People constantly say “she has a good eye…” Wow, is that shorthand. What they mean is she has the ability to offer a unique, personal and efficient solution to design problems in an holistic fashion. One that takes into account space planning, traffic patterns, shapes and voids (architectural elements, furnishings, art…) and utilizes all the senses (sound, lighting, color, texture, etc…) Human creativity and skill set honed to a point over the last 20 years.

“My designs are a lot like journal entries; they are a narrative of all that I have seen and noticed mixed with the soul of the client. It’s made of light and shadow, energy and form, the Yin and the Yang. It is more than surface deep, more than decoration. Interior architecture and space planning are at its core: a ‘good space’ can make you productive; it can heal; it can save money. When we walk in, we realize we are ‘writing’ an important story with our clients.”

Born in Virginia Beach, these seven cities that make up Hampton Roads are Susan Pilato’s passion. An entrepreneur for most of her life now, Susan got her design degree at Virginia Tech and immediately marched home to start practicing here. Pilato & Counts, in it’s 18th year, boasts beautification of such prestigious spaces as Towne Bank, Prudential Towne Realty, Towne Financial Services, Baker’s Crust, Fraim & Fiorella, P.C., Oast & Hook, and the Eastern Shore’s Bay Creek. When she’s not at work, Susan can be found boating or wakeboarding the Lafayette river with her husband Vince and son, Sam.