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October 14, 2025 β€’ 14 mins

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Melody Vaughn.

Founder of Melody Vaughn Interiors (MVI), conversation dives into the art and business of interior design, with a focus on accessibility, personalization, and the emotional power of home spaces.


πŸŽ™οΈ Guest: Melody Vaughn

Title: Interior Designer, Founder of Melody Vaughn Interiors (MVI)
Specialties: Kitchens, bathrooms, renovations, art consultation, and staging


🏑 Key Highlights ✨ Design Philosophy

  • Interior design is not a luxury—it’s a necessity for well-being.
  • Everyone deserves a beautiful space, regardless of budget.
  • Design should reflect how people live, not just how it looks.

🧠 Personal Journey

  • Started as a hobby—reorganizing closets and rearranging furniture as a child.
  • Inspired by her father, a landscaper, and early exposure to beautiful homes.
  • Returned to school to become a certified kitchen designer.
  • Worked with Home Depot, then transitioned into flipping homes and full-scale renovations.

πŸ› οΈ Design Process & Team

  • Melody leads a team that includes:
    • Senior and mid-level designers
    • Contractors (painters, electricians, wallpaper installers, etc.)
    • Sourcing specialists and assistants
  • Emphasizes project management, timelines, and behind-the-scenes coordination.
  • Compares the design process to composing music—each element must harmonize.

🎨 Client-Centered Approach

  • No “one-size-fits-all” style—designs are based on:
    • Client lifestyle
    • Regional influences (East Coast vs. West Coast aesthetics)
    • Color psychology
    • Even the client’s wardrobe!
  • Two types of clients:
    • Personal/homeowners: require emotional connection and time
    • Investors/flippers/Airbnb owners: want fast, functional, stylish results

🧩 Managing Expectations

  • Design takes time—up to a year for full transformation.
  • Contracts include clear timelines and exit clauses to protect both parties.
  • AI and rendering tools help visualize concepts, but human connection is key.

πŸ“ Location

  • Based in Atlanta, GA
  • Available for travel—“There’s a Hartfield-Jackson Airport, and I’ll jump on a plane in a minute!”

πŸ’¬ Rushion’s Take

  • Praises Melody’s ability to make design relatable and emotionally resonant.
  • Highlights her professionalism, creativity, and growing popularity with listeners.

 

#STRAW

#BEST

#SHMS

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I am Rashaan McDonald, our host this weekly Money
Making Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this
show provides off for everyone. It's time to stop reading
other people's success stories and start living your own. If
you want to be a guest on my show, please
visit our website, Moneymakingconversations dot com and click the b
A guest button and submit and you can submit information

(00:22):
about a product that you might have, your company, your business,
if you're an entrepreneur, just submit it to come directly
to me. And I've loved the interview on my show.
Now let's get the show started. This is the return
of one of my favorite guests. I should say I'm
one of the most popular, other one on the most
requested guests that has been on Money Making Conversation Masterclass.

(00:45):
She is an interior designer whose expertise extends to kitchens,
bathroom renovations, art consultation, and writing. Her deep rooted passion
for interior design couple with her sales and business developed
and background, culminating the decretion creation of her own business
called Melody Vaughn Interiors mv I. If you're trying to

(01:08):
update your home or sell your home. You should. You
should really listen to my next guest. Please welcome to
Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Melody Vaughn. How you doing, Melody?

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Oh, that was so sweet. I'm doing fantastic, n. That
was a great intro.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Well, this is your third time on the show.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Now I know, I know, but still it just sounds
new every time.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
Well, let me just ask you this, because I invite
you on the show. I invited you on the show.
You was in studio, and that last two times you've
been on the phone, on the phone because you've been busy,
you know, you know, you know she used to be
to come in studio, Melody Vaughn. Now you know I
can only get on the phone because he's usually looking
at somebody closing the deal. And that's what you call success.

(01:55):
And that's why I invite people on Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
But why do you think people get excited about the
information that you give on my show about interior designs
in your art culs and consultations.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
You know, I tell you because homes are the heart.
And in this political climate and this energy of the world,
you want to come home and still hug and you
look around and you're like, I need to change that,
I need to change this, and then speaking to a
designer because you know, growing up, interior design was something
that we as people of color, often would deem as

(02:32):
a luxury. And my purpose and mission is to educate
and inform everyone that everyone deserves to live in a
beautiful space, and no matter the budget, we can achieve
a beautiful space that's done by an interior designer and
it starts from the core of the individuals. So I
think that's the feeling. I want to empower people to
make their space as beautiful and calming as possible at

(02:54):
whatever budget, and it's possible now.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
So you're saying that when people hear the word interior
design right there, financial bills or money bills just jump
off and you're saying, stop, don't, don't let that be
your deciding factor. Here. With that being said, give us
a little background, mss vaughan on your designing training, design training,
your experience. Listen, is some background.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
So I saw I started as a hobby or something
that was innate, and I would organize closets and this
was who thirty years ago.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Don't count numbers, just three decades stay up.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
And I was a young bob, but really I would
as a kid, I would reorganize my parents, linen my
family linen closet at home, or move the furniture around
in my bedroom. I knew the power of color because
I would paint a wall or accent wall, and that
was something innate. My father was a landscaper, so I
was able to go with him to these beautiful homes

(03:53):
and sneak inside and take a peekaboo and see what's happening,
and come home and recreate it. But I honestly never
stop a moment of color, a person of color as
a designer. And this is in the early seventies maybe,
and as a result, well, early eighties, late seventies, and
then as a result of it, I said, well, there's
some things that we have that we can give to

(04:15):
the community. And I said organizing, because you know, we're
used to doing the dirty work, doing the busy work.
And then after layoff and divorced and life change, I said,
what do I do for free? If money wasn't an issue,
what would I do? And I was like, oh my god,
I would design. I would decorate, that would make things beautiful.

(04:35):
So I went back to school get certified as a
kitchen designer, worked for Home d for a couple of
months and literally sprang springboard from there and started my
career as a kitchen designer, flipping houses, working with contractors
in the early two thousands and have not looked back
ever since. So I think it was innate in me
and spirit just opened doors and allowed me to continue.

(04:57):
And that's where I am now. After being in New
Yor for last fifteen years working with builders and developers.
I got the bug for renovations and getting my GC
license and working with contractors, getting behind the walls and
even that's the part of beauty itself.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
Now when people come to you, Miss Vaughan about in
design or looks or do you do you ever preferred
design style like said this is my go to style?
You know everybody has that hook angle or you keep
an open mind? How do you look at people when
they sit down asking for help?

Speaker 2 (05:33):
Believe it or not? Functionality a firm function of reform.
I spend time with the client to understand how they
live in their life, live in their home and what
they want to achieve. I know the power of color.
So if it's a busy home and they want to
be calm. We're going to hang out in the cool tones.
It's a family with children and it's active and vibrant.
We're going to do some of these primary colors. If

(05:56):
they're aging parents, we're going to open up some doorways
and we're going to have some little or countertops, etc.
So my main focus is how do you live in
the home. Then the next step is what part of
the country are you familiar with? Because there's certain colors.
On the West coast you got a very Moroccan, a
very earth tone, very monochromatic vibe, and then on the

(06:17):
East coast you got a lot going on. So there's
often a lot of colors and textures. So I try
to figure out who's that client is. Even though they'll
say I like this, I like that, and I'll go
to their closet and it'll be something totally different. Clothes
speak volumes about person in their design. They only may
wear ten pieces of clothing, but that clothing style, Oh,

(06:39):
you like Calvin Klein. You're very clean, modern, and they'll
transfer into their design esthetic. So I focus on my
clients and listen to their needs and introduce I'll give
them what they say they want, but I'll also show
them what I picked up just from spending time with them.
And that's the key understanding what they want to achieve.
They want to relax, want to entertain, if they have children,

(07:02):
and how can we parlay that into a great design concept.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
Okay, now, now you're based in Atlanta.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
Correct, Yeah, I'm in Atlanta, but hey, there's a Heartsville.
I will jump on a plane and a minute.

Speaker 1 (07:15):
That's why I want to make sure people understood this.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
Now, please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with
more money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money
Making Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations
Masterclass continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money

(07:40):
Making Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Speaker 1 (07:44):
Cool. Now, let's get back to Miss Melody. Melody deep
rooted passion for interior design couple with a sales and
business development background, culminating in the creation of her own company,
Melody Vaughn Interiors over thirty years. Said, I don't say
three decades three decades now when you start doing interior designs,

(08:06):
it's not you by yourself. Correct. Oh, no, you have
a team. Let's talk about that team. But you are
the uh, you're the person that they will be the
primary contact with break it down.

Speaker 2 (08:18):
So with another interior design firm, typically there's a principal
designer who creates the design concept, and then there are
senior designers and then mid level designers who this is
the concept overall and these are the pieces, so go
find those pieces to help fulfill this design concept. And
then that's on the design arm. And then we have

(08:39):
the contractors and the vendors, what companies will be working
with for this product, because it's important that the furniture
companies all and where we source the material all makes sense.
That the cuts are the same, the heights are the same,
the way the arms fit on the sofa versus the
tears are the same. So we decide on the source,
so that sourcing comes from that senior designer or that

(09:00):
secondary designer. Then the general contract then the contractors, the lighting,
the painters, the wallpaper installers. Getting those persons in line,
who comes first, the chicken or the eggs. That's when
the project management part of design happens, and design and
I tell people all day. I can walk in a
room and say, oh, paint of blue, put this over here.

(09:21):
But it's the stuff behind the walls, and it's the
details and it's the timelines. That's what really design is about.
It's like music. You're putting all the pieces and instruments
together and make this wonderful song. And when you find
your contractors in your product line and then what the
customer needs, that's that beautiful rhythm you create and design,
and that's what design is about. It's beyond the renderings

(09:42):
and it's beyond the well, this is okay, it's beautiful,
buye nah. It's it's the gutwork that's the real joy
of it all. So I do have a team. I
have an amazing assistant that does my renderings. I have
a young lady that sources for me, and I work
full time with flor the core business development and senior
design over there, working with corporate. Just had a meeting

(10:04):
with the Hospitality Group today working on a couple of hotels,
ideas and lobbies. So it's it's all encompassing. But just
like you went through that conversation about that artwork, just
hearing your your explanation and talking about it. I saw
those colors in Cancun, I saw that sculpture. I saw
it as you spoke to it. And that's what art does,

(10:26):
and that's what design does. It makes you want to
just relive those amazing moments that you had in your life.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
Well, you know, I agree, and I you know the
thing about design or somebody's inviting you to in your
world the word time is important. You know, time to
allow you to do your job and if they're if
they have time to be able to participate in the process,

(10:55):
because let's talk about that, because that's really key. Because
what you don't want and maybe maybe you have worked
under those conditions before, somebody go I don't have time,
You just take care of it. How do you deal
with the person who doesn't have time? And then as
a short window do you do you see flags when
people talk like that talk to us about it.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
You know, I tell you often design has changed so much,
especially with it with AI, where you can just speak
into it and create that that rendering my client base.
Thank god. It isn't the type that would say I
don't know what I want, just create something. No, because
it designed is personal. There are designers and there are
fields where it's like, here's the budget, here's the key,

(11:36):
go on through your thing, and when I come back like, AHCTV,
no you got there's so many elements you've decided before
that moment of reveal. And when, however, when custin, when
I have clients that don't quite know their design style
or don't quite know what they want, I do. I'm
all about a time. The way I invoice my time

(11:57):
is extremely valuable. So before we commit ink on paper,
you got sixty days, you got you know, six months,
three months, whatever that window, and if we can't come
to terms and agree well in the contract, we'll end
it and we'll move on. Because it's so intense. Sometimes
people are uncomfortable with a new, beautiful space. So that's
why it takes. It takes a full year to me

(12:19):
to design and renovate a space, and it'd be completely
not because you've got layers, you got paid, you got furniture,
you got artwork. Does it work? You got to rearrange
the furniture so that it flows properly, and there's a
lot of things that are involved in it. But also
if it's just a quick fixer up a staging of
a space or an Airbnb and they need furniture. Those
clients because it's not personal. Let's go here's your budget.

(12:43):
Here's the key. I just needed to be comfortable and
I'm renting it out or flipping it. Those clients love
them because I get to include what I think is
trending and current but also functional, et cetera. So you
got two types of clients, I guess, the ones that
extremely personal and the ones to your point. Here's the key,
here's a check. I need it done in a month.

(13:05):
Let's go cool.

Speaker 1 (13:06):
You can find her in Buckhead Flooring, the Core Design
Studios and Buckhead. Her name is Melanie Vaughn. I'm sure
she'd be back sometime this year again because she's so requested. Again,
thank you for taking the time to come on my
show to talk about designs to springtime, so people should
know this when they get busy, they want something they experience.
We want to go into the summertime. Again, thank you

(13:27):
for coming on Money Making Conversations Masterclass.

Speaker 2 (13:30):
I appreciate you, sir. I'll see you Thursday.

Speaker 1 (13:32):
Okay, thank you. This has been another edition of Money
Making Conversation Masterclass hosted by me Rashaun McDonald, thank you
to our guests on the show today and thank you.
I'll listening to audience now. If you want to listen
to any episode I want to be a guest on
the show, visit Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle
is money Making Conversations. Join us next week and remember

(13:54):
to always leave with your gifts. Keep winning to
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Shirley Strawberry

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