HEATHER DREW
IIDA Associate

Heather founded bellaDESIGNSstudio in 2009.

Her introduction to interior design began as a child and military brat, creating her own space within the confines of her bedroom in each new residence. Her experience continued after receiving her undergraduate degree in Communication and Media from The University of Michigan. Heather created temporary environments and installations for special events, national conferences and fundraisers during her public relations career. In her personal life, she designed major renovations of her own residences and led the design and renovation of a pastoral residence, and newly constructed classrooms and offices of a local church north of Atlanta.

Her passion for interiors led her to the Savannah College of Art and Design where she received her Master of Fine Arts in Interior Design, attending on an institutional fellowship conferred by the college’s Office of the President. A member of Tau Sigma Delta National Honor Society, she received the Presidential Medal for Outstanding Achievement at commencement. Heather’s graduate projects included design proposals for Delta Airlines Flight Operations Center and Domestic Pilot Lounge in Atlanta and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Retail Store in Washington, DC. Her thesis focused on the creation of a new interior design typology to support active duty military war zone veterans and their family members suffering from and impacted by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She also provided interior design services during her graduate career for several Savannah residents and businesses as well as the 2007 SCAD Alumni Design Show House.

Heather moved to Richmond and began working at Baskervill, an architecture, engineering and interior design firm. She worked on diverse projects within the corporate, healthcare and financial arenas. She was also an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Interior Design Department.

Heather resides in Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood with her husband, their active two sons and loveable dogs, Fiona and Pickle.