Working From Home? We Have You Covered. Design Special: $575 Home Office Plan

Times are tough right now. Coronavirus putting the world under quarantine has many of us going stir-crazy. Those who are fortunate enough to be able to work from home may be finding it difficult to function the same. That’s where we come in.

We want to provide you with a space that is fun and FUNctional. An environment where you can get work done from the comfort of your own home. For a limited time, we’ve got a special design plan to help you spruce things up. For $575, you’ll get a custom curated plan for your space in just 1-2 weeks.

Included but not limited to: hardworking parents + individuals, hustling college students, cool grade-school kids. ;)

Here is what a home office design process would look like…

Video Consult

Discuss your work-from-home needs + wishes for the space with one of our awesome designers.

[Image: Go Fit Jo; Keith Haring Wallpaper: Blik; Desk: Ikea]

Custom Color Palette

To make sure we’re heading in the right direction, we’ll send a custom color palette your way for feedback + approval.

[Image: James Stewart Photography; Desk: West Elm]

Design Concept Page

Items we’ve sourced for your working space:
Furniture
Art
Lamps
Accessories

[Image: Alivia Fields]

Shopping List

A digital document of our curated selections. Just click & order.

[Image: James Stewart Photography; Desk: Crate and Barrel]

Pinterest Board

A link where you can see other items we considered durning the process.

[Image: Go Fit Jo; Storage: Ikea]

FIN

Now you have a space to get productive work done! Take that, COVID-19!

[Image: Roehner + Ryan; Chairs: Restoration Hardware; Desk: Anthropologie]

Again, this is a limited time offer, so jump on it! Give us a call to learn more: 602-529-2191

MCI’s “Downtown Dogtainer” Wins First Place People’s Choice in Charity Dog House Competition

The MCI crew recently took on a fun little side project designing a stylish, eco-friendly dog house to be auctioned off at this year’s Facings of America Design for Dogs fundraiser. We partnered with Structurology, a structural engineering company we work with at our co-working space The McKinley Club, to create a badass “Downtown Dogtainer,” and *drum roll* we’re excited to share our little pup palace won first place among voters!

Willo the Corgi works with us at the McKinley Club and just had to crawl inside this spacious pup palace!

Inspired by the surge of adaptable and reusable shipping containers throughout Phoenix, we designed a dog house any pooch would love to live in, and we dubbed it the Downtown Dogtainer. This dog-topia showcases a sustainable and unique concept that has been seen around the valley in unique and unexpected ways. There was also a focus on highlighting local Phoenix vendors, such as Tuft & Needle, Our Block Co., muralist Dani Hacche, woodworkers Taylor and Michael of Rhodes Creative, and steelwork by Resolute Performance Iron. This dog house pays homage to the heart and soul seen around the Phoenix community. We hope your pup can't get enough!

Design Concept by Mackenzie Collier Interiors

Local Love

We partnered with local vendors to create this downtown dog haven that represented downtown Phoenix.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Wanting to focus on sustainability, we came up with the idea for a mini shipping container, similar to the Churchill in downtown Phoenix!

About the annual Design for Dogs event:

Hosted by Facings of America since 2015, the Design for Dogs event is a custom dog house design + build competition, silent auction, and most importantly, fundraiser! This dog-centric architectural event showcases one-of-a-kind dog house creations by local architects, interior designers, builders, and industry partners. The family-friendly event has something for everyone: food, music, beer and wine tasting, local vendor booths, learning opportunities for adoption and animal advocacy, a puppy kissing booth, AND... some lucky winners go home with cool, new custom homes for their furry friends!

Thank you Facings of America for this wonderful event and all the design teams for supporting the Arizona Animal Welfare League.

The Larder + The Delta Downtown Phoenix Restaurant Reveal

Spotlight on design! Today we’re showcasing one of our favorite downtown Phoenix restaurants: The Larder + The Delta! For this project, our dear friend Owner and Head Chef Stephen Jones wanted the restaurant to have “an essence of the south with a touch of smoke,” blending the vibe of downtown Phoenix with his personal style. Together, we designed something unique, creative, and innovative to fit him. We are so excited to share this project and ready to take on another food and beverage project. Cheers! 

Check out The Larder + The Delta at 200 W Portland St #101, Phoenix, AZ 85003.
(Pro tip: we recommend getting the crispy pig ear “cheetos” with a summatime sangria!)

The Larder + The Delta, Downtown Phoenix, AZ

Check out Phoenix Faces & Places feature Chef Stephen Jones and the interior of The Larder + The Delta!

PHX Local Love

As designers in downtown Phoenix, we wanted to bring in that urban feeling while keeping it personal. Adding wall murals by local artists created that city flair while keeping the look cohesive. (Murals by Isaac Caruso)

Fresh Perspective

Keeping the space light and airy with crisp white wall and a bright pop of color create a fun and inviting downtown space.

Pops of Color

The yellow Industry West bar stools are a staple at The Larder + The Delta. Having ample amount of bar seating so you can experience the process of watching the chefs create their masterpieces is a must.

Southern Comfort… with a Twist!

Chef Jones’s dishes evolve the rustic and make it new, and we wanted to reflect that in the design. Antique oak church pews paired with concrete tabletops (Porter Barnwood) create a unique look that does just that.

It’s Lit

A modern touch, these beautiful DEZAART wood pendant light fixtures add visual interest and warm lighting in a space with very high ceilings.

Drinks on the Patio

A great space to gather for brunch or an after-work happy hour! We knew that The Larder + The Delta should capitalize on their perfect patio spot. A custom industrial style rail by local vendor 11th Monk3y Industries around the patio makes a nice statement while keeping the space feeling intimate.

Images: Monica Milewski

Minimalist Portland Apartment Tour with Alivia Fields

MCI recently partnered with Portland-based lifestyle photographer and travel blogger Alivia Fields (@aliviafields) to help design her new PDX apartment: an eco-friendly oasis filled with light, love and avocado toast. Now we’re excited to share the reveal!

@aliviafields

Travel photographer + social influencer + environmental activist. Alivia Fields is passionate about ethical living and sustainability. Learn more about her mission to spread light + love at aliviafields.co and check out her travelogue, Never Going Home.

Minimal and sustainably minded, the space combines earthy hues, natural textiles, and modern elements to create a stylish, down-to-earth atmosphere.

Check out Alivia’s Southeast Portland apartment tour for an inside look!

Read our post on how we blended styles to create a cohesive space for Alivia and her husband Zach.

Mackenzie Collier Featured on Babes Who Hustle

"BABE #312: MACKENZIE COLLIER - Owner, Mackenzie Collier Interiors"

We are excited to share that our one and only Mackenzie Collier was featured on Babes Who Hustle, a global media platform and off-screen community created to connect and empower hardworking women across all industries and professions! Take an inside look at how Mackenzie Collier Interiors was born, and learn a bit more about how our fearless leader made her dreams come to fruition.

We’ve included a sneak peak of the interview below; check out the full article at Babes Who Hustle!

Mackenzie Collier

Eight years ago, Mackenzie graduated from design school during a time when the economy was slow and her options for quality employers was slim-to-none. Unable to find a design firm whose values and aesthetic aligned with hers, she decided to open up her own. Today, Mackenzie Collier Interiors is a full-service residential and commercial interior design studio in the heart of downtown Phoenix, AZ, specializing in sustainable, functional design. As owner and lead designer, Mackenzie employs six hustlin’ babes, and together they provide quality interior design services rooted in transparency—from their process to their pricing and beyond.

Photo By: Agnes Art & Photo

The Hustle:

Tell us about your hustle. I’m the owner and lead interior designer at Mackenzie Collier Interiors, a full-service interior design firm specializing in both commercial and residential projects. I’ve been slowly growing my business for eight years, so I’ve really done every role in my business at some point. Currently, I oversee my business development and design teams every day, while also plotting the future expansion of our newest by-the-room design service called Scheme.

What does your typical workday look like? A typical work day for me starts with 6:00 a.m. coffee, greek yogurt, a kitchen dance party and then a couple hours of quiet meditation and/or scrolling through social media, depending how zen I’m feeling that day. I try to either run or do yoga before work whenever possible. At 10:00 a.m. I head into my office in downtown Phoenix. I work on a block schedule, so each day my morning and afternoon blocks are devoted to a different aspect of my business, like team development, financial planning, marketing initiatives, design meetings, etc. On Mondays I schedule all of my tasks into the appropriate blocks and it has really increased my productivity since I quit trying to multitask. At lunch time, I love checking out all of the restaurants and coffee shops in downtown Phoenix; there are new ones popping up every day.

Photo By: James Stewart

What inspired Mackenzie Collier Interiors? I started Mackenzie Collier Interiors eight years ago, right after I graduated from design school and the economy was slow. I couldn’t find a design firm whose values and visual aesthetic aligned with mine. All the firms had overly serious aesthetics (think, burgundy tassels on very heavy drapes) and made their money through sneaky markups, hiding price tags and withholding information from clients. It just didn’t sit well with me, so I decided to try to freelance while I also worked full time as a nanny for two years. Freelancing slowly and painfully grew into a full-time business, and now I have a team of six women who hustle hard to work on some of the coolest projects on the West Coast. I think we’ve had success because we’re diligent about acting with integrity and providing transparency within our pricing and design process. Because of our highly efficient design process, we can offer quality interior design services at a price point that works well for young families and people whose lives are in transition. This year we’re expanding to Portland, Oregon, and Denver, Colorado, which is a long-time dream of mine.

What have some of your favorite projects looked like? I have really loved working on some of our adaptive reuse projects where we take a crumbling old building that’s nearly condemned and bring it back to life while honoring its character and history. The city of Phoenix has a bad habit of allowing developers to come in and knock down all of our charming old buildings to build high-rise condominiums, so I’m always so excited when we get the call to help bring an older building back to life. We’ve completed some large commercial design projects in the Warehouse District as well as on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix, and I’m very proud of the results. We also love working in the many historic neighborhoods of downtown Phoenix. Architectural charm is hard to come by in the Southwest, so it’s really important to me to help preserve it whenever I get the chance.

Agnes Art & Photo

What does your approach to work-life balance look like? This has always been a huge struggle for me. I’ve been driven and achievement-focused since I was a little girl. For many years, my self-worth was tied up with my productivity and achievements rather than who I was as a person. Looking back now, I can see that life just kept serving up bigger and bigger challenges every year (serious illness, break-ups, financial setbacks) until I had no choice but to stop working 80 hours a week and come to the realization that even when I produce nothing at all, I have so many other intrinsic qualities that deem me worthy of happiness and love. Who knew?! These days, I work from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (regularly). Having an office outside my home really helps with that. Of course, occasionally I need to play catch-up on the weekend, but overall I prioritize my life outside of work: my adventures, relationships, friendships. I’m able to do that because I finally got over the fear of delegating important tasks to my team.

Career and/or life advice for other babes? If you own a business, work backwards financially. First figure out how much money your ideal lifestyle would cost (don’t forget to add taxes). Dream big. Then, divide it by the number of hours you want to work every year. If that hourly number is too high to be competitive in your industry, with your experience, then either learn to delegate nonessential tasks to someone who can work at a lower rate or go earn the credentials (or hire someone with those credentials) that could launch you to the income level you want. Don’t wait. Go for it. The only difference between people who are “successful” and people who hope to be successful is action. I like to remind myself there are successful people out there who are dumber than me, with worse ideas than me who simply got out of bed one day and went for it.