Meet Our Newest Team Member: Bree Tuttle
Never underestimate the impact teachers can have in our lives. I have had some of the best and that includes my own parents.
As young parents there wasn’t money for babysitters, so I often joined them on their dates. We would drive around new neighborhoods and wander through homes that were under construction.
Walking from room to room, we would discuss the design of each room – tray ceilings here or a reading nook there. My parents would point out what they liked and what they would do different.
As I grew older, I watched as they built several homes of their own. My Mom would take me along with her to select the carpet, paint, lighting, etc. We would review the various options together and talk about what worked and what didn’t.
I was instilled with a love of history. As a home schooler we traveled to historic cities, marking the beautiful areas that are rich in history. I learned to appreciate good craftmanship and the history of people, places, and things.
But it wasn’t until high school that I first became interested in interior design as a career. I didn’t even know that field existed! But my high school art teacher noticed that I had an eye for architecture, and she told me about interior design. That was the defining moment for me.
As I graduated from high school and moved into the interior design program at UGA (Go DAWGS!), it was the hospitality branch of design that really grabbed my interest.
I love the art of hospitality. I love the feeling a well-designed hotel can give to a person. I love creating beautiful places where people could escape and live-in luxury, even if only for one night. I loved it so much that I have spent the better part of the last 20 years designing hotels in Atlanta and New York City.
I started my career in Atlanta, Georgia and worked there until a crossroads in life pushed me to switch things up. I needed to get away and rediscover myself. So I joined a design firm in New York City. From there I was able to work on high-end condominiums high rises and Boutique hotels.
New York City is an international city and therefore is influenced by people from all over the world, living and working on this one island. I got to work with designers from Ireland, Israel, Egypt, China, and Germany; I grew as a designer as I learned from them. Those three years were an incredible and eye-opening experience. But the economic downturn and difficult job market in 2009 led me back to Atlanta.
As the economy recovered, I found work at West Elm. I didn’t know how many doors that job would open. Daily, I was helping people make design decisions for their homes. It was at this time that I met my husband and went into business for myself. You In Mind Designs was born and it was through this company that I found my love for residential design.
I realized my heart was to see people light up when I helped them transform their home room by room—helping them discover how their home could feel and function. I love reinvigorating people about their homes and their precious pieces.
You may wonder how I ended up in Toccoa. After my parents retired to Westminster, SC. in 2016, Kendal and I instantly fell in love with Toccoa and the entire area. The more we drove up to visit the more we felt a pull toward moving. God was calling our family to slow down and become more focused on each other. He then planted a desire in us to help grow this community.
On Mother’s Day 2021, Kendal walked into Angel Oak Home to buy a Mother’s Day gift and as he chatted with Terri, he shared our desire to move to Toccoa. Finding out I was a designer, she asked if I wanted a job and the rest is history! The heart of Angel Oak Home and Design is very much aligned with our hearts, too. So we sold our home in Atlanta, most of our possessions, and we moved to join the Angel Oak team.
Kendal and I love how Terri and Chris answered the call God placed on their lives. They filled a space that was empty. We feel like God is doing the same thing for us – gifting us with the opportunity to fill an empty space in the community.
As a designer my mantra is: “This is About You. If you feel at peace and at rest in your home, I have done my job.” The same is true here in Toccoa, I want to help build a sense of peace, safety, and home for our community. If you feel at peace and at rest here, then we have done our job.
Thank you for welcoming me here. Please stop into the store and say hello. I would love to meet you and hear a little bit about you and how we can help build spaces in your home that help you live out your role in our community.