Meet Susan Garland | Interior Designer & Landscape Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Susan Garland and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Susan, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and I would say my upbringing had a major impact on my drive and work ethic. We always helped around the house doing various chores which included working in our large family garden, and participating in sports which reinforced so many skills like teamwork, leadership, setting goals and working towards them.

After my father was laid off from a large corporation, he chose to follow the path of entrepreneurship which turned out to be a better fit for him in the long run. It made me realize from an early age that even jobs we’d consider to be “risk-free” can still be eliminated, and if I work for myself, my success is directly related to the amount of work and effort I put into my role.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Garland Design Group is a full-service Interior Design and Landscape Design firm. We specialize in residential projects that wish to incorporate a cohesive flow between the interior of the home and the exterior. We are unique in that we can provide both of these services under one roof – having both the knowledge on interior elements as well as exterior hardscape and plants.

A large project that has been ongoing for us is in Palisade, Colorado on 20 acres of vineyard. We worked with our client to remodel the existing farmhouse and design the surrounding landscape which includes a swimming pool, built-in firepit and grill area. We will be building a barn on the property next. It has been extremely rewarding to transform an entire property and know that our clients love spending time there with their family and friends.

We want to be known for being the experts in projects like this – ones that have a land aspect to them. It determines the character of the space and we can build off of that. In my mind, it’s best when there is harmony between the built environment and the natural environment.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We live in Longmont and absolutely love it so I would probably spend the first day or two taking them around our Main Street and hitting up one of our favorite restaurants, either Jefe’s for tacos or UrbanField for pizza. We are only an hour from Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park so it’s fun to take our friends there when they visit. If in the summer, driving through Trail Ridge Road in the morning and having lunch in Grand Lake is the best. I love Grand Valley since I miss the lakes from the Midwest. In the winter, we love having friends and family visit to go skiing – sometimes we flip flop between ski passes so if we’re on Ikon, we love Winter Park, and if on Epic, Vail is our favorite.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would not be where I am today without some amazing family members and mentors along my path. Both of my parents have been immensely supportive of my decision to lead a life of entrepreneurship. I had worked for a large corporation for a few years after college and chose to leave a stable job for self-employment. This felt like a major risk at the time and while both of my parents had some concerns, they never doubted me and continued to encourage my goals.

I also have to thank Mark Morrison, my first boss in Landscape Architecture who gave me the opportunity to work for his design firm in New York City. I learned a lot during my internship and have continued to work with his company at varying stages to refine my skills and build the apprenticeship time needed to become a fully licensed Landscape Architect.

Yvonne Jacobs is another mentor of mine – she gave me my first role in Interior Design during the pandemic. She took a chance on hiring me while I was also juggling my MBA (remotely). I learned so much from working under her and her team and am forever grateful for the opportunity.

Finally, my husband, Preston, has been my biggest supporter in starting Garland Design Group. He is always there giving me positive feedback and celebrating our successes together.

Website: https://www.garlanddesigngroup.com/

Instagram: @garlanddesigngroup