Midtown interior design business brings new life into a space

Reno interior design business, Transcend Interiors, works to bring new life into a space whether it’s by helping clients find one unique piece of furniture or by redesigning an entire home.

“Basically we do it all,” Charlotte Michaels, the owner of Transcend Interiors, said. “We stage model (homes), we do design for residential and commercial, we sell new furniture and we also do fine furniture resale.”

Transcend Interiors’ showroom is located in Midtown within the Sticks shopping center at 716 S. Virginia St. The business joined other Midtown stores in the center such as Two Chicks, Sierra Belle and Hello Yoga in July 2016.

“It is exciting,” Michaels said about being located Midtown. “There is just so much energy down here.”

While Transcend Interiors is new to Reno, it is not a new business. The company was previously based out of Arizona. Michaels explained that she already had been designing model homes in the northern Nevada area for two years before deciding to relocate her business to the Biggest Little City.

“I love Reno and it is the right time to start a business in Reno,” Michaels said.

The business employs seven people including a core design team of three and a delivery and furniture moving team. They are planning to move into a new space within the Sticks shopping center in the coming months once construction is completed. The new building will provide more floor space for their showroom.

“(The business) is growing so quickly and things in Reno are growing so quickly,” Page Campau, an interior design professional at Transcend Interiors, said.

Campau owned an interior design business in Tahoe for many years. She felt that Transcend Interiors was a good fit for her to return to the interior design industry and was also excited about the economic growth in northern Nevada.

“I wanted to be on the cusp of what was happening, especially in Midtown,” Campau said.

The Midtown location provides a lot of walk through traffic to the showroom.

“We have a huge variety of people that come in here,” Michaels said. “We have everything from college students to people with million dollar homes.”

The team works with more than 30 vendors to find the right pieces to fit their diverse clientele.

“If you come into the store, you see every single type of style,” Campau said. “We have very contemporary, we have very traditional, we have all kinds of styles to try and fit into Reno because I think that Reno has a lot of different styles.”

The growth in Nevada’s economy is having a positive impact on the interior design industry.

“People are starting to have fun with interiors again,” Michaels said.

She explained that during the recession, color schemes seemed to go gray and people did not have as much money to spend on redecorating. Now, they are getting clients who are moving to northern Nevada from different cities as well as long-time residents who want something new.

“There is a lot of remodeling that is going on right now,” Alexandra Vaughn, operations manager for Transcend Interiors, said. There is also a lot of “construction and architectural changes with this growth in Reno. It is fun to reimagine.”

One of their main challenges is keeping up with the demand.

Michaels explained that it is very rewarding to see the impact they have on their clients’ homes and businesses. “Changing a space and watching the reaction of the person as they walk in; that’s a paycheck,” Michaels said.

Transcend Interiors is open Monday – Saturday from 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.transcendinteriors.net or call 775-499-5432.