Flashbacks from Joanie's family ranch
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My designs achieve balance - drawing the house back to its core essence. I refine my design principles around color, form, light and composition and find harmonic balance between a home and its natural surroundings. Simply by embracing the nurturing power of the natural world, I strive to stimulate our senses within human environments.

Our eyes see what our mind feels. The simplicity of bringing outside elements into living spaces, the use of natural stones, organic textures, and incorporating the elements of earth, fire, and water define my principles of style and commitment to integrate the beauty of nature with our living spaces.

Experiences of wide-open spaces on my family's Colorado ranch shaped my being as a young woman-and continue to shape my inspiration as an interior designer. Flashbacks bring back warm feelings, fond memories and peaceful thoughts. This has shaped and provided insights about life to me that enrich my professional career.

Breathing the spirit of this Western heritage, I went to live in the high Sonoran Desert in Arizona. Here, nature showcases subtleties of color and texture. Moved by what I call “the desert wow” – rich textures, vibrant hues of lavender, rose, yellow and varying shades of green, mingling with desert fragrances – I was inspired to mirror this beauty on the human side of the front door.

Joanie McGrath