STUDIO PROFILE + APPROACH
Rohe Creative is a Philadelphia-based interior design studio that specializes in creating concept-driven hospitality spaces. Our close-knit design team is youthful and inspired, with a diverse background of skills; from technical training in interior design and architecture to custom furniture design, art direction, styling, purchasing, and project management. Together we take a hands-on approach, guiding each project from concept to completion. We are not tied to any single style or period. We prefer to take a step back before thoughtfully approaching any new project, then fully immersing ourselves in that world to ensure each project tells its own, unique story.
K A T E
In 2001, Kate moved to Philadelphia from Bucks County to attend Moore College of Art + Design, where she received her BFA in 2005. While studying, she waited tables and poured cocktails in the evenings at Stephen Starr’s flagship restaurant, The Continental. Experiencing the impact and energy of the restaurant’s design firsthand further inspired Rohrer’s passion and continues to inform many of her hospitality projects to date, both operationally and aesthetically.
Rohrer started her interior design career in 2005 at Daroff Design and continued to cultivate her career at a boutique interior design studio in Philadelphia, alongside the founder. She worked on concepts for Starwood Capital Group, BR Guest Restaurants, Mina Group, MGM Grand, Starr Restaurants, LDV Hospitality, and the Ritz-Carlton Clubs.
In 2014 ROHE Creative was founded with a desire to create custom, detailed, and concept-driven spaces in her beloved city, Philadelphia. Rohrer has 16 years of experience in the hospitality design industry and brings a unique understanding of design past and present to the table. She can seamlessly blend styles, create strong conceptual narratives, and creatively approaches design challenges, project budgets, and schedules. She has led her female-owned and operated design studio through many award-winning projects and continues to receive accolades for the creation of compelling restaurant and hotel experiences, not just in Philadelphia, but beyond.
Rohrer was awarded 2017’s Best Restaurant Designer by Philadelphia Magazine, and has been featured in Food & Wine, Martha Stewart, Domino, Elle Décor, Wallpaper, Design*Sponge, Architectural Digest, Forbes, and Philadelphia Magazine’s 2019 New Power List. Recently she was honored by industry peers, Hospitality Design Magazine, as a recipient of their 2019 Wave of the Future Award.
In her free time, Kate can be found renovating her properties and hosting guests at the ROHEHOUSE BnB’s in Fishtown, Philadelphia, and The Poconos. She is a forever student; studying art, design, furniture, hospitality trends, and operations through her travel and explorations. When she’s not working you can find her on the beaches of Cape May, scouring antique stores and flea markets, and enjoying life with her ten-year-old son, Oliver, and two-year-old daughter, Dottie aka Dot-Dot.
H E A T H E R
Heather found her place at ROHE in 2021 after over 15 years of leading design in New York City. After fleeing NYC in order to get some breathing room in Philadelphia, she grew antsy working from home and yearned to connect with her new city and local creatives. She was introduced to Kate and ROHE via a friend of a friend and the rest is history.
Her industry experience brings the best attributes of large firm savvy while abandoning antiquated norms and expectations. Her attention to detail, communication, and organization could be considered neurotic, but she’s fun, so we let it slide. She has completed projects in retail, workplace, multi-family, broadcast, and hospitality sectors. Heather’s work has been featured in Interior Design magazine and garnered IIDA, Best of the Year (BOY), and NYCxDESIGN awards. Beyond her drive to design, she’s equally impassioned about running the studio to ensure all team members are kept blissfully busy and projects are delivered to the ROHE standard.
In her time outside of the studio, you can find her compulsively organizing and curating the home she shares with her husband and beloved pit bull, Franklin (the Bubs). She’s developed old lady tendencies early in life. Such activities include; league bowling with her Spare Naked Ladies teammates, evenings of competitive board game playing, and sharpening her nails to a point that any sassy, young-at-heart grandma would envy.
A N N I E
Annie received her BFA from the award-winning Savannah College of Art & Design over a decade ago. She honed her skillset at a multi-disciplinary architectural studio in Washington DC, and in 2018 she was ready for a change in scenery. After soul-searching to find a highly inspired, thoughtful, and like-minded design team she joined ROHE and happily relocated to Philadelphia. (Her words, not ours – and we are so glad she found us!)
Today, her client list today varies from local restaurant groups in DC and Philadelphia to large developers and hoteliers such as Brookfield Properties and Hilton Worldwide. She is passionate about creating memorable hospitality spaces and excels in storytelling, custom furnishings, and interior detailing. Harnessing her experience from her role within an architecture firm and branding agency, Annie continues to successfully liaise with architects and consultants to bring our design visions to life.
As Design Director, she leads our projects and studio, working with our clients and design team to actualize project goals and advance our expertise.
In her free time, Annie loves to travel both abroad and stateside. When she’s here in Philadelphia, you can find her spending time around the city or at home with her pup, Red. She is always looking for inspiration in music, vintage shopping, fashion, and culture.
S H A N N O N
Looking for a fresh start, Shannon found her way to us after 13 years at URBN, Inc. As a designer passionate about hospitality and a fellow alum from Moore College (joining Kate and Monica), her place at ROHE was written in the stars. In 2022 she took the leap and hasn’t looked back.
During her tenure at URBN, she designed and fulfilled a project management role for Urban Outfitters stores worldwide, from Vancouver to Tel Aviv and cities in between. Balancing projects of varying scales, her expertise spans from programming through construction, maintaining a detailed eye throughout the process. Lucky for us, she’s now applying this project management skillset here at ROHE and flexes into designer mode any time it’s needed. She brings the best of both worlds, so we dare not tether her abilities. Her passion for vintage is undeniable, which is apparent by the “had to buy” items she’ll bring into the studio for future project curation.
In her free time, you can find her kayaking down the Brandywine, renovating her Chaddsford fixer-upper, antiquing, or chasing her son Max through the woods.
R A E
Rae and Kate’s paths narrowly crossed as Rae worked at SLDesign shortly after Kate had made her move from the firm to begin her own venture. After hearing nothing but great things, Rae was an obvious fit for ROHE come 2019 when she was looking for a change.
After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from Philadelphia University, Rae studied abroad at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan, Italy. She has a high-end residential design background, including a renovation of a private residence published in Architectural Digest with Mona Ross Berman Interiors. During her time at SLDesign, she was able to gain hospitality design experience by working on a 120-guest room hotel as well as several food and beverage projects. She has since utilized this experience to complete hotel, restaurant, and multi-family projects here at ROHE.
As a Senior Designer II, Rae utilizes her incredible attention to detail to coordinate projects through fruition. She has a wealth of vendor resources that blend both residential and hospitality to perfection. She takes pride in carefully detailing custom furniture and has a keen eye for design trends and design classics.
She is ROHE’s most boisterous cheerleader, even if it’s coming from York, PA where she relocated with her family in 2021. In her free time, you can find Rae renovating her new home, and spending time with her husband Conor, daughter Vera and son Cal. And of course, singling along to Stevie Nicks as she makes her way into the studio to join the team or to check in on client projects.
D A N I E L
Daniel is an urban boomerang, relocating to Philadelphia after years of living and working in the design industry in New York City. After many Amtrak rides to New York from Philadelphia, Daniel decided it was time to look for somewhere local to flex his talents, and that’s where ROHE comes into the story.
After completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Interior Design at the School of Visual Arts, he ventured into commercial design. His notable projects range from the aforementioned first-class travel lounges for Amtrak, to BCC Studios Americas. This large-scale concept-driven project experience has provided Daniel with an arsenal of design prowess. Examples of his work can be found published within the pages of Interior Design magazine.
He brings his passion for furniture and materiality into the ROHE studio, resulting in an ever-present balance of masculine and feminine context.
In his recent move back to Philadelphia, you can find Daniel exploring his botanical passions, running the streets training for his next race, and exploring his hand in carpentry.
M O N I C A
Monica joined ROHE as an intern while in her senior year at Moore College of Art and Design in 2015. After two years of honing her professional design skills at an architectural and structural firm, she returned home (to us) and has been an integral part of the team since. As a project designer, Monica is a wealth of knowledge for all things FF+E, and visualizes ROHE’s designs by creating stunning in-house renderings. She is persistent in developing her eye for design and skillset while being a constant source of positivity with a hands-on approach. It’s nearly impossible to ask a question of Monica (aka Mon) that she doesn’t know the answer to when it comes to what’s where and how we can fix it.
She has taken on the official title of “plant lady” by turning our studio into a lush botanical jungle. Don’t attempt to claim a plant cannot be saved in front of Monica, that’s simply not an option.
She is fluent in Polish and in her free time you can find her renovating her very own, Mid Century Modern rancher and hanging with her cute as-can-be nephew Kamil.
E L L I E
While studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design, she was introduced to ROHE Creative through an internship opportunity in 2020. She quickly became part of the crew and we were sad to see her return and finish her senior year.
After graduating from SCAD, she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where she started her first job as a design consultant for a furniture manufacturing company. There she learned the importance of client relationships, the process of fabricating hand-made pieces, and the necessity of flexibility on a project. When it was time for a career change, Ellie couldn't imagine a better fit than with ROHE, and neither could we. Kicking off 2023, Ellie moved to Philadelphia to join the ROHE team as our Junior Designer and is excited to learn and grow in the creative world of hospitality design.
Outside of the studio, Ellie and her husband Craig are enjoying newly married life by exploring the Philadelphia restaurant scene as well as traveling to visit their entwined friend group in various cities across the country, all while debating the next-step life decision of "should we get a dog?"