Our core philosophy is deeply rooted in the belief that client referrals are the best way to gauge our success. For this reason, we consistently ask our clients for feedback.
If you are “shopping for a designer”, be sure to look beyond pictures of their work. Photos of beautiful rooms aren't enough to ensure a good client/ designer experience. Checking references is the best way to help you understand what to expect.
M. WINGER
"I found Modern Whimsy through searching online for highly regarded designers in the OKC area. I am 30-something young professional with a passion for making my home a place I love to be, and where I want others to enjoy being. I came upon scores of websites featuring Kellie, including HGTV and her own site. Reading through the site, including her bio, resume, project lists, references and press clippings, I decided that she was the person I wanted to hire. I was looking for someone I could trust and to whom I could say, "Ok here's my budget. I can’t tell you exactly what I want but I want awesome...can you help me?"
I found Kellie to be observant, skilled at asking thought-provoking questions and she listened intently as I explain what I was hoping to achieve. She has the unique ability to identify someone's style, preferences, and interests, both aesthetically and functionally, without needing that person to reveal them to her. Kellie helped create a classically designed comfortable home that met all my functional needs. What really stood out through the design process was that she didn’t try to get me to like things that were her style or personal taste. Instead, she recited back what she heard me saying to ensure she understood correctly. From there, she offered a few different paths that could best meet my needs and let me decide the approach I wanted to take. She explained how she could be of the most help and guided me through the process. Kellie shows an extraordinary attention to detail and strong command over her limitless imagination. She is versatile, easy to work with and committed to making her clients happy. I have worked with designers in the past and found that many of them are compelled to finish a project with their own personal touch so guests will recognize the designer's work. Kellie is exactly the opposite. She coached me through being able to articulate my style and needs and in the end made me feel like I designed the space. "(Nichols Hills, Oklahoma)
KATIE
"Working with Melissa was amazing. She was extremely comfortable to have conversations with. I was impressed with the open communication and the quick, reliable responses Melissa had. We were informed every step of the journey. She listened to our budget and found amazing ways to bring great design in without making us go over what we were comfortable spending. She had great attention to detail and made sure every last finish was perfect. She oversaw our project from start to finish and helped me see the vision from day 1. She encouraged us to push outside our comfort zone just a bit and I am SO glad she did because our finished re-design was better than I imagined. She balanced comfort, aesthetic, and functionality. She truly transformed our home into a space that can store all the things we need for 3 toddlers, but also created beautiful living space that doesn't look like 3 toddlers live in our home. My favorite space in my entire home is the intimate sitting area she created by our fireplace. Before this was unused space and we had no clue it could be so warm and cozy!" (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
STEVEN
"I found Kellie through her website. I could say a lot of things, but the bottom line is, she's the greatest. Especially if you're like me, and have no idea what you're doing. If you decide to work with her, you will have a fantastic, beautiful, cool home. Being a single guy made the whole process a little intimidating but Kellie and her team immediately made me feel extremely comfortable. They are extremely easy to work with and absolutely full of wonderful ideas. I actually learned a lot through the process. When you first meet with Kellie, she will ask lots of questions. She is very blunt and to the point, which I appreciate. She is very budget conscious, and will always keep you informed. If you want your house to look like everyone's house, or something you have seen before, don't hire Kellie. However, if you want something unique and fantastic, Kellie is who you should hire. I would not hesitate to use her again, and I will never consider any major purchases without consulting her. She has my absolute highest recommendation." (Weatherford, Oklahoma)
"I worked as a commercial designer for 4 years prior to making the decision to stay home with my children. Due to some unexpected circumstances, our family grew from 5 to 8, literally overnight. We needed a bigger house but moving wasn’t an option. I hesitated to hire a designer because my husband tends to push back on change, and we had a limited budget due to all the changes within our family. We were desperate to find ways to improve the function of our home. I had been out of the industry for over 10 years, so the thought of navigating that process on my own was overwhelming. I wasn’t sure what to expect but decided to reach out to Modern Whimsy for help. I showed Kellie pics of rooms and things I liked, and she was fabulous at pegging my style and identifying what our family needed. We found her to be a great communicator and gifted in the ability to be direct yet still personable. She gets her point across leaving no margin for error or miscommunication, which I love! My husband and I were most excited about the creative solutions she found for utilizing some of our existing items in fresh new ways. I can't recommend her enough! She is up front from the start so you know what you can and can't afford. The Modern Whimsy team has made my home a place I can be happy in and truly enjoy! Happy mom/wife=HAPPY LIFE!!" (Edmond, Oklahoma)
S.HAGGARD
JULIE
"Kellie worked with us to create a fresh, modern and sophisticated design style using some of our existing pieces as well as adding new furniture and accessories. We wanted to create a unified look in our open floor plan living space tying our dining, living and kitchen areas together. Because we were on a set budget, she offered creative alternatives and allowed for us to make choices in the process so the design was a collaborative effort. She carefully considered our needs, design style, and lifestyle so that our space was functional and beautiful. Kellie is attentive to details, committed to her clients and maintained contact with us during the entire design process. We have received many comments about the style in our home and how it doesn't look like every other house on the block!" (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
BJ + ANGIE
"If you're looking for a quality designer for a remodel or construction project, look no further than Rylan Neilson and her colleagues at Modern Whimsy. Rylan brought just the right blend of professional expertise and active listening about our goals and vision for our kitchen remodel. Not only did she help us see what our vision would look like through drawings and renderings but also provided leadership of a team of quality contractors to quote and ultimately deliver top quality work within our budget. Before this project, I wasn't sure about the value of working with an interior designer. After this experience, I wouldn't approach another remodel project without one. As long as we're in Oklahoma, we won't be looking anywhere else than Rylan and Modern Whimsy" (Oklahoma City. Oklahoma)
EDEN
"Working with Kellie has been such a rewarding experience! My husband and I downsized into a charming but completely different floor plan of a home and were very discouraged with how to deal with certain aspects. At the same time our taste had drastically changed and we literally started almost from "scratch" with furniture/accessories. Kellie has such a great "problem solving" mind and was able to address things so imaginatively! She was steller at being able to combine both our needs and wants so well. She was a valuable resource for questions or reassurance from occasional random texts/emails when I spot a great "find" somewhere! I like to think we will have an ongoing professional relationship with Kellie because we have so much trust in her opinions and taste." (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
J. CASTILLA
"We have had the pleasure of working with Kellie and her team on several projects at Citizens Bank of Edmond over the past ten years. Kellie has always been very in tune with our needs as a financial institution to best accommodate our team and serve customers. She prioritizes quality and functionality without jeopardizing appearance. Her team delivers projects on time and the final product always exceeds our expectations. We proudly recommend Modern Whimsy!" (Edmond, Oklahoma)
B. KINLEY
"I would recommend Modern Whimsy for your personal or corporate design needs. They listened to what we thought we wanted, and then presents things we never knew we wanted. The team is current and knows what is on point. You can count on them to keep you updated along the way and to stick to budget. And very importantly, they are fun to work with!" (Edmond, Oklahoma)
E. JONES
"I have been working with Kellie and her team for many years now. When I first began working with Modern Whimsy, I told Kellie that I basically had no style, no vision, No imagination and no concept of scale. I wasn't even sure I could put my finger on what I liked. As the professional relationship has grown, Kellie has begun to figure me out, and I have begun to figure myself out as well. I have always found Kellie to be prepared for our meeting, personable, and yet very respectful of my time and budget as she gets right down to business. Coming from a type of business that bills hourly, I understand that hourly billing for services can sometimes reward inefficiency and could therefore be prone to abuse by a designer. That has never been a concern of mine with Kellie and her team. In fact, I have been amazed by how efficient she is. She pushes herself considerably harder than I ever do in order to meet deadlines and give me results that she and I are both proud of. I am grateful for the business relationship that we have developed as well as the personal friendship that has followed. If you are looking to make your home something that you are truly proud of, choose Modern Whimsy. You will not be disappointed." (Edmond, Oklahoma)
E. WRENN
"It is a pleasure to do business with Modern Whimsy. They have designed 3 restaurants, a tiki bar, and two personal dwellings for me. Their work is unique in each of their designs and consistently looks great while providing great service to myself or a member my team should they need anything at all. Even today, a member of my team reached out about an item we purchased over 2 years ago and they were able to provide exactly where it came from so I could replace a broken sign. They are fast, impressive, professional, and great to work with. Even though we have worked together for years they always find a way to surprise me and surpass my expectations. In my home and businesses they have told stories through the artwork they place that create and open conversations among our family and our guests. There is always tremendous thought that goes into what they do and their work provides a constant reminder to where we have been and where we are going. Kellie, thank you for what you and your team do for me, my business, and my household." (Edmond, Oklahoma)
J. FARMER
"We recently bought a vacation home 3 hours away and knew we were in over our head trying to do the remodel and furnish it all. It was a very big job and a bit daunting. We knew we needed a designer for help. We interviewed several designers and ultimately decided on Kellie and her team as we felt comfortable with them, they had great communication and were able to help make our vision a reality. The process of remodeling a home several hours away has its challenges but Kellie and her team made it a great experience. We ran into design/construction issues along the way as expected with remodeling, but each issue was handled professionally with great resolutions/problem solving by their team. In addition to being a great design team, they are really knowledgeable about home construction and rehab. This was very helpful. They were able to talk us thru all, give options and great ideas that we would never have thought of. Any designer can do a great job with an unlimited budget, but a great designer can work within your budget and make your vision a reality. They excelled at this by making the finished product great and also staying under budget. If we ever do another project, we look forward to working with Kellie and her team. Thanks for all your hard work and making a stressful experience go smoothly and giving us peace of mind thru out the rehab/design." (Edmond, Oklahoma)
C. MOORE
"Delightful – the word I chose to describe working with Kellie. I needed assistance in picking out a color scheme for two bathrooms and my kitchen cabinets. She listened thoughtfully as I described what I planned to do. She had immediate suggestions and showed them to me with her color samples. The act I appreciated the most was she wrote her plan for my colors and picking out my tile on my remodel papers so I had immediate access when I was ready to purchase the paint and pick out my tile. I didn’t have to remember anything. She showed extreme consideration using the time well and giving me ideas on how to save money. I loved her color suggestion for the vanity in my master bath. I never would have considered this color but the color set off the room so well. Her accessory suggestions made the room all come together. I would highly recommend her to anyone needing help with a home design project." (Edmond, Oklahoma)
J. LARIMORE
"I hesitated to hire (or admit to hiring) a designer because I love home interior projects and I wanted my house to be something I did. I am fairly opinionated so I wasn't sure how the working relationship would play out with hiring a designer. Contrary to my fear, Kellie didn't "taken over" at all. She worked with in my budget, on my timeline (we took a break because I spent three months in a wheelchair), and totally within my comfort zone while cutting down on the time I have to spend weeding out the crap. The result is stuff I love that I might not have taken the time to search for. I would've settled for stuff that took less time for me to find and would've been more expensive and less unique"
(Edmond, Oklahoma)
"I had known for a while that my house needed a design intervention. While I knew that I needed a change I wasn't sure where to start. When I saw Kellie on HGTV Design Star and learned that she was basically my neighbor I knew she was the one. When I think about my house now and about Kellie I break out into a giddy grin, as I love them both. She found me a pillow that caused me to squeal, and I am not usually a squeal over a pillow kind of girl. Kellie is a breath of fresh air; her energy and spirit is contagious. She cares about people and that is what truly makes her a great designer! She listened to what I wanted but challenged me throughout the whole process. My house is gorgeous and a little bit quirky and full of color, a lot like Kellie, and I love it!" (Arcadia, Oklahoma)
C. ODOM
CHARLOTTE
"This was my first experience in working with a designer. I had just moved to Oklahoma for the first time after living overseas for 7 years so I was excited and overwhelmed by the transition and the large space that needed to feel like home. Kellie was quick to encourage my little lost heart while remaining extremely professional in keeping me on track with my house. She utilized the little time I gave her to cover each room and search on line for specific pieces...none too expensive or too far out of my comfort zone in terms of style or design. Overall, I'm happy to have a new friend ;) and great ideas for a sophisticated, modern home that still feels comfortable and warm." (Edmond , Oklahoma )
T. FEATHERLY
"As the owner of a retail home furnishings store, I have had the opportunity to observe Kellie from a perspective that differs from that of a client. Kellie really educates her clients on where to splurge and where to save. The result is something that looks like it took years for the client to put together. She understands what her clients need and talks through decisions that will serve them for years to come. Watching her pick fabrics and pieces that would not traditionally go together has been inspiring. She has an eye for detail and a gift for marrying different styles and colors. Kellie has an energy about her that becomes contagious even watching her as an outsider." (Edmond, Oklahoma)
GINA
"My husband and I had the privilege of working with Kellie as we built a new home. Being that it was our first experience working with a designer, we had no idea what to expect. Now after working with her we can’t imagine doing it any other way! From her initial contact, Kellie was insightful, helpful, and friendly. During our time with her she was professional and gave us confidence in knowing that our new home would reflect our own personal style. She took the time to thoroughly understand our tastes, stayed on task, and left us with great guidance and direction for our next steps. We had some major decisions that needed to be made and she guided us in the best direction, giving us a plethora of helpful advice in a short time frame. Her advice saved us from making some major mistakes that would have been disastrous and costly to change. In fact, we recently saw the interior of a new construction home with much of the same trim color and cabinets we had in mind prior to meeting with Kellie. There wasn’t any cohesiveness or harmony in the colors, as Kellie had warned us against. We walked away from that home so thankful that we had made the decision to seek professional guidance. We could not have asked for a better experience. We highly recommend her to everyone!" (Edmond, Oklahoma)
THE ANDERSONS
"We moved to Edmond from New York City and Kellie has helped us capture exactly what our family needed to make our home feel like us, even though we were essentially starting from scratch. She's come up with creative solutions to make our suburban home feel modern and fresh, while also developing very practical solutions to life with small children. Countless times Kellie has helped me to pull the trigger and make progress on what otherwise seemed overwhelming. From telling us that we were headed in the wrong direction to telling us that we need to stick to a budget or hire organizers, her honesty, knowledge, and judgment have been invaluable over and over again. I used two different designers before finding Kellie, and there's just no comparison. She's talented, creative, and efficient. Beyond all that, she's just a wonderfully warm and thoughtful person. Kellie is amazing, and I enthusiastically recommend her without reservation. Having her in our lives has been a real blessing." (Edmond, Oklahoma )
HEIDI
"I am a creative person myself however when it came to my own home I just couldn't sort through all my ideas, loves, and pins from pinterest boards to come up with design plan. Working with Modern Whimsy has given me peace of mind. I went from feeling overwhelmed and disorganized to BAM! Here is the game plan! The best part is that it's all FUNctional, stylish and sooooo US! They really nailed it! I have 3 kids, 2 dogs and Hubby (who didn't understand need for designer) with a house that needed 3 rooms updated BIG time! They listened to us during our meeting, helped open us up to new ideas and used some of the items we already had in our home but in a better way. Hiring them was the best investment I have made in our home! Matter of fact the Hubby has already said "when are you having them back to do these other rooms?" (Dallas, Texas)
A. DANIELS
"We were fortunate to meet Kellie while shopping at a local furniture store. She helped us with redecorating our living and dining rooms. We were going from traditional to contemporary and could not have done it without her! One of the things I appreciated most was her approach to helping us get what we wanted, not just another version of "Kellie's design". She gave us guidance about some art work, we picked what we liked, and had fun doing it. She offered insight about what was worth spending money on and where we could get something just as good for less money. Kellie was always fun and we loved her excitement for our little project." (Edmond, Oklahoma)
L. KORBE
"Kellie was not the first designer we worked with when we moved to town and bought a brand new home. With my modern/contemporary tendencies, I was having difficulties melding my tastes with the Tuscan style home we purchased. The first decorator I called seemed to have heard nothing I shared about what I was wanting and merely recommended what she was most familiar with, none of which was of interest to me. How relieved I was when Kellie actually heard my pleas for help with how to blend the two styles, and to give me assurance that it could be done. She was patient and encouraging with my doubts and led us in the direction we wanted by providing a sequence of actions and items that would fit our spaces, tastes and color preferences as well as our needs. In addition, she was readily available by text, phone or email at any given time I had a question or even just an idea I wanted to discuss with her. I even texted photos of items to her while in a store to get her opinion, to which she always enthusiastically responded. Clearly my experience with Kellie was outstanding…even without the added perk of thoroughly enjoying the lovely person she is. AND…I must not forget to say, this was all while she was more than 8 months pregnant with her precious second child!!! That girl is amazing!" (Edmond, Oklahoma)
DEBBIE
"Having lived for three decades in two tastefully decorated houses I was well on my way to building a third traditional home. After I started building I told someone whose style I have always admired " I love my traditional house with all of my family antiques but I am ready for a change. I want a house that is not so serious. I want a house that is fun." She had worked with Kellie and told me about Modern Whimsy. Modern and whimsy were two words that both frightened and intrigued me! After meeting with Kellie the first time I began to see that traditional, antiques, modern and whimsical could be wonderfully combined. Through the process of working with Kellie my style has evolved. Kellie has guided me in new directions while incorporating the old things I love. I I love that my house was designed with beautiful family antiques, wonderful colors and just the right touch of whimsy." (Edmond, Oklahoma)
SHERRIE
"As the Director of Marketing for a custom home builder, I worked with Kellie for over 5 years. Kellie has a multitude of talents, and we were fortunate to have her as our Designer. As a designer the most important assets she contributed were her creativity, resourcefulness, and reliability. She takes on each project as if it were her own home. Not only does she have the design skills and abilities, she is also organized, prompt and tenacious. She is involved from start to finish working with our on-site supervisors, contractors and staff to ensure her ideas are carried out exactly as intended. By constantly researching the latest trends in design she able to develop new and cost effective ideas to make our homes stand out above our competitors. Kellie's favorite thing to accomplish is coming in under her budget without sacrificing the WOW factor. In addition to all the rave reviews I love to give Kellie, she is a warm, caring and dedicated person with whom I truly enjoy working." (Edmond, Oklahoma)
J. CHAMBERLINE
"Where do I start...we absolutely LOVE Kellie and her team. I had no idea what to expect when hiring a designer. We needed help, as decorating and designing does not come easy to me. We love our house but wanted to make it more our style. I'm not sure we even knew what 'our style' was. Kellie really helped us dig deep and figure it out. The plans she created for our home are amazing! She thinks outside the box and is fantastic with colors and textiles. I could never have dreamed up what she created. I think my favorite quality of Kellie is that she is decisive (I am not). When we have questions, she listens to us, looks at the room and then makes suggestions and decisions immediately. I LOVE that. I also realized during this redecorating process that I don't like change. I would push back on some of the design ideas because I couldn't see the big picture in the process...and EVERY TIME we realized...Kellie knows best and to stick with the plan because my changes did NOT look as good as Kellie's. I'm obsessed with her design creation and it's transformed our home. Kellie is so personable and really took time and effort with us. She even came over one day because my husband and I couldn't figure out what type of gray paint looked good on our walls. We were going crazy because it felt like a millions shades of light blue or green, ha! Thank you Kellie and team for all your hard work!" (Edmond, Oklahoma)
"We love our office! The finished product is amazing and we constantly get compliments. I enjoy coming to work. The space makes me happy! We couldn't have done it without the help of the Modern Whimsy team, from Melissa coming to our weekly building meetings, to Rich finishing the jobs that our builder told us could not be done!
We had an initial meeting with Melissa and sent her some ideas of looks we liked. Blending my look with my husband's can be a challenge, but she did it masterfully!
She knew we were working on a budget. She was good about showing us places to splurge vs. places to save and coming up with alternative options. She was also happy to let me source some things myself if I found savings. Being able to have an advocate during the building process was invaluable. She caught things so everything was done correctly the first time which we greatly appreciated." (Edmond, Oklahoma)
EDMOND FAMILY EYE CARE
SHEA
"I always enjoyed working on interior decor projects in my home, until I went back to work and found myself without the time I once had. Modern Whimsy was my first experience working with a design team and I am so glad I found them! They got my style right away, and also understood that having just built a new home, the budget was limited to decorate it. We focused on the areas that were most important to my family and the team was great about mixing in affordable decor and furniture with higher priced pieces. Since I didn't have the time to spend shopping around the metro, they gave me ideas on where to find particular items online, which was a huge time saver. I love that Kellie and her team embraced my need for color and helped me incorporate it all over our new home."
(Edmond, Oklahoma)
THE KOGERS
"This was our first time working with an interior designer. It’s important to mention that I was extremely skeptical about hiring a designer to help with building our new home. I didn’t understand the point but let me tell you how incredibly wrong I was. Without Melissa’s guidance and recommendations, we would not have come anything close to our dream home. She listened as we shared our vision and kept our budget in mind through the entire process, making sure to maximize our time together while picking out every facet of our dream home. She is very detailed oriented and highly knowledgeable in her craft. From phone calls to text messages Melissa has been quick to respond. If you are doing anything with your interior, I highly recommend Melissa. She has been instrumental in helping to curate our dream home. There is no better interior design team in Oklahoma than Modern Whimsy!" (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
S.HAGGARD
"I worked as a commercial designer for 4 years prior to making the decision to stay home with my children. Due to some unexpected circumstances, our family grew from 5 to 8, literally overnight. We needed a bigger house but moving wasn’t an option. I hesitated to hire a designer because my husband tends to push back on change, and we had a limited budget due to all the changes within our family. We were desperate to find ways to improve the function of our home. I had been out of the industry for over 10 years, so the thought of navigating that process on my own was overwhelming. I wasn’t sure what to expect but decided to reach out to Modern Whimsy for help. I showed Kellie pics of rooms and things I liked, and she was fabulous at pegging my style and identifying what our family needed. We found her to be a great communicator and gifted in the ability to be direct yet still personable. She gets her point across leaving no margin for error or miscommunication, which I love! My husband and I were most excited about the creative solutions she found for utilizing some of our existing items in fresh new ways. I can't recommend her enough! She is up front from the start so you know what you can and can't afford. The Modern Whimsy team has made my home a place I can be happy in and truly enjoy! Happy mom/wife=HAPPY LIFE!!" (Edmond, Oklahoma)
K. MARTIN
"Kellie is a fun and energetic designer to work with. She is capable of working with any budget and her range goes from doing a long-distance, over-the-internet, color scheme for the exterior of a home, to designing the entire inside of a home for a builder and everything in-between! She has an eye for color and her experience with all things in design, is obvious. Kellie also has access to some great quality contractors whose prices are very reasonable." (Edmond, Oklahoma)