LAURA SULLIVAN
Real Estate Exec: My Favorite Design

As Real Estate agents know, the first impression is a key factor in selling a home. Agents have many sales tricks up their sleeves—such as removing clutter and lighting scented candles—to make potential buyers feel comfortable. However, effectively showcasing a home often involves much more than the ordinary tricks. To achieve the greatest possible outcome, a home should always be presented at its best—and that is where Laura Sullivan, owner of My Favorite Design, comes in.

My Favorite Design is an interior design company that provides a wide range of design and decorating services, including color and fabric coordination, custom window treatments, and furniture rearranging. In addition to working with homeowners, Laura’s clientele includes Real Estate professionals in the California and Nevada areas. As many agents have discovered, Laura’s skills can attract buyers and help transition a house from "just another home" to a "show home."

A successful entrepreneur, Laura has a long family history of hard work and creativity. She was born in Argentina and moved to the United States with her parents and sister when she was a toddler. Watching her parents work diligently to provide a better life for her was one of the biggest inspirations of her life, she says.

“My dad was a steelworker in Argentina,” she says. “When looking for a job in America, someone asked him if he could cut. Naturally, he said yes. To his surprise, they handed him a pair of scissors. So he started cutting and began a successful career in the garment industry, where he fulfilled the American dream to work hard and retire early.”

Laura inherited her father’s flair for design and creative streak, as well as his willingness to take risks. She graduated from Loyola Marymount College with a degree in fine arts. Since 1992, she has been decorating and redesigning homes for her family and friends. However, her former sales career kept her from starting a career in interior design. For 12 years, she was a sales representative for a title and escrow company, where she was encouraged by co-workers and clients to start her own business.

“I had the opportunity to do a few stagings for Real Estate agents while I was in sales, and I always remodeled and redecorated homes as gifts for my family and friends,” she says. “And they really liked what I was doing. I started interviewing associates who had started their own businesses and realized that I could start one myself.”

“When I got married, I remodeled our first home, a 1929 Spanish-style home in Glendale, California,” she says. “Years later, I designed my first custom home from scratch. I was hooked. I realized life is too short and I needed to pursue my passion. I finally took the plunge and started my own business in 2007.”

According to Laura, building and designing her custom home in Las Vegas’ Anthem Country Club was an invaluable learning process. She was involved in all stages of the project, from start to finish, working with a variety of contractors and builders. “By overcoming many of the challenges of designing a home, I’ve learned how to protect my clients from the common problems and pitfalls,” she says. “When working on a client’s home, it is important to understand that the client’s needs and desires come first. Not all contractors follow this rule. In my business, I only work with people who respect my clients and their time, and who demonstrate quality workmanship.”

Laura’s success is largely due to her strong customer service skills. She always offers two bids on her projects, giving her clients a variety of choices. In addition, she makes every effort to be conscientious when it comes to budget and schedule. “My clients know that I have their best interests in mind and they appreciate that,” she says.

In addition to interior design, Laura specializes in staging, a marketing strategy that highlights the best features of a home to help generate interest and offers. Laura has been successfully staging homes for several years. “Real Estate agents, as part of their presentations, often offer my services to clients,” she says. “In most cases, using a client’s existing furniture, I will make recommendations to ensure that the home looks beautiful and shows well.”

Many potential buyers find it difficult to envision life in another person’s personalized space or even to visualize using the space in a different way. When staging homes, Laura rearranges furniture and accessories to emphasize the features of the house more than the personalities of the owners.

“The feedback from staging clients has been great,” says Laura. “In a market where the competition is so fierce, agents need to do whatever it takes to make the homes present well. Many of my regular clients are agents who offer my services as part of their sales presentations. And, after the sale, many home sellers want to work with me to redesign their new homes.”

Laura’s career choice has not only enabled her to pursue her passion, it has also given her the freedom and flexibility to raise a family. She has been married to Patrick Sullivan for 15 years, and they have two children, Tanner, 10 years old, and Jordan, 6 years old. “My family helped fulfill my dream to design and build my custom home,” she says. “This was a turning point for me, and my career has snowballed from there. My home turned out beautifully and is now a calling card for me. What better way to attract clients than to invite them to see my own home?”

Laura’s clients have experienced first hand how an interior designer can save money, time and effort. Her knowledge, expertise and guidance can help prevent costly mistakes and her skills have helped many homeowners define and enhance their own distinctive style. Above all, her services have helped many homeowners and agents sell their homes quickly in an often competitive market.

Laura can be reached by calling (702) 505-0670, or visit www.myfavoritedesign.net.

Photography: Britt Pierson