Meet the SCID Team Series ... introducing Stephanie, our Principal Designer and Chief Creative Officer!
Your first introduction to the SCID Squad is to Stephanie Charest - the obvious namesake of SCID, Principal Designer and overseer of all things design and business related.
In addition to a short backstory on each of us, we each had to list some of our favourite things that we wanted to share as well our favourite thing about our SCID design process.
We hope you enjoy getting to know our team and that you look forward to seeing more of each squad member on our Instagram feed!
Stephanie began the business in 2003, after having her first daughter and deciding not to go back to her job at an architecture firm. The backstory about her business journey can be found here!
But wait, can we talk about these shoes? They were purchased for this photoshoot and while the plan was to return them to the store (worn only inside!) they now grace my shoe shelves permanently! Can someone please invite me to a party that requires gold shoes? K’ thanks!
Stephanie loves surprising Avery and Kim with Starbucks, considers Stella an emotional support dog when she’s being good and loves deck weather so she can read by the outdoor fire. She hopes to keep her team happy and motivated by keeping a sunny attitude but has been known to let loose with the F-bombs on occasion!
Stephanie’s Favourite Things
In her own words…
Favourite Place
We went to Italy and Paris for our 15 year wedding anniversary and I still dream about the fresh pesto that was made for me at my table in Levanto. It is technically the sixth village of the Cinque Terre and we stayed in an AirBNB there. I loved it far more than any of the famous villages that make up the Cinque Terre- they were far too touristy and overpriced.
We loved sitting at a small cafe in Levanto watching the locals. They’d come for morning coffee and a late afternoon drink and it was fun to see regulars day after day. The food was outstanding (best pizza ever in addition to the best pesto!) and we loved seeing how people lived and worked as opposed to the more touristy destinations like Florence and Rome.
2. Favourite Read
I mean… can you really pick a favourite book? I don’t think that is possible to be honest! However, in order to not make this blog post ridiculously long, I’m picking a recent book I read that I absolutely adored! I personally love Historical Fiction - I love learning something about history while being told a story (they should have taught social studies like this when I was in High School!) and The Surgeon’s Daughter did not disappoint. If you’re a reader like me, I’ll happily send you my favourites from the past while!
3. Favourite Treat:
If you know me, you know I love a sweet treat on occasion. It’s definitely my cryptonite! This GF cake (not pictured above, because it is an old recipe with terrible photos. The one from above is this one… so pretty!) is shockingly good and every time I make it people cannot believe it is gluten free! I make a few modifications - like maple syrup instead of agave and absolutely NO NUTS OR RAISINS will ever touch my cake! That is a crime against humanity if you ask me! Plus I always make cream cheese frosting because duh… nothing will ever replace that.
I am always impressed when my clients have beautiful artwork in their homes. I would love to have a collection throughout my house one day! Other things (ahem.. three kids, a dog and a house to upkeep) have always taken priority but maybe one day.
I don’t actually remember how I discovered Steven Coffey but I know exactly what drew me to him. His big skies and colourful strokes of paint are so lovely and I dream of owning one of his pieces one day! I’m always keen to learn about other artists so if you have any favourites let me know!
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS?
“It’s hard to pick a favourite part of the design process as there are so many parts that I truly love! I love it when a design starts to come together and we see it start to take shape with fabrics and materials… I love showing clients the selections we’ve made at presentation day (even though I am so nervous that they won’t like it! It’s never happened… but it still makes me queasy!) and I love the big reveal.
Showing clients their home after we’ve moved all the furniture in, styled it and hung artwork… they are always shocked and amazed at how beautiful it turned out. It truly is the best day ever… for us and for them.”
We hope you liked our Meet The Team series and enjoyed learning a bit more about the people behind Stephanie Charest Interior Design.
I feel pretty lucky to spend my days with these ladies! They make coming to work fun and we work hard together to give you the best designs and client experience possible.
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