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Hello there - I'm Miriam.
You know the room I mean.

The one you've repainted twice and it's still not right.

Or the part of the yard you walk past every day - the piece that's been half-finished since the year you started it.

You've looked at it long enough to know something's wrong, and long enough to be tired of not knowing how to fix it.
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Maybe it stalled because the number got big. Maybe you brought it up at home and heard it's fine the way it is. Maybe you started once and it came apart halfway through.

None of that is a failure. It's what happens without a plan you can actually act on.

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Three Ways to craft a game plan & make decisions
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Design Call — $200
​45 minutes  |  live video only, wherever you are
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  • For one clear question, or a decision you keep circling back to. We look at what you've got, talk it through, and you leave knowing your next step in the 45 minutes we're together.
  • Things like:  Which wall the sofa should actually go on. Whether that tree stays. What to do about a paint color you've already tried twice.​
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Design Session — $500
2 hours  |  on-site or live video
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  • Enough time for a whole room, a stretch of yard, or a problem with more than one moving part. We work through it together and sort out what happens next.  You leave with your decisions made and a clear order of operations, worked out in the two hours we're together.
  • Things like:  ​A kitchen that doesn't flow. A color scheme that screams 1990s - or the one that's just grey.  A patio nobody uses. A front yard that's never looked like anything. A house you're thinking about downsizing into.  
  • Includes one follow-up email exchange within 30 days.
  • Want something you can hold onto?  See the Add-Ons below.
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Design Day — $900
​4 hours  |  morning or afternoon  |  on-site or live video
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  • For a whole property, several rooms, or a project big enough that the pieces have to be decided in relation to each other.   You leave with the whole thing worked out - what happens, in what order - during the four hours we're together.
  • Things like:  A house and garden that need to work as one. A staging plan before you list. A remodel where every room touches the next.  A garden space that has no focal point.
  • Includes one follow-up email exchange within 30 days.
  • Want something you can hold onto?  See the Add-Ons below.
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➕Add-On to a Session or Day
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  • Consult Workplan — what we decided in writing, in what order, with the specifics, in language you can hand to a contractor. $350
  • Color Palette — custom to your home - interior or exterior, with chips. $350
  • Additional Time — ​available at $150/hour for work we've already started together.
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Booking Link - scroll down 👇🏼

You can get design advice for free.  here's the difference.
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The designer at the furniture store will help you plan a room. But she's paid when you buy the sofa.  She's selling furnishings, not good design.

The firm offering a free consultation is deciding whether your project is worth their time, and the advice is the sales call.  Designed to get you to buy up.

I have nothing to sell you afterward.

No furniture, no markup, no project I'm angling for.

You're paying me for how I think, my creativity, my experience, my time — which means I can tell you to keep the tree, live with the kitchen another year, or spend the money somewhere else entirely.

Before You book
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What every consultation includes
  • Time with me, and decisions you can act on
  • A complimentary paid annual subscription to Letters from The Whiskey Porch, sent afterward as a thank-you (for one year)
  • One follow-up email exchange within 30 days (Session and Day -only)

What a consultation isn't
A consultation is judgment, not production. There are no renderings, drawings, or construction documents, no revision rounds, no project management, and no product sourcing. Those belong to a full bespoke design package — and if that's what your project actually needs, I'll tell you plainly when you book your consult.

On-site or on video, same either way
  • A video session is live, not a questionnaire. You send photos, a bit of video, and/or rough measurements beforehand, and we walk through it together while we talk. Same time, same judgment, same price.
  • I work with clients via video calls across the US and Canada, and in the UK and Europe when the time zones line up - my mornings are your evenings.
  • And if you're somewhere the summers have gotten longer and drier than they used to be — that's the condition I've designed in for decades. You don't have to be in Arizona for this to be useful.

Travel
On-site sessions include travel within the Prescott, Arizona area. For properties further out, a modest travel fee may apply - I'll advise when I confirm your booking.

proof it works

​Twenty-five years of historic bungalows, awkward lots, and gardens that started as gravel. Some of it mine, most of it other people's. Every one of these started the same way - with a conversation about what to do first.  

Twenty-five years means I've already made most of the mistakes, so you don't have to.
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~ tap to open the image gallery to see the full progression, from before to after ~

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That one's mine, Juniper Hill Cottage in the high-country of northern Arizona.  More before and afters of client work is on the portfolio.

What people are saying
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... ​She was comfortable telling me 'no' if a certain plant would not do well in a certain spot. Her top priority is to design a landscape where plants will thrive, and homeowners will feel successful...
~ Jess E. | Prescott | via Google Reviews
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... After a review of what was bothering me about my yard, Miriam put together a plan for me that was achievable with my budget.
~ Denise P. | Prescott | via Google Reviews
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​She has fantastic ideas, and has a great eye for how to use and improve space.  She was so patient as we worked through the issues with our property!...
~ Emily K. | Prescott | via Yelp
Excerpted samples above - lots more and full reviews on the Testimonials page and on Google.

book your consultation
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​I take a limited number of consultations each season, on set days I hold for this work.   
  • Autumn dates run September through November.
  • Winter - December to February.
  • Spring - March to May.
  • Summer - June to August.

Each season's calendar opens up a few weeks before the season begins.   Announcements are always made on Letters from The Whiskey Porch and occassionally on other social media.

Pick from what's open and it's yours. 

Booking Policies
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  • ​Payment is due at booking.
  • I'll review what you've described and confirm within one business day - if a different length fits better, I'll tell you and explain why.
  • More time gets added at cost; less time gets refunded.
  • If we can't agree on scope, you get the full fee back.  
  • Reschedule freely with seven days' notice. Inside seven days, the fee is retained.
  • Be sure to read the Before You Book section above.
Not sure which consultation option to book? Email me at hello@thewhiskeyporch.com - tell me what you're working on and I'll tell you which of these makes sense.

FAQ's

  • Is my project too small for this? — No, and small is often where the biggest difference gets made.
  • What if we don't finish? — We stop at the time booked; additional time is available at $150/hour for work we've already begun.
  • What do I walk away with? — Your decisions, made. We work through the problem together and you leave knowing what you're doing and in what order. If you want it written down, the Consult Workplan is an add-on option for the Session and Day packages.
  • Do you work remotely? — Yes!  We can do a live video working session together; US and Canada freely, UK and Europe when time zones line up.
  • How does travel work? — The Prescott area is included.  There's a modest fee further out.  All confirmed at booking.
  • Can I reschedule? — Yes - things come up.  You can reschedule up to seven days before the appointment.  Inside seven days, the fee is retained.
  • Why isn't there a free consultation? — Because a free consultation is usually a sales call. The designer at the furniture store gets paid when you buy the sofa; the firm offering a free hour is deciding whether your project is worth their time. I have nothing to sell you afterward, which is what makes the advice worth paying for.  These consults are designed to be efficient, dedicated working sessions to help you make decisions.  I write extensively and share guidance on my Substack Letters from The Whiskey Porch, where you can sign up for free.  
  • How long do add-ons take? — Usually within 10 days from our consult time, often sooner.

not quite ready to make decisions?

Not ready for a consultation just yet?  No problem.

I write Letters from The Whiskey Porch every Friday — home, garden, simple living and the thinking behind both.   
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Are you working on something larger or more complex?  Bespoke Design Packages are the solutions for you.