Simply Spaces
Kirkland, WA

Sydney Cooley learned to love the excitement (and chaos) of a house remodel by example. While she was growing up, her parents renovated every home they lived in and she would follow her dad around learning the ins and outs of carpentry, dry wall, tile installation and finish work. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Design from Bellevue College in Washington state, Sydney put her talents to use by designing an addition to her parents’ home that doubled the square footage and will allow them to age in place as they grow older.

Reflecting on why she chose the career path she did, Sydney, an Interior Designer with Kirkland, WA-based Simply Spaces since spring 2020, says, “What it all came back to was seeing how home improvements actually improved the lives of the people important to me. Making a career out of giving people a happier home, a better life, is the easiest decision I could make.” And it has been a win-win situation for both her and her employer. After just one year, Sydney increased Simply Spaces’ business by 33 percent. And in August 2021, she won 3^rd place in the Large Kitchen Category in the Puget Sound NKBA Design Competition—on her first lead project. 

“What it all came back to was seeing how home improvements actually improved the lives of the people important to me. Making a career out of giving people a happier home, a better life, is the easiest decision I could make.”

Her most memorable project, however, was a 4,700-square-foot home off of Lake Sammamish that didn’t have a single right angle in it—per the original architect’s design. “The only thing level at this home was the floor!” she recalls. “We worked with fearless clients who took the home back to the studs and worked to reshape it for their lifestyle. Needless to say, they have a few more 90-degree corners now and the home is beautiful.” 

Sydney, who currently volunteers as the Membership Chair of the NKBA Puget Sound chapter, describes herself as “ambitious” and says she’s open-minded in her own personal design style. “I can see the beauty in so many styles out there,” she says. “Some that resonate with me are Mid-Century Modern, Maximalism, Art Nouveau and Global.” 

In her free time, you might find Sydney hosting a weekly trivia night, paddleboarding or working on her own home, a 1946 Craftsman to which she and her partner, Daniel, are adding a primary suite. They also love to take their rescue pup, a Dutch Shepherd named Laska, out to the beach or on a hike on weekends and spend nights in with their two cats, Chamomile and Chrysanthemum. But Sydney says travel—Paris, Santorini and Porto, Portugal are favorite spots—is at the top of her life’s must-do list. “I want to see every expression of design that humankind has made,” she explains. “But my more grounded must do’s include starting an independent design business and creating a family of my own one day.”