Meet the Designer

Mary Tobias Miller is a luxury residential Interior Designer whose recent projects have spanned from the most exclusive neighborhoods of Charlotte, NC to Palm Beach, Jackson Hole, the Hamptons, New York City, and Linville, NC.

Mary is the owner of Abode Home with two North Carolina locations offering full-service interior design services as well as retail home furnishings, décor, gifts, and accessories. With over 35 years of experience, Mary’s design philosophy is built on a love of mixing the unexpected with the traditional, layering modern elements with antiques, and including one-of-a-kind elements to make a home feel both curated and timeless. Her designs are generally light and airy, but layered with a variety of patterns, textures, and unique color palettes. Her true passion is traveling the world in search of that one inspiring element that is special enough to create a room around.

“Styles have come and gone more than once since I began.
At the end of the day, the magic and balance is in how you mix those things you treasure.”

Mary’s mastery of creating balance and beauty stems from her years of education and experience. She attended the New York School of Design and later acquired her A.A.S. degree from Parson’s and The New School. Her initial experience came from glamour years with Suzie Frankfurt, a residential Interior Designer for top tier executives and celebrities in New York City including Gianni Versace, Andy Warhol, Diana Vreeland, Andre Leon Talley and Bob Colacello. It was through Suzie that Mary developed her deep passion for antiques and collectibles.

After completing her degree at Parson’s, Mary worked for several commercial and residential design pro’s in New York. The most valuable was a small upper east side firm where she got the hands-on renovation experience she desired – these included soup to nuts renovations in New Yorks’ most prestigious addresses. She would strip spaces to the studs and then build them back in the most exquisitely detailed way. It was an invaluable education. Mary quickly realized that through the renovation & building process one can uniquely trademark their style by tweaking the plans with unexpected elements. She learned first hand what to look for when moving walls, plumbing and/or electrical systems. Today, Mary routinely helps her clients make confident, meaningful decisions to improve the functionality, as well as, the appearance of their homes. The sought-after result is a truly elegant home, which is achieved by harmonizing a beautiful exterior with an intelligently arranged and spectacularly designed interior. Mary’s affable nature coupled with a good sense of humor enables her clients to at once feel at ease working with her, while her reputation gives them the confidence to trust her to cultivate a home that meets their needs and is uniquely their own.

Mary’s work has been featured in Traditional Home Magazine; AD Pro; Sotheby’s Designer profiles; and New York’s Aspire Magazine. She has also been published in The Charlotte Business Journal, Charlotte Agenda; Charlotte Home Design & Decor and Southpark Magazine. She is frequently approached to write design articles for the Charlotte Observer. To see more of Mary’s work visit the Projects page.