Milisa, Natalie, and Lavender came together through common interests, goals, and a love of beauty. Family and faith have always been our main focus. The White Couch allows us to collaborate in a creative way to enhance living spaces, making them more appealing and desirable.
Lavender shared a dream of going into business with Milisa, which stirred their imaginations to all the possibilities. Natalie had been discussing starting a staging business with a colleague whom she shared a love and education in Interior Design; but the timing wasn’t right. When Milisa, Natalie, and Lavender came together for a lunch date, they became excited about the prospect of staging homes together. On that day The White Couch was born.
Milisa has many interests. Her love for beautiful homes began in her early twenties when she worked in Los Angeles, California for the California Association of Realtors and the Los Angeles Board of Realtors. She moved to Seattle shortly later to become a flight attendant with Continental Airlines in order to fulfill her desire for travel and adventure. After ten years she retired early from Continental to make her husband and family her priority, and now especially cherishes the memories of the years she spent home-schooling her five children.
Ultimately she returned to work at a kitchen and bathroom remodeling company in Bellevue, Washington. It was there that she learned the specifics about flooring, cabinet and countertop materials, lighting, paint and interior design.
She helped to create a “new face” for her niece’s retail outlet and was also asked to assist as her buyer at the Las Vegas World Market Gift Show. Milisa has catered several weddings and events and has always taken special delight in the beauty of the food presentation.
Upon reading an article on home staging, she realized it was a business that, together with Natalie and Lavender, she should pursue. So together they decided to launch The White Couch. Milisa’s love for shopping, good taste in style, and attention to detail has found staging to be the perfect fit.
She values her deep faith in God and loves spending time with her husband playing tennis, ice skating, and they’ve even climbed Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan together. She savors her precious time shared with her adult children along with her amazing five grandchildren. She loves all things beautiful…she enjoys gardening, cooking, reading, teaching, fashion, nutrition/exercise, and studying politics/world events while pursuing excellence through her faith.
Growing up in the small hometown of Enumclaw, WA, Natalie found herself constantly re-arranging her mother’s living room furniture to figure out the “best” layout with the highest function. She enjoyed walking through new houses during construction with her father. Even though these houses only consisted of studs, she loved envisioning what each room would look like when it was finished and how a family would “live” there. Family life has always been a priority to her, but when you grow up in a household of 7 individuals and one hundred plus cousins, you tend to embrace the importance of “family”.
Natalie’s love of design, architecture, color and creativity led her to attend the International Academy of Design and Technology in Seattle, WA where she pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design. She worked for a kitchen and bath remodeling company in Bellevue, WA and assisted clients with their finished material selections which typically included flooring, cabinet finish and detail, countertops, and tile work design.
It was pregnancy number two and Natalie’s sense of “family first” that led her to her next endeavor which allowed her more time with the kiddos. She joined forces with her Mother-in-law, Milisa and friend Lavender to begin a staging company, and hence The White Couch was born. Staging creates an emotional image for the buyer. It creates a sense of “living” and joy filled memories as they envision their own family there. So, it’s no wonder Natalie fell in love with this job.
In her spare time Natalie enjoys spending time with her husband Justin and kids Kyleah (6) and Quin (3). It’s not unusual to find them hiking, playing games, painting, making homemade pizza or enjoying the sunshine. Natalie also has a passion for photography, graphic design, fresh flower arrangements, volunteering at her church, her family farm, discovering new healthy recipes, and indulging in a little chocolate and wine with her mom and sisters.
Lavender has always been involved in customer service in one form or another. Whether it was making wedding cakes, crafting gourmet desserts, as a florist, or staging homes – she uses her creativeness to accomplish stunning results.
Married, mother of four grown children, she loves spending time cooking and entertaining family and friends with delicious and beautifully presented entrees and desserts with a healthy doses of garlic and chocolate.
Home staging is a natural extension of her talents and innovative side of her personality.
“Do it with passion or not at all.”
-Rosa Nouchette Carey
