ARMOUR Sq. — There are number of Black interior designers — but Marissa Nelums hopes to make the industry extra obtainable and encourage many others by opening her studio, Glasshouse Inside Style.
Nelums celebrated the showroom’s opening Saturday at 2910 S. Wentworth Ave. The location of her shop — the initial brick-and-mortar showroom she’s experienced — is intentional: It is suitable off the expressway and on the South Side, the space she fell in like with as a student at the Global Academy of Structure. It’ll enable her to inspire additional Black Chicagoans to get into interior layout, and she’ll provide solutions for consumers who might not think they can afford to pay for a designer.
“I generally desired to maintain my neighborhood at the forefront of how we construction items,” Nelums claimed. “I begun this mainly because there wasn’t a great deal of representation for people who glimpse like me in structure. We’re very happy to get to extra than just the people who can manage style and design providers.”
But Nelums’ aspiration studio almost didn’t occur.
Nelums was intrigued in interior layout for a long time, but the former visual merchandiser didn’t pursue that passion right until she received a thrust from the universe — in the type of one more studio stealing photos of an condominium she’d embellished.
“I imagined, ‘If I’m great ample to steal from, perhaps there is a thing to this. Perhaps this is one thing I can do longterm,’” claimed Nelums, whose work can be observed in Architectural Digest and Coming Home journals.
Now, what started as a pastime to continue to keep Nelums active right after her father’s death has come to be a occupation, eternally transforming the trajectory of her existence.
Nelums claimed she loves to combine factors of glamour with deep shades: Jewel tones and metallics for individuals who really like a very little flair, neutrals for straight-laced clientele who favor to retain it uncomplicated.
As Nelums began setting up her portfolio, people begun to get observe.
And Nelums launched a house furnishings line for individuals with more compact budgets. 6 many years later, her customized pillow line is a strike, she stated.
Nelums has expanded the assortment to include things like private label drapery, artwork and home furniture — samples of which are on screen in her Armour Square showroom. People can test out Glasshouse’s virtual service, which provides 3D renderings of clients’ aspiration areas, together with directions on how to carry out the design and style.
That company — coupled with the residence furnishings line — has permitted the organization to attain buyers throughout the state, Nelums explained.
Glasshouse Interiors is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and by appointment Saturday-Sunday.
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