Community Highlights: Meet Kelly Velikonya Patel of Bold Interiors CLE

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Velikonya Patel.

Hi Kelly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Kelly Velikonya Patel, Founder and Principal Designer of Bold Interiors CLE, has built a career rooted in creativity, storytelling, and an instinct for creating spaces that connect with people. A Cleveland native, Kelly began her journey at the School of Fashion at Kent State University, where she developed a strong foundation in design and visual storytelling before pursuing a career in the fashion industry that would span more than two decades.

Over 20 years in fashion, Kelly held executive roles with renowned fashion houses Christian Dior and kate spade, experiences that shaped her design sensibility and sharpened her eye for detail, presentation, and brand storytelling. Her passion for fashion visual merchandising and store displays allowed her to craft immersive environments that drew people in, an experience that would later become the foundation for her work in interiors.

Kelly’s educational and professional journey also took her to global fashion capitals including Paris, Milan, and New York City, where she developed a worldly perspective on design, aesthetics, and the emotional power of well-crafted spaces.

Over time, Kelly began to see an opportunity to translate her visual merchandising expertise into the world of interiors. The same principles that make a retail display compelling, composition, color, texture, storytelling, and flow, could be applied to homes and commercial environments. Recognizing the growing importance of presentation in real estate, she envisioned a new path that combined her creative background with her entrepreneurial spirit.

Taking a leap of faith, Kelly founded Bold Interiors CLE, launching the business with a focus on home styling and staging. What began as a passion project quickly grew into a full-service design and staging studio serving clients across Northeast Ohio. Today, Bold Interiors CLE offers a range of services including residential interior design, real estate staging for homeowners, realtors, investors, and builders, as well as styling for commercial spaces.

Kelly’s approach to design is deeply personal and client-focused. Known for creating warm, welcoming interiors, she blends old and new pieces, embraces bold colors and patterns, and carefully curates spaces that reflect the people who live in them. For Kelly, great design isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about creating environments that evoke emotion and truly feel like home.

In addition to running her growing design studio, Kelly remains connected to the academic community as a part-time instructor at Kent State University School of Fashion, where she shares her industry knowledge and experience with the next generation of creatives. She also helped establish the School of Fashion Alumni Chapter, further strengthening the connection between students and the professional design world.

Today, Kelly continues to draw inspiration from the vibrant culture, architecture, and creative energy of Cleveland, where she lives with her family and continues to grow Bold Interiors CLE. What started as a leap into entrepreneurship has evolved into a thriving design and staging studio celebrating five years of helping clients transform their spaces with heart, personality, and thoughtful design. ✨

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting a business from the ground up can be both challenging and daunting. It requires taking a real leap of faith in yourself and trusting that your passion, work ethic, and vision will carry you forward. My background is in fashion, so transitioning into interiors and home styling felt like a natural extension of my creative instincts, but it still came with a steep learning curve. There was so much to learn, not just about design, but about building and running a business.

I’ve approached those challenges with a growth mindset, viewing every experience as an opportunity to learn and improve. Networking within my community and building strong relationships has been incredibly important as well. Those connections have helped open doors, provide support, and create meaningful collaborations along the way. By staying curious, adaptable, and willing to take risks on myself, I’ve been able to navigate adversity and grow the business to reach an exciting milestone, celebrating five years.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
What Bold Interiors CLE Does

At Bold Interiors CLE, we are a full-service interior design and styling studio serving clients throughout Northeast Ohio. Our work focuses on creating thoughtful, welcoming spaces through residential interior design, home styling, and professional staging for real estate. We partner with homeowners, realtors, investors, and builders to design interiors that feel both beautiful and authentic to the people who live there.

Our services include residential interior design, styling and decorating, home staging for occupied and vacant homes, and design support for commercial spaces. We also work with homeowners preparing their homes for sale, editing and enhancing existing furnishings or providing full staging to help properties stand out in the market.

What truly sets Bold Interiors CLE apart is our approach. We are active listeners first and designers second. Every project begins with understanding our clients, how they live, what they love, and the story they want their home to tell. Our goal is never to impose a signature look, but to reflect our clients’ personal style in a way that feels natural and authentic.

We’re known for creating spaces that feel collected and curated rather than overly styled, homes that feel lived in and layered with meaning. Our designs often mix old with new, combining vintage pieces with modern elements to create warmth, personality, and depth. We also embrace bold colors, playful patterns, and eclectic combinations that bring energy and individuality into a space.

Another area we’re especially known for is designing imaginative, personality-filled children’s spaces. These rooms are designed to inspire creativity and grow with the child while still feeling cohesive with the overall home.

Ultimately, our work is about creating interiors that evoke emotion, spaces that are welcoming, personal, and truly reflective of the people who call them home. ✨

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Over the next five to ten years, the interior design and staging industry will continue to evolve alongside changes in the housing market. With rising home prices and limited housing inventory, many homeowners are choosing to invest in the homes they already have rather than move. As a result, we expect to see continued growth in remodeling, updating, and refreshing existing spaces to better suit how people live today.

At the same time, presentation will remain a critical factor in real estate. As competition increases in both the resale and new construction markets, staging will continue to play a major role in helping properties stand out. Thoughtfully designed and staged homes not only photograph better and attract more buyers, but they also help sellers achieve stronger offers and faster sales.

We also anticipate continued demand for staging across multiple sectors, including new builds, resale homes, and investment properties. Builders and developers are increasingly recognizing that professionally designed model homes help buyers visualize the potential of a space, while investors rely on staging to maximize the return on their renovations.

Ultimately, as buyers become more design-aware and visually driven through digital platforms and online listings, the role of both interior design and staging will only become more important. Homes that are thoughtfully designed, styled, and presented will continue to command top-dollar returns and create stronger emotional connections with buyers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.boldinteriorscle.com
• Instagram: @boldinteriorscle @boldstyled
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boldinteriors/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bold-interiors-cle/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bold-interiors-cle-willoughby-4