Hello Friends! I’m Emily McGowan. I am the creative mind, owner, and founder of Elm Home Design.
I can’t actually believe I get to say that!
Just so we are very clear, I am a horrible writer, speller, and everything involving the English language and grammar. But what the heck! Here we go, why not blog about my business?!
Ever since going out on my own, and starting my design company a few months ago, there has been some curiosity on the street of where this “Elm” name came from. Here are some of the things I’ve heard: “I am assuming your middle name starts with an L?” Unfortunately, no, my middle name is actually Elizabeth. My personal favorite: “This totally has to do with an Elm tree - love it!” Ummm, ya, I’m so sorry. I don’t even know what an elm tree looks like…
The name of my company is actually a silly nickname my grandma used to call me. One day she wrote me a little note inside of a card, and if you know my grandmother well at all, you know her hand writing was some beautiful cursive writing that was super easy to read! Hopefully you can sense my sarcasm! Anyways, she had somehow added an “L” after the “E” and before the “M” (hopefully you’re following -that spells Elm) when trying to call me “EM” and I said “Who is Elm?” We shared a pretty good laugh over it and she just continued to call me that in every note and letter she ever wrote me after that!
I’d have to say my grandmother’s life and death have played a HUGE part in why I started this business. She constantly told me that I was different and that I would do BIG things and change this world! In fact, she always said that I would be the first female president, watch out Hilary! Nevertheless, I did feel as if she was foreseeing something I just could never imagine and see for myself. I always felt like it was never the “right time”, I was “too young” or I may not “make it”. However, after she passed away, I just knew it was something I had to do. I knew I was a hard worker and I knew God had big plans for my life. As my grandmother would say, I am a strong and independent woman and I can do anything I want to if I just work hard. So that I did! This is something I have dreamed about for a long time. I am so grateful for my family and friends who have been so supportive and helpful in helping me get this thing started. More than anything, I wanted to make her proud. SO here we are!
My goals and dreams for this company are pretty simple at this point. I want to be able to say with every project that I complete, big or small, that I did everything to my absolute best ability and that I was 100% honest and upfront in every single aspect of the entire project. I want to be known for running an honest company that does excellent work and takes care of all of our clients. I am sure with time I will add some other cool ideas to that list but for now, lets just keep it simple. That’s all I can handle at the moment. :)
I am super pumped to be starting this journey. I have had a bit of experience in this industry in my short life so far and I can honestly say I am extremely confident in my abilities as a designer and project manager. Not to sound cocky, but I am good at what I do and that’s the reason I started this business. I have a passion for this. I want to be able to share my gifts with other people!
However, my goal for this blog is to be able to share those projects with you! Obviously, I want to give you some cool design inspiration as well as the occasional design process explanation, some how to’s, or maybe a simple furniture redo I completed for a client. I will also be sharing to give you more of a behind the scenes look into the world of design and construction. Not every design project is as easy and seamless as a 30-minute episode on HGTV.
Well, you are now one of the firsts to dig deeper into Elm Home Design! As I continue to share through my wonderful words and semi awesome pictures, and as my audience grows (fingers crossed), I will not only continue to give you some rad design inspiration, but connect with you as an individual, and share some pieces of myself with you.
Don’t ever give up on your dreams. work hard. It will happen.
Can’t wait for next time!
Love Always,
Emily
