Charlene S Margot
Born and raised in Palo Alto, Charlene grew up in a home where art was considered a part of everyday living. As a child, she enjoyed creating art with her mother and sister, where there was always a project underway (oil painting, sewing, watercolor, mosaic, holiday décor, and more). Her brother’s travels to Florence, Italy and a book on Michelangelo inspired her lifetime love of classical art and architecture.
Charlene earned her B.A. with Honors at Stanford University with major studies in Psychology and Art History. She spent a year in Florence studying fine art and architecture with the director of the Uffizi Gallery. After graduation, Charlene indulged her love of children and education as a teacher at Stanford’s renowned Bing Nursery School. She directed the art program for the Las Lomitas School District, developing art curriculum for grades K-8 and training parents to teach art classes to young students.
Before establishing her design firm, Charlene enjoyed a successful career in education as a teacher and later as an educational software developer/technical writer for IBM in Silicon Valley. Called again to the field of art and design, Charlene established her firm, CSM Consulting, in 2004 to provide high-level interior design consulting to clients in the greater Bay Area. With projects in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside and San Francisco, Charlene delights in providing her clients with an aesthetic based on their own individual tastes and style. While practicing “The Art of Design,” she calls upon her background in psychology to help clients discover their own inner sense of design as expressed in furnishings, art, and accessories.
Charlene is an active community volunteer who frequently contributes her time and talents to local public schools and non-profits.