It’s the gift-giving season, but sometimes the best gifts don’t come wrapped in paper and tied with a pretty bow. Gifts that make the greatest impact are those that inspire, create memories, and continue to bring joy long after the holiday season has passed. And sometimes, the most meaningful gifts aren’t things at all, but the spaces where memories are made.
For a family in Margate, Marissa Markus and Juliana Herman of Gold Marked Studio brought their vision for the ultimate playroom to life — creating the kind of space that keeps on giving, with room to play, imagine, and grow for years to come. “We believe that your home should tell your story. Great design should enhance the way people live. Our work blends unexpected materials, thoughtful details, and a strong sense of storytelling to create interiors that are as functional as they are visually distinctive,” says Marissa Markus, co-founder of Gold Marked Studios.
To accomplish this, every project at Gold Marked Studio begins with one question: How do our clients want to live? “Rather than designing around passing trends, we strive to create interiors that reflect each client's personality and lifestyle. The result is spaces that not only feel authentic, but most importantly, serve the clients’ needs,” says Juliana Herman, co-founder.
Their beachfront clients came to Gold Marked Studios with a request to create a playroom that brings the excitement of an outdoor playground inside, but it has to look good. Oh, and they wanted the playroom to double as a guest room and be able to grow and evolve with the family. While that might seem like an impossible ask, it’s exactly the sort of project Gold Marked Studio loves.
Photos by Brian Wetzel
“Rather than creating a literal beach-themed space, we looked to the overall feeling of the shoreline to inspire every design decision,” Herman says. The custom indoor play structure, featuring equipment by Smart Playrooms, a custom mural by Moth Paper, and constructed by DL Miner, was designed to encourage movement, imagination and exploration. A rock-climbing wall, monkey bars, climbing rope, and foam cube pit bring the fun of a playground indoors, while durable cork flooring provides a soft surface underfoot and can stand up to sandy, wet feet after a day at the beach.
The room also does double duty as a guest space. A concealed Murphy bed allows the playroom to easily transform into a comfortable guest room when family and friends come to visit, making the space as practical as it is playful. “At the end of the day, this is your home — Usability and comfort should be paramount to the design. Those are the spaces you want to come back to,” Markus says.
Gold Marked Studio is a women-founded luxury interior design firm based in Moorestown, New Jersey, led by principal designers Marissa Markus and Juliana Herman. The pair approaches each project with the belief that beautiful spaces should also enhance the way people live. Their residential and commercial interiors combine function with personality, using unexpected materials, layered textures and thoughtful details to create spaces that feel collected and distinctive rather than simply decorated.
Markus and Herman bring complementary strengths to the studio. With a background in marketing and education, Markus focuses on building relationships with clients and translating their personalities and stories into welcoming, highly personal interiors. Whereas Herman describes herself as a “numbers-driven artist,” pairing creativity with technical expertise and financial planning to guide projects from concept through construction. Together, their combination of artistry and practical planning allows Gold Marked Studio to create spaces that are both visually compelling and designed for real life.
Gold Marked Studio offers services at different price points through their Gold and Silver Packages. Their Gold Marked package, which is a full-design and full-service option, begins with an on-site consultation followed by a customized flat-fee per project cost. The Gold package includes: full room and home designs by both principal designers, Juliana and Marissa, full renovations and finishing; the GMS design team manages and executes the project from start to finish, sourcing is managed and executed by GMS, in-person detailed design meeting with samples, 2D and 3D renderings and elevations on all spaces, special trade-only access on furnishings, collaboration with contractors to help execute the design, and on-site visits during execution of design.
Their Silver Marked Package is $3,500 per room and includes the same full design work as the Gold Package, but the client handles the execution. With this package, the client receives: full rooms designed by both principal designers, Juliana and Marissa, 2D and 3D renderings, and elevations, access to both retail and trade-only pieces, product sourcing, and virtual design meetings. This package is perfect for the client who doesn't mind managing and executing their own project.
“With both services, we have worked with clients across the country; it just depends on the client’s comfort level with executing the design plan,” Markus says.
For more information, go to www.GoldMarkedStudio.com or Instagram @GoldMarkedStudio
