LIVIO DESIGNS
Behind the hand-forged wrought iron gates of the Livio Designs showroom, you’ll find more than just exclusive furniture collections and luxury kitchen accessories. You’ll find a fully stocked wine room that showcases beautifully crafted racking systems. You’ll find imported pizza ovens alongside locally made oyster beds. And you’ll find an extraordinary team led by five women who have worked together to bring this new concept to reality.
“We wanted Livio Designs to be a new kind of shopping experience,” said Desiree Forsyth, Director of Marketing. “We didn’t set out to build just another store. You can come here, grab a glass of wine and talk about dry aging with our grill specialist, talk about indoor/outdoor design with our design director, or find the perfect new furniture set to compliment your outdoor space. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you want a new set of cookware or a built-in wine dispenser for your outdoor kitchen, if it is beautiful, well crafted and unique, you might find it in our showroom.”
Sourcing all of these items falls to Chief Strategy Officer Melissa Rehage, Design Director Lauren Yarbrough, and owner Rob Morris. Rehage has spent the past year stocking the Livio showroom with high-end outdoor furniture, rugs, grills, appliances, and every essential needed for entertaining in your home. She hand picks items that are luxury but livable, beautiful but durable enough to withstand our Southern climates. Yarbrough is busy building out the new Livio Design Center, where clients will meet with our designers to design, coordinate, and create the perfect indoor and outdoor spaces. “When Lauren joined us, we instantly expanded our ability to provide design services to our clients. She was the perfect fit for Livio and completed our executive team,” said Forsyth.
Finance and Operations are handled by Controller Lisa Kent and Chief Administrative Officer Jenny Mevers. Together, they lead the admin functions for seven of Morris’s companies. The logistical scale of Livio is a unique challenge that requires the admin team to fully integrate with the other departments. And though most of these women have worked with Morris for years, working late nights together to bring Livio Designs to life has transformed their working and personal relationships with each other. “This Livio team is practically family at this point,” said Mevers.
The span of services Livio provides is expansive, which necessitates opening in phases. Phase one includes outdoor kitchen design and construction, and interior/exterior design services. Phase two includes the opening of the showroom, expected to open early summer, and phase three will be the opening of the outdoor showcase and event space. Livio will have four beautifully built and furnished outdoor kitchens that showcase different architectural and design styles, and a demonstration kitchen that will be the hub for events such as cooking and cocktail classes. “It will be a completely unique shopping experience for this area,” said Forsyth. “We are so excited to show the northshore what we’ve been working on for the past year!”
