Interior Design

Since she founded her firm (www.susannilsson.com) in 1987, Western North Carolina native Susan Nilsson has been in a popular interior designer with Realtors, architects, and developers - as well as home owners. Part of the reason may be her early experience working directly for companies involved in real estate development. That experience makes Susan bilingual, fluent in the creative language of design and in the practical vernacular of. builders.

"My work in the construction industry gave me the tools I use today," says Susan.

For the HandMade House at The Ramble, Susan has created an imaginary family as her clients. With the work of almost 100 artists to coordinate, "we needed a discipline to put the house together," she says. "The people we created are a combination of clients I've had over the years.

"The make-believe father is an environmentalist. The wife is a freelance scientific writer who does her research and writing at home. The ten-year-old daughter loves the ballet and horses; so hers is the leather and lace room. The eight-year-old son's room is full of bugs and rocks and bees. The family has inherited wealth; so they they're able to collect and indulge their love of the handmade object."