The design world often dangles between the superficial and the functional. However, Melanie Haselmayr, the CEO and creative director of CURATED., emerged as the amalgamation of both. Her path was not carved in marble or outlined in blueprints from the start; instead, it evolved over time and with realization.
CURATED.: How Melanie Haselmayr Turns Intent Into Art
Melanie was born in Austria and has lived across nine countries. Every chapter of her life has added a new shade to the canvas of her creativity. Her journey to the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship is influenced by her experiences in hospitality, tech startups, marketing, aviation, events, and real estate.
She gained a deep understanding of how business takes place and how environments influence behavior. Melanie insists that it was through these varied experiences that the idea for CURATED. was born. It is a place where creativity and strategy could coexist, where storytelling took shape not on paper but within the walls people live in.
It began as an ‘accidental staging company’, the idea sparked by realtors who admired the design of investment properties she and her team transformed. Soon, it blossomed into a full-scale interior design firm and creative studio. CURATED. is not just about styling spaces, but rather it is about designing experiences.
Vision Met Intention: Birth of CURATED.
“Design has always been a thread in my life,” Melanie reflects, “I’ve been rearranging rooms since I was a child.” She was actually inspired by the transformation that thoughtful design could bring to the lives of people. Melanie founded CURATED. with a clear vision of creating spaces that reflect the people who live in them, their stories, emotions, and habits, without disturbing the balance of beauty and functionality.
She was not actually a fan of the fleeting trends and those Pinterest-perfect looks that often dominate the industry. Melanie’s designs are subtle rather than loud; they reflect elegance and class. She believes a great design is not always about adding things, but also about removing unwanted items. “Over the years,” she says, “I’ve learned restraint, knowing when to stop and trusting that simplicity can be powerful.”
Challenges and The Quiet Power of Competence
In the design world, exteriors are always smooth, but they also have unseen rough edges. This industry often deals with construction, real estate, and finance, which are traditionally male-dominated fields. As a woman, Melanie also faced her share of challenges. “There’s often an assumption that design is a ‘soft’ field,” she says. “But in reality, it demands resilience, structure, and strong boundaries.”
In a room filled with contractors and developers, she had to prove her authority not with volume but with clarity, knowledge, and calm consistency. “Competence quietly wins respect,” she notes. “Not by outshouting others, but by being prepared.”
Her leadership style is similar to her design style – firm yet kind, and direct yet empathetic. She has proven that grace and grit can exist simultaneously. According to her, leadership is not about being loud; rather, it is about being balanced and authentic.
CURATED.: Where Design Meets Purpose
CURATED. focuses on high-end residential and hospitality projects across the U.S., Canada, and beyond. The firm offers an end-to-end experience from concept design to renovation planning, furniture concepts, millwork, and final installation. But what truly distinguishes CURATED. from others is its strategic depth, which acts as a bridge between design and real estate.
Melanie is working on a design advisory platform, Curated Standard. This platform will empower real estate professionals to polish their skills by equipping themselves with design and marketing expertise. This will help them guide their clients better, whether they are buying, selling, or renting.
At CURATED. every project begins with a conversation. Melanie sits with the client and tries to understand their lifestyle, what they value, and how they want their homes to feel. “Design,” she says, “is about collaboration. It’s about understanding a person’s rhythm where they find calm, what frustrates them, what inspires them.”
The result of all these efforts is spaces that are not only aesthetically beautiful but also effortless to live in. The team finalizes every material, color, and piece of furniture with care, keeping all the collected information from clients in mind.
A Philosophy Rooted in Calmness and Clarity
Melanie describes her design philosophy in a single phrase: “Every space should make you exhale when you walk in.” Melanie prefers timelessness. She guides clients and motivates them to make choices that will age gracefully rather than falling for fleeting trends. Over time, her approach evolved from adding layers of style to editing with purpose by focusing on the essentials that create meaning.
“I’ve become more intentional about subtraction,” she reflects. “Removing what’s unnecessary rather than adding more.”
Balancing Innovation and Intuition
Melanie appreciates simplicity, but that doesn’t mean that she is a stranger to innovation. She embraces technology and AI as her tools in her creative process. “AI is a tool and like any tool, its value depends on who’s using it,” she says. She uses it for visualization, rapid prototyping, and administrative efficiency. Her past experience in the tech industry and marketing allows her to employ a variety of established as well as upcoming software and apps to streamline the company’s workflows.
She knows where to draw the line between assistance and authorship. “Design begins with human intuition, understanding emotion, proportion, and purpose. AI can enhance creativity, but it can’t replace it.” In Melanie’s world, technology is just the brush, not the artist.
Essence of Leadership
When asked about the leadership qualities essential in her field, Melanie mentioned three: empathy, decisiveness, and consistency. Empathy allows her to connect deeply with clients, decisiveness keeps creative spirit alive, and consistency builds trust. These are the three pillars on which both art and business stand. “In design,” she says, “leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice; it’s about creating an environment where creativity and authenticity can coexist.”
Building Beyond Boundaries
Melanie’s vision extends far beyond her Miami studio. CURATED. is expanding its reach to Canada, the Caribbean, and select European destinations like Tuscany and the South of France. Parallel to the growth, she is launching Curated Standard. It is an educational and advisory venture designed to bridge the gap between design and real estate, exclusively designed for real estate professionals.
She is also considering taking on development projects, including the reconstruction of the Blue Dolphin, a boutique hospitality concept on Sanibel Island. She is rebuilding it alongside her husband and partners and leads the interior design, FFE, branding, marketing, and operational launch aspects. Each new project, she says, “is another canvas for storytelling, another opportunity to shape how people feel within a space.”
Piece of Mind for Aspiring Designers
Melanie offers grounded yet empowering advice to all those, especially women, aspiring to start their own design business: “You don’t need to go to design school to start. If you have a way to practice design, get going. Don’t wait to feel ready, clarity comes from doing.”
She encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to build systems early, even if they are solo founders. She motivates them to recognize that creativity and strategy are not opposites. And most importantly, “surround yourself with people who share your vision.”
Designing for Connection, Not Just Aesthetics
As Melanie reflects on the future of design, she states, “The future of design lies in the connection between disciplines, people, and purpose.” She envisions spaces that prioritize well-being, community, and adaptability over aesthetics. For her, the success of design can be measured by how effortlessly it supports the people within it and not by how impressive a space looks.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned,” she concludes, “it’s that good design isn’t about impressing people — it’s about improving their everyday life.”
Melanie Haselmayr’s story reflects the perfect balance of ambition and authenticity. Through CURATED. she continues to remind the world that design done with intention results in something more than art, whereas it becomes a language of living.
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