Michelle Salz-Smith | CID,NCIDQ
Founder and Principal Interior Designer
Michelle Salz-Smith designs homes that are warm, livable and entirely unique to each client. An alchemist of the understated, Michelle creates interiors that fuse the demands of everyday living with the inner benefits of intentional design. Mining each client’s unique design DNA, Michelle translates those findings into a collaborative form of minimal eclecticism, where raw materials, hand-forged objects and distinctive shapes create one of a kind homes in which people commune, contemplate and connect. Michelle works on both custom and historic estates as well as beach cottages and builder homes yearning to expand beyond their nascent roots. The designer is well versed in many styles: from Spanish Colonial to Mid-century California ranches and the 1920’s architecture of Lilian J Rice. An eye for subtlety and texture, and a livable approach to classicism, shape her interiors. A Midwest native, Michelle lives in Del Mar with her husband and son, and small “farm” - her pig, eleven chickens and three dogs.
JULIET LUTY
Interior Designer
California native Juliet Luty studied architecture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo before joining Studio Surface in 2017. It was in Rome while studying abroad, where she learned to respect the characteristics of raw materials that are central to Studio Surface’s hand crafted and artisan approach. And while she doesn’t lean toward any one period, modern materials, textures and eclectic craftsmanship are a personal passion. Her MO: “Pay attention to the details - and keep refining them.” On days off, Juliet can be found tending her vegetable garden at home and preparing meals with her fiancé.