Client Feedback

Mary E. Cahill
Executive Director, Office of Finance
University of Pennsylvania

To Whom It May Concern,

My first contact with Caroline Millett was in 1993, when I was her student in the University of Pennsylvania’s only interior design course, offered in Penn’s Continuing Education Program.  Her course was, and still is, amazing.  She actually manages to inspire her students to be artists in their own homes.  From Caroline I learned to develop and express my personal design style.  She gave me, along with almost all her students, the confidence and practical knowledge essential to begin major projects, or, alternatively, to work effectively with a professional decorator.

Subsequently, I arranged for Caroline to give a lecture at the Harvard Business School Club of Philadelphia.  She and her principal associate, Jefferson Clark, provided us with a remarkable evening.  The Harvard group is a demanding audience – especially for those presenting material which may be perceived as “lightweight.”  Because Caroline is a truly charismatic speaker, she managed to engage the group immediately.  She addressed the most controversial subjects up front.  These included how to avoid extravagant expenditures, while at the same time obtaining the best possible interior design services.  Moreover, Caroline gave many members of the group new ideas for solving trying interior design problems.  Most importantly, she provided the entire audience with the feeling that they deserve to have a wonderful place in which to live; and that they can actually enjoy making their home beautiful, comfortable, and efficient.  Finally, her partner Jefferson responded (with considerable panache) to questions from the group.  He was both informative and entertaining, and drew form a wealth of twenty-five years experience doing both architectural and interior design work.  As a consequence of the favorable response to this lecture, I am happy to say that Caroline has received a number of other requests to give lectures and seminars. 

On a consulting basis, I have also worked with Caroline in my own residence, which is the family home where I grew up and recently inherited.  Since I wanted to keep the character of the house and yet redecorate it entirely, the project overwhelmed me – until Caroline helped me begin.  She started me off with a small project, which I could handle on my own successfully (after completing her course.)  Then she proceeded to consult with me periodically on space allocation, color schemes, furniture purchase, room arrangement, and lighting.  She paid particular attention to pragmatic issues, most notably my comfort.  Always she worked within the constraints of my budget.

Because of Caroline’s eighteen years experience designing for herself as a large-scale real estate developer and builder, she is unusually cost-conscious.  Thus she actually showed me how to save money, not spend it – contrary to my expectations about interior designers and architects in general.  Caroline helped me inventory my possessions and to use what I already owned most effectively.  Also she made the necessary arrangements allowing me to buy fine furniture at substantial discounts.

In summary, my experience with Caroline Millett gave me considerable personal pleasure.  We had fun while doing what I thought would be an arduous job.  Since she delights in the work she does, Caroline passes this enthusiasm on to her client, and helps the client celebrate her own style in the process.

Sincerely,

Mary E. Cahill