The Designer & Host

Meet Lise Ellsworth

Interior Decorator | Hospitality Pioneer | Asheville Advocate

Lise Ellsworth
"I’m Lise—the interior decorator who saved a 1950s ranch home when everyone else was tearing them down, and the hospitality pioneer who started renting my home to strangers before 'Airbnb' was even a word."

With 20+ years of professional interior decorating experience, I’ve always believed in preserving what’s worth saving. In 2008, while living in the Virgin Islands, I discovered a mid-century ranch home in Asheville that others saw as teardown material. I saw good bones, vintage charm, and a piece of American architecture worth celebrating.

The Asheville Citizen-Times featured my renovation in “Giving Ranch a Chance,” documenting my vision for honoring the home’s 1950s heritage while adding modern luxury. That same year, they featured me again—for becoming one of Asheville’s first vacation rental pioneers.

My Current Life

I divide my time between Tampa, Florida (where I live with my boyfriend Ed, a retired airline captain and Air Force pilot) and Asheville. We fly our ICON A5 seaplane, run Liquid Runways LLC, and I continue my design work while writing for multiple publications.

As Featured In

The Asheville Citizen-Times

Before Instagram made renovations famous, this home was making headlines.

2008 Feature Article 1

"Giving Ranch a Chance"

Celebrated a vision for honoring 1950s architecture while adding modern luxury. This article documented the vaulting of ceilings and the creation of the custom mid-century porch.

2009 Feature Article 2

Vacation Rental Pioneer

Featured for the then-radical concept of renting a designed property to strangers. Documenting the beginning of what would become a 17-year legacy of hospitality.