Pleased to meet you.

I’m Nicole Balch. I’ve been designing and styling for corporate clients, managing social media accounts for a wide variety of businesses, and I have chronicled my personal design work and renovations since 2007 on Making it Lovely.

Looking for help designing your home? Let’s work together!

I’m as comfortable picking out fabrics as I am picking up a circular saw. I’ve done my fair share of renovating, and my background in both architecture and as a former handyman means I understand home renovation from all angles.

I work on houses new and old, specializing in the design and renovation of historic homes. We can be sensitive to a home’s past while incorporating the best of today. Miles of unpainted wood to work with? I’ve been there. Old home quirks? Of course! I live in an 1891 Victorian in Oak Park just outside of Chicago — I know all about quirks. Let’s respect the best of your old home while modernizing to make it work for you and your family today.