Design Articles

Kimberly Montante

Kimberly loves great design and is inspired by God’s beauty in everything from art to nature! An artist at heart, her eye for fine design and craftsmanship taught her the importance of scale, proportion, and elegant living by devouring decor mags and historic architecture books as child. She grew up in Ventura County and her first job as a teenager gave her practical project and construction education assisting in her mother’s landscape and pool building business throughout the greater LA area. Having lived in Ventura County her whole life and wanting a new experience, she decided to earn an Interior Design degree at Savannah College of Art & Design. Kimberly and her husband James moved to historic Savannah, GA and found her passion graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Interior Design as Valedictorian of her class.

She briefly worked on commercial projects in Savannah: restaurants, retail and education but wanted a more direct and personal impact with her designs so began her solo career as a residential designer. Though they loved Savannah, family ties pulled them back to SoCal 15 years ago to raise her young children while she continued to design and create beautiful spaces from San Diego to Ventura.

Living, designing and building in historic Savannah gave Kimberly deep respect for fine architecture and craftsmanship that continues to inspire her today. Her approach to design is intuitive and intentional and believes truly luxurious living must first be comfortable for those who live there. Never working in just one style, her talent to blend different looks from modern and antiques into beautiful results are personal to each client. There is not any aspect of home building that Kimberly has not had experience with, from full home interior design, remodels, kitchens, baths, décor, outdoor design to furniture design, and she always is honored to help the way clients live in their homes.

After being solo for many years, she wanted to be part of a great creative team and joined the company in 2018 bringing her years of experience to our clients! Kimberly, her husband James and their two teens are active volunteers in their church and can be found tripping around in the many museums of LA, at the beach or up in the mountains.

“Great design starts with an intentional approach to a space and then layering fine craftsmanship to make sure your home is beautiful and personal as well as livable.”
KM

Michael

After graduating from Long Beach University, majoring in Construction Technology, Michael worked for a Real Estate company for 10 years. He gained experience renovating homes on the Westside.

In 1981, Michael opened his own Kitchen and Bath showroom where he sold Wood Mode Cabinetry and specialty plumbing fixtures. After he sold his showroom to a large appliance company in 1992, he became the manager of their Kitchen Cabinet Department in all of their stores.

When Michael and his family relocated to the Westlake Village area 11 years ago, he became a part of the Showcase Design Build team. He says it has been an incredible experience to be a part of one of the most established contracting companies in the Los Angeles and Ventura County area.

In addition to design, Michael has a passion for art. He brings that creativity to all of his designs.

His approach to design is to listen to his clients needs, goals and objectives and to creatively bring a new life to the kitchen or bathroom through the design process. Michael uses the latest in computer technology to put together plans that will show what the final product will look like. Michael feels the achievement of good design comes from good communication verbally and visually between the designer and their client.

Katie Carroll

Katie Carroll has been a Designer and Project Coordinator with Showcase Design Build for four years.  Prior to coming to Showcase, Katie worked in interior design and event design in various roles that required her to utilize her design skills to transform interior and exterior spaces.  These initial career roles were also valuable in the development of strong communication and project management skills.  Katie enjoys taking a design and build job from concept to construction to completion by pairing her design and management skills with each client’s design needs and individual style to create a seamless design and build experience for each client.

Charlie Rutledge

Charlie Rutledge has been designing and building beautiful spaces for the clients of Showcase Design Build for over 25 years. He is a Certified Kitchen and Bath Designer and serves as a Senior Project Developer.

Charlie truly practices the principle that great function leads to great style. He wants clients to enjoy their home and, more importantly, he wants them to love the way their home improves their daily lives.

Charlie believes the design/build process is far more important than most clients realize. Charlie takes the time to walk them through the options, from functional layout, to the design details that they will enjoy. He says “My passion to provide my clients with not only an end result they are thrilled with, but a design process that is enjoyable”.

Charlie has many repeat clients and that speaks for itself. One of his past clients says, “Designer Charlie Rutledge has been our point person on every job. He’s been a pivotal player and the leader on every successful project. Personable, professional and always responsive. A pleasure to work with.”