To-The-Trade S3E09 Style Over Trend: Artisan Collaboration and High-End Design with Maria Khouri

Maria Khouri grew up in Beirut during Lebanon's 15-year civil war, moving 12 times in 10 years. She has spent her career making homes in San Francisco that feel like exactly that: home. Her boutique firm handles high-end residential work across the US and into Europe, and her commercial clients hire her for the same reason her residential clients do. They want spaces that feel personal.In this episode, Maria walks through the elements that define her practice. Every project includes one piece made by a Lebanese artisan, a signature Easter egg that connects her two countries and opens clients' eyes to artists and art forms they have never encountered. Her onboarding process relies on a 20-slide visual presentation that shows clients exactly what working with her entails, from mood boards to reveal day. She credits this tool with a measurable improvement in her closing rate.The pricing conversation is one of the most honest in recent memory. Maria charges $300/hour in San Francisco and argues that even flat-fee designers should know their effective hourly rate. Without that math, she says, you are likely leaving money on the table and will not know why. Nile and Laurie weigh in from their own experience, and the tension is productive. There are real reasons to charge both ways. The key is knowing what you are actually earning.The highlight of the episode is the story about the Hermes scarf. A Los Altos Hills client asked Maria to translate a framed Hermes scarf into a foyer floor. The result was a custom marble mosaic featuring 25 different stone colors, designed in collaboration with an Italian artisan who flew his team to California for the installation. The client still talks about it.Maria also shares how she uses AI for renderings and elevations without compromising her design process or her clients' IP. She is thoughtful about what she will and will not give a platform access to, and that carefulness is a lesson for any firm. Trust your gut on clients, she says. The same goes for the tools you let into your business.Quick-fire round: bouclé is overused, invest in antiques, wallpaper never gets old, and please pay attention to your outlets and plugs.Visit Maria at [mariakhouri.com](https://www.mariakhouri.com/) and follow her work on Instagram at [@mariakinteriors](https://www.instagram.com/mariakinteriors/).