ABOUT ME
Bay Area Interior Designer Mary Jo Fiorella
Although art, ambition, and an early interest in architecture ignited the interest of Mary Jo Fiorella’s design career, it was her spirited nature and approachable, intuitive aesthetic that ultimately catapulted her to distinction as one of the Bay Area’s top corporate and residential interior designers.
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At the age of 19, Mary Jo left upstate New York to pursue her dream of attending design school in the Big Apple. After earning a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology, she worked for several large firms, learning the ropes and designing corporate office interiors. Within a few short years, she was ready to take her dreams to the next level, so Mary Jo packed her bags and headed west to San Francisco. Over the next decade, she worked diligently to build a solid foundation and a steady client base, which culminated in the launch of Fiorella Design in 2002.
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Creating Beautiful, Functional Spaces
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When it comes to design, Mary Jo is a natural. “My aesthetic is eclectic,” she says. “I like so many things–clean lines, metals, glass, rustic woods, natural linens, midcentury modern, antiques, etc.–that my taste has to be eclectic. But my clients, their homes, and their involvement in the process are what inspire the designs I create for them. I like to push my clients a little, too,” Mary Jo says, adding, “they hired me for a reason.”
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Indeed, one of the many reasons clients flock to Mary Jo is her easy and approachable nature. Mary Jo believes that interior design should be accessible to everyone. To that end, she works within each client’s established budget to provide superior services that result in unique, stunning, and highly personalized designs. “My passion is making people happy with beautiful, functional spaces.” She also encourages her clients to use sustainable, recyclable, and repurposed elements in their designs whenever possible.
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“Ultimately these homes and corporate spaces need to speak to the clients,” says Mary Jo. “It’s not about getting what I want for them, but rather about making them happy with something they couldn’t have achieved on their own.”
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An enthusiast of nature, Mary Jo loves spending time gardening; shopping flea markets and estate sales; playing with her dog, Brady; and enjoying life’s little pleasures: “I love a freshly made bed with clean, white sheets,” she confesses. But without a doubt, her favorite activity is spending as much time as possible doting on her cherished young daughter.
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“I truly love what I do everyday!”
Listen to Million Dollar Decorating’s podcast to learn more about Mary Jo Fiorella.
Mary Jo is incredible – her designs are elegant and integrative, and she showed an outstanding ability to understand the style we wanted in the best light even if we could sometimes only articulate what we did not like. She would always offer several options and would show no frustration if we didn’t go with an original suggestion – and would come back with more great ideas (though frequently her original suggestions naturally turned out to be the best)...
Or G.
Mary Jo's initial draft, brimming with wisdom and a keen reflection of our desires, revealed its brilliance weeks and months later, after we settled in. With meticulous precision, she ensured that every square foot of our home served a purpose, accommodating our organized and tidy lifestyle.
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If you find yourself contemplating the construction or redesign of a home, I implore you to enlist Mary Jo as your guide. The partnership will undoubtedly leave you grateful, for without visionary designers like her and the tenacity of self-builders, the world would all be living in dull gray boxes.
Bhavin S.
Mary Jo was an incredible asset on our project. It was our first time doing a home remodel and she patiently helped us through every step. We took the existing house down to the studs and changed the home from an enclosed 1970's wood paneled style to an open, inviting, contemporary style. Mary Jo's vision allowed us to create a home that suited our style and provides a welcoming, relaxed environment for our family.
Kim Z.
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