Meet Joani Stewart-Georgi of Montana Ave. Interiors in Marina del Rey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joani Stewart-Georgi.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Joani. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I went to design school at UCLA from 1978 to 1981. I graduated 1981 and had my first job as a guidance counselor for the Design Program. I was also in charge of the “job box”, so as soon as I saw an opening with a very successful designer, I took the job. I worked for several different successful designers to learn the ropes and gain some experience.

I started Montana Avenue interiors in 1995. Living in Santa Monica, I noticed that Montana Avenue is very trendy Boulevard and has lots of young moms and strollers and babies everywhere, practically tripping on them. I decided that I was going to be the ultimate interior designer for kids in that neighborhood. “Interior Design with Kids in Mind” was my bi-line.

My first projects, however, were not kid’s rooms but full houses and I never looked back. I had my office on Montana Avenue for 20 years until I got married and moved in with my husband at the Marina City Club in Marina del Rey. It is a huge complex where I was lucky enough to rent an office at the Design Center that accommodates the 600 units in the building, which is actually six semi-circle iconic buildings.

I got plenty of work here in the Marina and I continue to work outside of my building in the Southbay, Malibu, Century City, Montecito and Palm Springs. I have worked with some very important people, some actors some big studio people like the president of Lionsgate films, Vice President of Herbalife, actresses, Lily Tomlin and Shelley Long, writers and artists and doctors in the community.

I worked really hard, found my niche, love my clients and their beautiful homes. It was my pleasure to help them design their work and home environments. I met some amazing people in my field that helped me along the way. My clients were fabulous and continue to refer me to their friends and relatives.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been a smooth road with some ups and downs, mostly due to the unstable financial background of our nation. The biggest down time I experienced was when the stock market crashed and everybody was running scared and losing their investments.

When things got slow I moved my business to real estate, hoping that I could sell the houses and fix them up as well. That part didn’t work too well, but once I quit real estate and went back to design, my friends in real estate, who know me well, referred me to their big clients continued on the up and up.

I love people, I am very social and outgoing which I believe helps to spread the word of who I am and what I do. I am, creative and inventive, always looking for how to stay out of the box, be different and unique. I give my clients as much choice as they need and the ability to participate along with me, in the designing of their home or office., People trust me and know that I am working for them and that their final product will be exactly what they envisioned.

It is very important to me, as a designer, that my clients are able to visualize the final product. I make sure that I give them drawings and photos and 3-D representations, so there is no guessing and no surprises at the end.

I think that is what makes the biggest difference . . . before the project is finished, my clients know exactly how it is going to look. I am very flexible and interested only in the client’s reactions and not mine. I have to constantly remember that this is not my home, this is their home. I think that’s why I’ve been so successful.

Please tell us about Montana Ave. Interiors.
The first thing I do when I get a new project, is a floor plan. I need to see the big picture. I place all the furniture and the art and the rugs and get a feeling of what this project is going to look like at the end. If the client wants to go shopping with me that is the best. Otherwise I am constantly shopping and sending pictures and ideas of what I think is the correct option for each and every item in the drawing.

Each project, each home, each client, is different and unique. I never do the same thing twice. I am very concerned that the outside of the home reflects the inside of the home. I don’t do modern in a traditional space. I don’t do traditional in a modern space. I ask a lot of questions and do not have a cookie-cutter look.

I have always been very interested in contemporary art and place it in every project that I do. I think art makes a huge difference. It isn’t just about the furniture or the design, the art is a large and important part of every project. I have taken pictures of the home completely finished without art and then pictures with the art and the difference is pretty amazing.

I have a very clean look, uncluttered, unfussy. I like to use the client’s own accessories from their travels or their life in general. Personal accessories give a new project character and says a lot about the people who live there. Some of the houses I have done, we have use their kid’s art in places around the house so that everyone is very proud.

I like to think of someone’s house as their art and as their life and that is what gives the home a personal feeling and that is what I am most proud of.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
No, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Everything has worked out very well and I am proud of every step along the way.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck has never been a part of my business or my life. I work hard, I do a lot of marketing, another passion of mine, Social marketing is a lot of fun for me. I am very social and I think that has helped me an enormous amount. I work on referrals and always ask my clients to share their good fortune and let their friends know who helped them on their beautiful home or office.

I don’t really believe in luck, I believe you get out what you put in. I am lucky to live in an area where weather does not really play a part, other than be beautiful all the time.

I can’t really afford to be lucky or unlucky, I have to be good or not good and that is the only thing that matters. I need to have integrity, have my projects be finished in a timely manner, on budget with as few changes as possible, because changes after the fact can be very expensive,

I only hire honest, creative and artistic people to work with me, who show up when they’re supposed to and do their job correctly. That is really my job . . . to make sure that everybody does their part because I feel that being the designer is like being a director in a film. A lot of what I do is supervising the team of people I have working for me to make sure they follow my instructions, show up and don’t play loud music on the job.

Most of my contractors, subs and artisans have been with me for over 20 years, I know their work and their reputation and I keep the best.

Contact Info:

• Address: 4333 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
• Website: www.montanaaveinteriors.com
• Phone: 310.701.8866
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: Instagram / montanaaveinteriors
• Facebook: Facebook/ montanaaveinteirors
• Twitter: Twitter / montanaaveinteriors
• Yelp: Yelp/ Montana Ave. Interiors
• Other: Houzz.com / Montana Ave. Interiors

Image Credit:
Douglas Hill Photography
Grey Crawford Photography
Joani Stewart Photography

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