have the opportunity to meet and collaborate, you feel as if we are already friends!

My affinity for design first emerged as a young child through my ability to transform a cardboard box and JCPenney catalog into a mansion. Cardboard cutouts quickly became a thing of the past and Barbies soon captured my attention. From apartments constructed on the ‘green lawn’ pool table, to the placement of furniture in my pink dream house, I was captivated with creating the perfect space for my plastic idols.

My knack for space planning became apparent as a child when I began rearranging my bedroom. In true Alisha fashion, I would slide and teeter the furniture around my room without soliciting permission or assistance from my parents. I found satisfaction in discovering the many ways I could single-handily rearrange a space. Not much has changed in that respect- I enter into every new space and immediately see it how it should be, not how it is. I posses an innate understanding of my surroundings and take a fearless approach to transforming any space that comes my way.

Onward to my teen years where I discovered the house plan section of ‘Southern Living’ magazine. I would obsessively memorize the plans over a Coca-Cola and jar-full of pretzels, all the while daydreaming how I would have designed it better. Eager to prove I could do better, I discovered an old t-square and drawing board from my uncle’s past and quickly got to work. I spent most of my free time creating floorplans for make believe clients, drawing inspiration from the generic house plan books found in the check out isle at Lowes.