ARCHITECT | DESIGN | BUILD 12.19.2014 153
DRYAD HOUSE
DRYAD HOUSE
MERIDITH BAER
SBD: How would you describe your business model?
MB: We provide luxury furniture and design services. Our
primary business is staging, or installing furnishings to help
homeowners and developers sell their real estate assets as fast
as possible for the highest possible price. All of the furnishings
in our homes are for sale, so the buyer or the neighbor can
own a room or the entire home furnished just as it is. We
manufacture much of our own furniture and source the rest. In
the future, we will be making our furnishings available to the
public. We also offer interior design services and lease our
high-end furnishings for the specific needs of our clients.
SBD: You switched careers at age 50. What advice would you
give women 40-plus who are contemplating a career change?
MB: Follow the trail of what interests you. It's not written
anywhere that you have to spend the rest of your life doing
what you have been doing. Pay attention when you find
yourself saying, 'I could do that,' or 'this could be better,' or
'what the world needs is this!' Just start doing what you really
enjoy and see where it leads.
SBD: What do you like to do when you're not staging homes?
MB: I am constantly looking through magazines and searching
on the web for inspiration. I go to estate sales and flea markets
and auctions looking for little treasures to use on shelves. I
like to look at historical pieces and dream about how to tweak
them into the 21st century. I still love to garden. Cuddle with
my cat. Cook. Read. Spend time with friends and family. Laugh.
Drink good red wine. And I am addicted to Sudoku — the really
evil ones!
