7 Questions for Marynn Udvarhelyi: Designer Spotlight

Here at Alva, we believe that beautiful window treatments and design should be accessible to everyone. Part of achieving that — and what gives us this thrill — is giving designers and our clients access to window treatments that focus on the essentials, the interesting, and most functional. One such designer is Marynn Udvarhelyi. We've been following @marynn for a little while now, and today, we thought we'd help you get to know her a little bit better.

So how did you get into design? Did you know early on that you wanted to be a Designer?

I don’t think I even knew being an interior designer was an actual job when I was growing up. It was when my husband and I bought our first home that I began being told I should be a designer. I had babies at that time so it took another 5 years to get to a place where I could pursue designing for others.

What design styles are you most drawn to?

I love just about everything. Modern, traditional, mid-century, transitional, minimal, over the top...all of it. Anything that allows me to get creative is what I love. My home is a combination of transitional and traditional...new traditional/modern traditional.

How do you deal with putting aside your personal taste and going along with what your clients want?

The goal is to work with clients who hire you for YOUR taste and vision, but it’s fun to design in different styles, so as long as they trust your process, designing in different styles shouldn’t be a problem. I love a challenge! At the end of the day, I get to come home and work on my own home so that offsets any client work that isn’t my preferred style.

Can you tell us what are some of your dream home must haves might be?

Hands down, the most important feature to me is natural light...it affects my mood SO much! A dog-washing station (we’re planning to put one in when we renovate our laundry room), NOT a completely open floor plan, different ceiling heights for different rooms throughout the house, front porch, heated master bathroom floor, dedicated laundry room that does not act as an entrance from the garage, lots of built ins, breakfast nook, breakfast bar, french doors.

What's a design mistake you see people commonly make?

Following trends instead of taking a little time to find out what they want to surround themselves with. Not keeping true to the style of the house they live in...farmhouse in a tract home, mid-century modern in a traditional style house, etc.

What’s your favorite part about being a designer?

Getting to be creative and helping clients change the way they live in their homes.

Photo by Marynn Udvarhelyi

And lastly, what sources do you personally look to for your interior-design inspiration and sparking big ideas?

All of my old home decor magazines that are chock full of timeless design and unique ideas. I also like to look at buildings other than houses, such as libraries, cute boutique stores, art galleries, and coffee shops as inspiration. Nature provides a lot of inspiration as well.

A few of Marynn’s Favorites:

Travel Destination: Monterey, CA

Decor Style: Modern Traditional/Transitional

Book: My Bible

Music: Piano Jazz

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