Melissa’s Project in San Diego

San Diego is one of the go-to places across California for gorgeous shorelines, great weather, delicious food and a vibrant nightlife. This region’s eclectic range of beautiful architecture is heavily influenced by its surrounding geographic history and relaxed beach culture. With the combination of great climate and charming homes, it comes as no surprise that the desire to buy a home in this region is so strong. As Freemodel has been focusing on growing our presence in this county, we have had the pleasure of bringing on more team members that live in the San Diego area, lending their local expertise and intel to each project that they take on.

One of our team members in San Diego County is Melissa Rondon. As you will read in more detail, Melissa was one of the original Project Directors to lend her talents to the Freemodel team in this region, bringing a wealth of knowledge and design experience to her projects. We sat down with her to learn more about her origins in the interior design world and her favorite parts of what she does:

Can you tell me a bit about your background and how you got started in the interior design world?

So… my entire design journey started off back in 2014. After my time in the US Navy, I enrolled in the Design Institute of San Diego. They offered a bachelor's in fine arts and interior design, so I joined that program in 2014 and graduated in 2018. During those years, I was working at a trade-only showroom in San Diego. That job helped me so much in terms of learning from professionals, building my network, and preparing me to enter the design world in San Diego county. Then in 2019, I decided to have a child and that's when I transitioned out of the showroom role and started working for a smaller design firm here in San Diego.

Once the pandemic hit, I decided it was a good time for me to just go off on my own since I had been building up a strong network. From there, I was able to do a lot of freelance jobs: I helped designers as an assistant doing CAD drawings and Photoshop work while sourcing furniture for them on the side. During that period, I actually ended up working for another smaller firm for a period of time and learned a lot on the construction side during my time there.

That’s awesome that you were able to pick up so many skills between your degree and working for more niche design firms! From there, how did you find Freemodel?

So after adding that construction experience to my resume, I felt really confident and prepared to go off of my own again. My first two clients were referred to me by local designers who were super busy with larger projects. I took on some of their jobs that were a bit smaller in scale, which felt like a comfortable place to begin. I gained some traction from those referrals and began picking up more contract jobs for interior designers, which is around the time that I came across Freemodel.

When I first found them on LinkedIn in 2021, the unique business model really jumped out at me and was something I was interested in, so I reached out to them. During that time, Freemodel was still very much in expansion mode in Southern California; they hadn’t reached a point where they were getting steady inquiries in San Diego. So John told me that as soon as they started to see things pick up in the San Diego region, they’d bring me on. Flash forward to April 2022: Freemodel had gradually expanded down south and was beginning to see demand down here. That’s when I came on to the team and have been working on Freemodel projects ever since!

Melissa’s Project in San Diego

What areas do you cover in the San Diego region? It looks like you have a pretty wide reach according to the map that I’m looking at!

The territory that I cover is a little bit strange because when I initially got in touch with Freemodel, I was living in Santee, which is more East County. By the time that they brought me on, I had moved to Imperial Beach, which is more southern San Diego. So I definitely still service my original territory, but I also work my way inland going northeast. So anywhere from Chula Vista to Bonita to Lakeside to El Cajon. Every now and then I'll get inquiries from further up Northwest and sometimes cover jobs if my colleague Karli doesn’t have the bandwidth to take them on. In San Diego, you can get pretty much anywhere in like 20, 25 minutes, so I go where I’m needed!

What are some of the most common architectural styles of the types of homes that you work on?

Inland, let's say Bonita for instance, I see a lot of homes with more traditional architecture and little Spanish touches like terracotta tile roofing. I often find terracotta flooring in these types of homes and small arches here and there in door frames and entryways. Over in El Cajon, the homes get a little bit more modern. They all have similar floor plans and square footage, and the backyards are a bit smaller. The features of the interiors are fairly simple and the exterior is usually stucco and standard shingle roofing. So with these homes, I try to bring a little bit more character interior-wise to help give the home a uniqueness while still appealing to the widest possible range of buyers.

As a designer, what have you enjoyed offering to your clients?

On the actual design side, I’ve been very into doing the contrast with muted blue cabinets recently. That adds a bit more of a designer's touch versus just doing your standard white cabinets and white countertops. I also really enjoy combining different types of materials. For example, when working with tiling, I try not to just use that standard course tile everywhere and look to switch it up with some mosaic tiles or other elements that add texture. I love playing with textures and different types of materials and think they add a uniqueness that buyers take notice of.

Now that you’ve been on board for about six months, how has your experience been so far? What is your favorite part of what you do?

I’ve really enjoyed working with the clients on Freemodel projects. I like the process of building trust with the client and agent, strategizing on ideas, sticking to their timeline, and helping to bring their design visions to life. It is really rewarding.

Background: Melissa Rondon lives and works in San Diego County and has over eight years of experience in the interior design and home renovation industry. She served in the US Navy and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) with a focus in Interior Design from the Design Institute of San Diego. She has experience with AutoCAD, SketchUp, and Photoshop and has been bringing her talents to the Freemodel team since April 2022.