About

In 2012, Madeleine Galardo started her interior design firm, Madeleine Interiors. The California Los Angeles - Newport Beach area based designer crafts contemporary and classic interiors, and tend towards new traditional. Growing up in a family of furniture makers, Madeleine was always envisioning pieces in residential environments, and her interest in design began in her childhood.

While attending design school at Interior Designers Institute, Madeleine interned with Los Angeles based designer Molly Isaksen, which gave her practical on the job experience, a window into the business and creative mindset of a designer, and helped train her eye. It was during this time that she grew her design world relationships, the proper applications for materials, and how to source the proper pieces from antiques to textiles. She gained a deep understanding of classical, pretty interiors from working for Los Angeles based traditional decorator, the late Joe Nye. His attention to every detail, imbuing a room with comfort and how to entertain with style were absorbed by Madeline, and served her well as she went on to work for Betsy Burnham, a traditional mix-master and colorist whose funky-meets-preppy interiors possess a dose of whimsy. She then rejoined Molly Isaksen and went out on her own in 2012. "I learned to listen to what the client wants and how they describe it. I separate this and read between the lines, to figure out how to tap into the unsaid. This is often the best way to shape a project."

Madeleine creates restful, livable interiors in colorful or neutral palettes that focus on comfort and elegance with a traditional yet modern sensibility. Recent projects include a modern apartment on the beach for a stylish bachelor, a family home in Brentwood, and a home for a growing family in Cheviot Hills. Every project starts with a get to know you meeting, to provide an accurate idea of how the interiors should function. From new construction to renovations and everything in between, Madeleine finds inspiration in the architecture, as well as colors and textures that will be best suited to each interior. "Every single piece can tell a story that works together," she says, and is known for finding furniture and decorative accessories to create harmonious spaces with creativity and beauty.

Madeleine starts the interview process by meeting with clients to learn and look at how they live, their current life phase, what is their daily routine is, how are they living, and what is going to ultimately make their lives better. The design process includes finding the perfect pieces that go together and really complement each other in a scheme that is both lively and textural. It starts with a feeling. From initial presentations of schemes to the finished product, Madeleine loves the process of how it all comes together: "To experience the complete vision at once, after a house is installed, and all the pieces are be in place, and then have the clients move in. That is when the magic happens and I am most proud of making a house a home for others to enjoy."