Finding Home with Everly Design Company

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Summer 2026

By Shannon Doyle Bell

From Colorado mountain towns to Atlanta’s Upper Westside, Ricci Taylor has built far more than a successful design company— she has built a business rooted in creativity, connection, and helping people find home.

Founded in 2015, Everly Design Co. began from an unexpected path. As a journalism graduate entering the workforce during a recession, Ricci packed up and headed west from her Duluth, Georgia hometown to Colorado, spending years immersed in mountain town life. Like many young professionals trying to discover where life would lead, she wore many hats— waiting tables, managing restaurants, and eventually becoming a realtor. Her introduction to home staging happened unexpectedly while purchasing her own home.

“I remember thinking, ‘Wait...this is a job?’” Ricci laughs. At the time, home staging was still emerging as internet-driven real estate marketing began changing the industry. Curious and inspired, she began shadowing a local stager and quickly realized she saw opportunities to approach the work differently. What first began as a side hustle to supplement her real estate income soon became something much larger. I started staging all my listings,” she says. “What I thought would be my side hustle quickly became my passion.” 

CHOOSING THE UPPER WESTSIDE

Years later, the pandemic shifted priorities and brought Ricci back to Atlanta to be closer to family. Alongside longtime friends and collaborators Kelley Bowden and Emily Tender, conversations began around what Everly could become in Atlanta. At the time, Ricci had been away from Atlanta for more than a decade and knew little about the evolving Upper Westside community. But through Emily, a resident of the Parkview neighborhood, and some exploring from her dad, the location became a clear choice. The team discovered a warehouse tucked on James Jackson Parkway near Bolton Road—  a space that would eventually become Everly Design Co.’s headquarters.

Ricci and her wife, Brie Taylor, eventually put down roots in the neighboring historic Whittier Mill community, where they now live with their one-year-old daughter, Pepper Mae. As Everly grew, so did their own family. Surrounded by neighbors, local businesses, and a close-knit community atmosphere. Kelley and Ricci are lifetime best-friends and were now beginning to live out a dream career together. 

“Ricci and I always dreamt up businesses and ideas growing up. It was fun to dream together as kids. For it to come full circle and become a reality has been truly something special,” Kelley explains. “When we started Everly Atlanta in 2021 it was just the two of us and Ricci’s parents executing this dream of hers. I learned so much about staging and real estate from Ricci, and I put my sales hat on and knowledge of Atlanta to help grow something we believed in. The relationships and connections we have made over the years are what I feel makes Everly so special. The team we have built and the work we do in our community. It’s a gift to help someone out during a stressful time like moving and selling a home, and I’m honored to be part of a brand who can make a difference to each client.”

Today, Everly has grown beyond traditional home staging into a contemporary design resource serving homeowners, realtors, designers, photographers, and even set designers. Their carefully curated inventory supports everything from luxury listings to creative productions while community warehouse sales have become highly anticipated local events. But for Ricci, beautiful spaces have never simply been about aesthetics. 

Home-staging sits at the intersection of two stories — the person preparing to let go of a place filled with memories and the person stepping through the door imagining a future inside it. Everly Design Co. understands both sides of that transition, helping homeowners present their spaces while helping future owners imagine where their own stories may begin.

When asked if Ricci often sees homeowners ever become more attached to their homes after seeing it is professionally staged, she laughs and admits that it happens more often than people might think. Still, she reminds clients that staging is created for a specific moment. “I remind our clients they don’t LIVE in a staged home,” she explained.

It’s true. Think about the difference between spending an entire day at home in pajamas curled up on the couch versus preparing your home to host friends and family for a holiday gathering. One is presentation; the other is lived comfort. Both matter, but they serve different purposes.

She explains, “There is a crossover between home organization and design.” In many ways, it reflects a less-is-more philosophy — not about perfection, but about creating spaces that feel intentional, organized, and easier to live in. “Home is more than shelter,” Ricci says. “It’s where people create memories.”

LEADERSHIP

That philosophy also shapes the culture she has intentionally built at Everly. As both the company and her family expanded over the past few years, Ricci discovered leadership brought a different responsibility than she initially expected. 

“When you’re starting a business, you’re focused on the clients and yourself because it’s just you,” she says. “Then your purpose shifts. Your people become your priority because without your people, you don’t have clients. Take care of your people so they can take care of your clients.” She credits open communication, extending grace through mistakes, and creating a workplace culture that people genuinely enjoy as some of the most important lessons she has learned as a leader. 

EVERLY GIVES BACK

That same heart extends beyond the walls of Everly through Everly Gives Back, the company’s initiative supporting families and individuals during times of transition. Projects have included redesigning therapy and conference rooms at Rainbow Village in Duluth and furnishing homes for families rebuilding their lives. One project especially remains close to Ricci’s heart: surprising a single mother and her children with a fully furnished home after completing a housing program.

As Everly continues growing in the Upper Westside, Ricci hopes neighbors see the company as more than a staging business. “We want to help and be part of local events.” She explains, “We want to be hands-on in supporting the community.”

For Ricci Taylor, finding home turned out to be more than discovering a neighborhood or building a business. It became creating spaces, relationships, and experiences where people, her team, and her family can belong.//

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“We’re a relatively small team, and each of us wears many hats — it’s a big part of what fuels our growth and success. And honestly, between Ricci, Kelley, and me, we’re just a trio of busy moms chasing a dream and helping people along the way.” - Emily Tender, Director of Operations
& Warehouse Services

“We know that the right space can lift spirits, spark healing and remind us that we are not alone. Together, let’s create home, hope and heart!” - Ricci Taylor, Founder & Owner

Photos: courtesy of Everly Design Co.

- before and after photos by Chad McCroskey of Honor Haus, builder of home is Field and Forge Development

- team photo by Sarah Alsati