Michelle O’Toole is the principal designer and owner of O’Toole Design Associates, which offers commercial interior design services. She is LEED AP certified and designs in an environmentally responsible way. For O’Toole, design starts with the needs of the people who will work within the space along with those of the clients who will visit the space. People and relationships have been her priority since the beginning, and it has led her to great success over the past 27 years, and even to being named one of the top interior design firms in St. Louis.

Michelle and I have worked together on many spaces and her work embodies our brand of “beyond these walls.” We both know that the work that happens in the spaces we create is more important than the physical. However, that space can and should be inspirational. Michelle has done literally all of my private workspaces including my Aspen Rooms in the Clayton and St. Louis offices, and my “living room” in the Chicago office. I like to keep these spaces free of delivering bad or disappointing news (I don’t fire people in these rooms) and only use these spaces for uplifting personal interactions with my team.