About

About us

Andrea Carmichael has been working in the interior design field for over 40 years. She has served clients from coast-to-coast working with them on their private residences, corporate office buildings, yachts, and planes. The bigger the challenge the better is Andrea’s philosophy as her experience both in the field of design and architecture provides her with a unique perspective and ability to solve design challenges with inventive solutions.“My children have always said that they would like to clone me as a personality but “without the idea package!”

ANDREA'S STORY


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Andrea’s design style has been inspired by her love of adventure and her travels to Europe. Her summers in the South of France and extended stays in Italy, especially Florence, have had lasting influence on her work. With over 40 trips to Florence alone, she has developed relationships with Italian artisans and has incorporated their work into her projects. Andrea has had an interest in the field of design since her childhood in Connecticut. She would accompany her father, a contractor, to visit homes under construction in her neighborhood. This instilled in her a love of architectural detail and construction. She also has a gift of being able to visualize the final product. E-design or virtual projects are something she is quite comfortable with since she has engaged in many long distance projects over her career successfully, both where construction as well as design were involved, and sometimes not seeing the project until it was installed. “Space, proportion, livability, and color are strengths in my abilities”. I have been inspired to start color schemes with just about anything you can imagine. “One time a global client flew in from Germany and met me at the airport with a beautifully colored Leonard scarf. The colors inspired me for her color scheme. The finished project did reflect the colors in the scarf.” Andrea’s clients are her treasures and she feels the designer-client relationship is the most important and vital part of the process. She has worked with many of the same clients since the inception of her business and is now also serving the next generation of those families.

“With their best interest at heart, it is my job to listen to them and to bring their needs, interests, and desires to life. My designs begin and end with the clients as they are affording me the opportunity to exercise my passion. My rewards for doing good work are endless … it gives me the opportunity to couple my vast resources and ideas with the clients’ favorite things to create a beautiful background; thus, helping them build a lifestyle. I have relished the opportunity of serving a widespread clientele from Texas to Chicago, from Florida to Maine, and in between, and even across the waters.” Andrea and her small army of craftspeople can get to work designing and making most anything, including new construction, remodeling, custom cabinets and doors, detail work, and embellishing an existing piece of furniture. Many different architectural details give a space character. Andrea’s team works to reconcile client ideas with what is appropriate.

“Andrea is not wedded to any particular era but instead looks for pieces with good bones/shape that add another dimension to the space. A piece with a great shape can always be painted. Lighting is a key element to a room. Implementing different levels of lighting for different tasks and moods can dramatically change the use and ambiance of the same space, especially when nature’s light cannot reach the space or when night has fallen.”

Andrea’s interests in her personal life blend with her abilities as a professional. She is an avid knitter and especially likes to knit coats and Chanel-style jackets. She loves to cook and entertain in her dining room or outside party gazebo, and she feels this practical experience assists her understanding of how kitchens, dining rooms, and living spaces should function.

“I love my home but it’s my home and a reflection of me and my lifestyle. Entertaining comes naturally to me and I enjoy sharing with others but do not expect them to want to emulate my style but to develop a style of their own.”

Professional Memberships:


ASID – American Society of Interior Designers (Served as Alabama Chapter President)


NCIDQ – National Council for Interior Design Qualification. Successful completion of the NCIDQ examination is a prerequisite for professional registration in the state of Alabama. The exam must be passed for partial qualification for ASID membership. This title identifies to the public that the interior designer has met the standards for profession practice.

IDEC – Registered in the State – acknowledges that the NCIDQ examination has been Passed successfully and that “Interior Designer: may be used in association with their name.

State of Alabama Licensed Residential Home Builder / Remodeler – Certification from the state of Alabama’s Home Builder’s Licensure Board that the standards have been met to practice home building and remodeling.

Education

Briarcliff College
Cornell University
New York School of Interior Design

PROVIDENCE’S STORY

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“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
This quote by William Morris succinctly expresses how Providence Paulin feels about interior design.

As a designer she believes it is her job to ensure that function must accompany beauty and that interiors should be both livable and stylish, with comfort being as important a component as aesthetic. She loves balancing classic with modern to create interiors that reflect each client’s individuality and approaches each project with a spirit of collaboration to achieve the best possible result.

Providence was born to be a designer. From an early age she loved bringing order and beauty to her surroundings, whether it be through accessorizing a bookcase, rearranging a room or planting flowers in the garden. That love has continued throughout her life and after receiving her BS Degree in Interior Design at the University of Alabama she has had the good fortune to practice interior design for more than twenty five years doing both residential and commercial projects in her home state of Alabama and throughout the Southeast

RICHARD’S STORY

Richard Rowe grew up on a cotton farm in rural Shelby County. After attending Auburn University and the American Woodworking Academy, overseas travel exposed him to architecture, especially fine detail and craftmanship.

This exposure planted a seed that would sprout and root after working with a local millwork entrepreneur engaged in the manufacturing of moldings and custom windows and doors. His career was further enriched by later joining forces with a premier construction company and Richard’s knowledge became key in the enrichment of fine homes in the Birmingham area. A fortuitous collaboration with Andrea Carmichael almost two decades ago has matured these components through exposure to color, texture, utilization of space and attention to detail.

He continues to serve as the construction Manager for Andrea Carmichael Inc. homebuilding and remodeling projects.

Our mission is to help people visualize, create & maintain beautiful homes.

Mountain Brook, Alabama 35223 | (205) 871-8400