About Us – Our Story & Team
From managing trades and timelines to curating every detail, we take on the burden of design so homeowners can simply enjoy extraordinary spaces.We believe design should enhance your life — not complicate it. That’s why we provide full-service solutions that balance beauty, function, and ease.
Elisha Niebuhr — Founder & CEO
Elisha Niebuhr is the Founder and CEO of Modern Interior Co., a design-driven firm redefining how staging, design, and business infrastructure come together. Since launching the company in 2018, she has grown it from a boutique staging business into a full-service interior design company with strategic staging solutions and a collaborative designer collective.
With a background in house flipping, vacation rental management, and real estate investment, Elisha brings an entrepreneurial perspective to design. Her passion lies in creating intentional interiors that elevate lifestyles and property value, while building the systems, strategies, and teams that empower designers to deliver their best work. As CEO, she oversees vision, strategy, and growth, recently strengthening her leadership through an executive education program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Chelsea Tarnas — Office Manager
Chelsea Tarnas is a career artist with more than a decade of art handling and framing experience, project management, and systems theory. Her artistic practice is rooted in fine art and art history. She holds a BA in Studio Art from Hope College and furthered her studies at the New York Center for Arts and Media Studies. Additionally, Chelsea earned an MBA in Sustainable Systems and a Certificate in Cooperatives from Presidio Graduate School in 2018, blending her creative endeavors with a commitment to sustainable business practices.
Allison Schutz - Senior Designer
Helping people has always been my purpose, and the best way I can impact an individuals' life is through my gift of design. I like to push design boundaries and take you out of your comfort zone to create a space that you will never want to stop showing off. I approach interior design by blending style and function effortlessly, while adding a touch of whimsical. My creativity is influenced by my background in hospitality and graphic design, high end residential, and traveling around the world. These experiences have created my recipe for design by combining old and new with a dash of unique - whether it is a very eclectic style or a simple and timeless design - each space has the flavor of the clients' personality.
Other than helping people through design, Allison is an outdoor enthusiast that loves to cook, snowboard, karaoke, and spend quality time with her friends, family, and her two sweet pups. Her motto is, “Everything you have dreamed of is one step outside your comfort zone.”
Katie Kirby - Assistant Designer
Katie blends her Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral and Health Sciences with a specialized focus in Interior Design to create spaces that are both visually stunning and deeply functional. With a keen eye for space planning and a refined approach to decorating, she transforms interiors into thoughtfully curated environments that balance style, comfort, and livability.
Her work goes beyond aesthetics—Katie understands how people experience a space, using that insight to highlight each home’s unique character and maximize its full potential. Whether preparing a property for market or elevating a lived-in space, she brings a strategic, detail-driven approach that resonates with both homeowners and buyers alike.
Cecelia Dunlap - Construction Lead Partner
Cecilia is our Construction Lead Partner and has worked in the construction industry for many years. We’ve partnered with her and her company to execute projects for over seven years, building a strong and trusted working relationship along the way.
She plays a key role in ensuring our projects are delivered smoothly, coordinating with trades and maintaining a high standard of work from start to finish.
Lola - Emotional Support Director
Every high-performing team needs a secret weapon, and ours just happens to have four legs and a very waggy tail. Lola, our resident Havapoo, is the heart and soul of the office.
While the rest of us are focused on projects and clients, Lola specializes in:
Stress Management: Offering expert-level belly rub sessions during tight deadlines.
Morale Boosting: Greeting every team member with a professional-grade tail wag.
Office Security: Alerting us whenever the delivery person arrives.
Wellness Coordination: Reminding us all to take a screen break for a quick game of fetch.
Since Lola joined the squad, our collective happiness has skyrocketed. She proves every day that sometimes the best solution to a complex problem is a cold nose and a warm heart.