making a house a HOME

Color, texture and organization are all details that make a home unique and personal. Certified Interior Designer Kristie Sandoval helps bring her clients’ imaginations and personalities to life with an interior expertise from the studs out.

“I’ve always loved interior design and I actually started moving furniture around in my bedroom when I was 16,” says Sandoval. “Then, from there, I found a job at an interior design firm to see if I would like it and I loved it. I graduated from Iowa State, which had a nationally accredited interior design program.”

Sandoval desired to learn the nuts and bolts of interior design, not just the decorating side of the profession.

“I worked for a construction company on the North Shore for over 16 years and they did design work and custom cabinetry, so I had the opportunity to learn different aspects of interior design: the cabinetry, the tile and all the guts and the glory,” she says. “I liked learning the multiple disciplines so I was able to experience architecture and I was able to design cabinetry and walk into the shop to see it built.”

Sandoval has an acute understanding of what is behind the drywall as much as the paint brushed over it. “I think it’s important to have the foundation of knowing about construction just as much as making it aesthetically beautiful,” she says. “You want it to function and be beautiful in the space, which includes knowing where the walls are that you can move and the walls that are going to be more impactful when moving them.”

St. Charles was a natural choice for setting down roots as an interior design business. “It is very communitybased,” says Sandoval. “Everybody is so friendly here, it’s so diverse with activities and it is such a beautiful town. I just love the houses in St. Charles.”

Alaric Designs provides an array of services, from full kitchen remodels to updating the living room. “I also teach color theory at the Geneva Park District, and I used to teach at the College of Design downtown,” says Sandoval. “There is just so much more to know about decorating than people realize. Color really impacts how you feel in a space more than you know.”

Sandoval is there for her clients, first and foremost. “Being able to offer people whatever they need, having to do with the inside of their home, is my joy,” she says. “I’m very loyal to my clients. I believe everyone deserves a beautiful space and I stick to the budget people have. I act as your representation for the design that you want and the design that you intend to get.”