STAFF

MEREDITH RELL O’CONNOR, CKBD

Having over 30+ years of kitchen design experience and a Certified Kitchen & Bath Designer, Meredith Rell O’Connor, CKBD is principal/owner of MRO Design, LLC. Her design firm is affiliated with The Interior Design Studio in Brookfield, Connecticut, a boutique interior design studio.

Meredith’s career started in Connecticut but brought her to Colorado as a corporate kitchen design trainer for the Home Depot. She served as VP of Professional Development for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of NKBA. Her designs have been photographed for professional publications and used in trade shows. Her passion however is working directly with clients to create a spectacular design that is both creative and functional. Meredith’s extreme attention to detail is what endures her to her clients as she provides top notch personal service. She enjoys the whole design process and really comes to know her clients as friends.

During her free time you can find her spending quality time with her family either on the ski slopes or on the lake. There is never a dull moment in a home with 2 boys! Meredith and her husband are always busy working on their family home, a beautiful colonial built in the mid 19th century.

Renee Strazza, Operations & Finance Manager and Professional Organizer

Growing up with a father who was a NY builder and contractor, she was taught many building and mechanical skills along with a strong work ethic. Thriving on movement and change, she is adaptable to any situation. Renee is also a Certified Professional Organizer.

Renee owned and operated a successful salon for 10+ years in Armonk, NY. Her natural ability to connect and create lifetime relationships, along with her loyalty and strong customer service skills bring great value to The Interior Design Studio. In order to raise her son, Renee left the salon industry, but her creativity and love for design led her to become co-owner of a jewelry design company.

Renee is a self motivator who has a natural artistic eye for design, which shows through many of her hobbies ranging from furniture refinishing to event planning. She pays strong attention to detail while mastering time management. Renee has exceptional organizational skills and is a true problem solver who always welcomes a challenge.

In her spare time, you will find her gardening and decorating her Bethel home where she lives with her husband Frank, her son Frankie and favorite Pomerian “Leo.”

Niki Luning, Boutique & Social Media Director, Assistant Designer and Buyer

Niki holds multiple degrees in Elementary Education and is a former elementary school educator. As her family continued to grow she made the decision to step down from education and carry her talents into a new profession. Growing up with a father who ran a residential construction firm, as well as a mother lived, ate, and slept interior design, Niki couldn’t help but to easily absorb, understand and love the world of design/build. As young as four years old she could give one a full description of what a Coffered Ceiling was.

Niki has been able to carry her passion for children and expertise as a mother of young children into building and starting up our Baby + Child division at IDS. She continues to spend countless hours researching the highest quality clothing & furniture lines, as well as educational toys to promote learning and development for all ages. In addition, she plays a key role in facilitating the boutique, managing inventory, order processing and social media updates.

In her free time she enjoys spending time with her lifelong sweetheart, precious son and daughter, and their pups at her home in Newtown. She can be found cheering on her favorite sports teams, or soaking up the sun with a good book in hand!

Teri-Ann Damo, Administrative Assistant & Accounts Receivables

Teri-Ann is one of the part time office administrators at The Interior Design Studio. A graduate in the communications field, Teri’s role at the studio keeps everyone in check and our ship sailing smoothly. Her communication skills and attention to detail eliminates the possibility of much getting through the cracks. Teri is responsible for the studios design tracking and keeping the administration office a tight ship.
As an active Brookfield resident, she also helps facilitate the studios involvement with the community and charitable events. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Bunko nights with the ladies, and spending warm, summer days at her favorite vacation spot in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Annemarie Luning, Seasonal and Holiday Decorator & Tablescapist

Annemarie majored in Interior Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), in Manhattan. Forgoing the design world for a couple of decades, she instead opted to be a stay at mom for her three sons. She fed her love of design by pouring her heart and soul into her elaborate holiday decorating, crafting, and helping friends and family out whenever they requested a little design advice. Annemarie’s forte is room accessorizing, tablescape design, and holiday decor. Selecting those finishing touches that complete a project and bring it all together always gave her great joy. In her opinion, adding a little sparkle to a space is always a good thing!

Once all of her sons were grown, out of the house and married, Annemarie found herself “retired” from her main gig. Christie Carpentieri-Schultz, Interior Designer and principal of The Interior Design Studio, saw an advantage to Annemarie’s “retired” status and brought her back into the design world. Annemarie is currently one of Christie’s assistants at The Interior Design Studio.

Annemarie and her husband, Tom, split their time between living at their Candlewood Lake home, and snowbirding during the winter months at their Naples, Florida home. Annemarie is a lifelong, die hard Yankee fan, loves the NY Rangers, enjoys yoga, and is determined to love the game of golf as well. (She is still working on that last one.) Her love of family however, trumps all of that. She and Tom are both from large families, and they enjoy hosting big gatherings at their lake house. Each of their grandchildren, who is perfect in every way, steals their hearts with a simple smile, and reminds them of life’s truest blessings.