We had the good fortune of connecting with Mercedes Brennan and Karen Campbell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mercedes Brennan and, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Because we specialize in the design of vacation rental properties, we think the most important factor behind our success and the success of our brand is making our clients happy. By clients, we mean both our primary clients, the property owner, and our secondary clients, who are the guests who stay there.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Because Mercedes is from California and Karen is from the mid-west, we are able to combine our aesthetics to appeal to a wide variety of tastes. We recognized early on, as the vacation rental arena started exploding, that there was a need for well designed properties that would stand out from other listings. We took it upon ourselves to research the niche in order to understand all the elements that go into a successful vacation property. We consider ourselves residential hospitality designers because we have taken the time to deeply understand the needs of this kind of project. One of the lessons we learned along the way is to understand that our design work for vacation properties is very different from residential design. Emotions can run high in residential design because we are creating a dream home for the owners, whereas we have had to teach our vacation rental clients to check their emotions at the door and realize that it’s not all about them, rather it’s about creating a wonderful experience for the future guests who will be staying there.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
FUN THREE DAYS IN LOS ANGELES 1st Day – Let’s get a morning session in the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art (LACMA). Be sure to take your photo in the urban light exhibit outside because it’s almost as iconic as the Hollywood sign. Afterwards, we would take them to a late lunch at Fanny’s located in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Commune Design is one of our favorite design firms and they have done a fantastic job with the design, which is a node to the early days of Hollywood. Order one of their fantastic cocktails to start! We especially like The World’s Best Martini (because it really is).
2nd Day – It’s always fun to explore Santa Monica. Start the day with a coffee and Huevos Rancheros at Urth Cafe. If it’s a nice day, head to Perry’s Cafe. They do a beach bike tour through Venice and Santa Monica. It’s a great way to see the sights along the beach. Stop at Ivy on the Shore for lunch. Then do some shopping on either Third Street Promenade or – our favorite – Montana Ave for the unique clothes and home goods. Two of our favorites are The Brentwood General Store and RoseMarie McCaffrey’s Antiques. When you are all shopped out, head to Father’s Office for the best burger in the country. But beware, you won’t find any ketchup in the place!
3rd Day – California is all about being outside so grab a bottle of water and a picnic lunch and head to the Temescal Canyon Trail in Pacific Palisades. It’s a gorgeous hike along the ocean with canyon views. There is a great park there which is perfect for your picnic. No trip would be complete without dining overlooking the ocean. Head to Moon Shadows for an ocean sunset. It’s a special spot and you will thank us for the recommendation.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our shoutout is to one another because we never stop encouraging one another and constantly strive to better our design and business. We both have learned much from one another, such as problem solving, handling clients, and building a brand.

Website: http://1chicretreat.com

Instagram: @1chicretreat

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1chicretreat/

Image Credits
Photography by Nicole Katherine Photo.

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