From the Hustle to
the Hive Mind

By: Carolyn Kemmett

Long-time innovator is a key creative in The Design Gallery

Aesthetics was in Missi Smith’s DNA, activated by bold entrepreneurship. Since she arrived in Western North Carolina eight years ago, she’s been dropping her energetic expertise on clients far and wide — here in the Southern mountains, back in her native state of Minnesota, and in Florida, among other locales.

Smith is the founder/proprietor of Missi Smith Design Co., and, more recently, part of an innovative Flat Rock-based collective, The Design Gallery, which offers clients a carefully curated roster of local designers, builders, trade resources, and a spectacular showroom. “This model offers many benefits to clients,” Smith says. Chief among them is “simplifying the process.”

Although Smith built her name on individual platforms, including an early popular blog, she shares her appreciation for the rich community she’s found in her mountain home.

Has your trajectory to design been straightforward or circuitous?

It was winding initially, but once I found my passion, it’s been full force ever since.

Who was an early influence?

My mother, absolutely. She was really into creating a beautiful home, always up on fashion, and a true trendsetter. She had a huge gallery wall in our family room way before gallery walls were a thing.

What happened next?

I was always interested in design and collected design books and home magazines, but when I went to college, design school simply wasn’t on my radar. I studied child psychology and death studies and also volunteered at  the University of Minnesota Hospital in collaboration with the Child Family Life Specialist department. Our family eventually relocated to Milton, Georgia, and my husband and I raised our four children — twin girls, another daughter, and our son, who’s adopted from Guatemala. 

How did you get your design feet wet?

I started a blog, when blogging was in its infancy, called “From Havoc to Heaven.” I shared my experiences flipping houses, taking them from nothing to fabulous. I built a following — people started calling because they liked what I did, and I got an LLC and started working.

Update us since your 2018 move.

I was done with Atlanta’s hustle. After our last child graduated high school, my husband and I came here. I didn’t know a soul. Again, I used social media as a tool, we built our house, and I chronicled that.

Dawn Driskill, who started The Design Gallery, found me and we connected. We had lunch, she asked if I’d consider working with them, and invited me to the showroom. 

I’d never considered not working for myself, but I’m glad I took the leap. Joining The Design Gallery gives me access to the creative hive mind of everyone there, the best subcontractors, and many resources — which we in turn make available to clients. 

You not only listen to your clients, you listen to their houses …

My mind starts whirring the minute I walk into a space and consider its potential — what’s working and not working. A home actually tells you what it wants. For example, a house might loudly say: “I don’t want to be yellow!” 

Any trends you’re happily anticipating?

I’m excited about rich color returning — not ’90s jewel tones, but muddy greens and yellows and other moody, natural shades. We’re seeing this at market, in trade magazines, and with online designers. 

“Grandma chic” continues to have a moment, allowing us to have fun with pattern and incorporate other charming features. 

What do people want their homes to feel like now?

Folks aren’t feeling particularly safe in the world. They’re wanting warmth and comfort at home. 

Have you led a reticent client into doing something they ultimately loved?

I encouraged a nervous client to wallpaper a ceiling, explaining that if she didn’t like it, we could easily rip it off. She ended up adoring it — now it’s her favorite room. Sometimes I must convince a client that an area is literally screaming for something. The same goes for paint. Don’t freak out, because if you hate it, it’s easy and cheap to change.

Any other design dilemmas you’ve tackled lately?

One client wanted to enlarge a small kitchen in their older Montreat home to make it more livable. 

They and their contractor proposed gaining space by taking down a beautiful stone fireplace. I implored them not to, and we discussed which space in the house they never use: the dining room. I suggested switching the kitchen and dining-room locations, and we did that. There was no tear-out, and they now have better traffic flow.

They have three times the space now, and the new kitchen includes a casual eating area with a cool farm table. The client cried when she saw it. 

The Design Gallery, 2682-A Greenville Hwy., Flat Rock, 828-595-2226, thedesigngallerywnc.com.