Abigail Horace Designs with Wellness in Mind
By Jamie Marshall
Photographs by Nick Glimenakis 

 Abigail Marcelo Horace came to design at a young age. Growing up in Queens, she spent weekends exploring Manhattan’s iconic buildings with her father, an avid photographer. What she loved most was seeing the interiors. As a teenager she watched home makeover shows incessantly, and frequently changed her room around on a whim—even down to the paint color. “It drove my parents crazy,” she says. These experiences taught her to design with joy and exuberance—and taught her the importance of following her gut. 

Horace graduated from the New York Institute of Technology with a degree in interior design in 2010. She spent nearly a decade working for residential firms in New York City. It was fast, frenetic and stressful—“there was an urgency to every project,” she says—and by 2019, she and her husband knew they wanted a different quality of life.

They took a leap of faith and moved to Falls Village, not far from a college friend. She spent a year as a senior designer at Hendricks Churchill in Sharon before taking another leap of faith and launching her own firm, Casa Marcelo.  

Initially she worked out of a space in Falls Village, near where she and her husband were living. She has since moved the business to a spacious, light-filled historic building in Salisbury. As a testament to her talent and hard work, the 37-year-old designer was named to Frederic Magazine’s 2024 It List of young designers. “It means a lot to me to be recognized for my designs based on merit and not as a popularity contest,” Horace says.

Although her personal style runs to mid-century modern, over the years she has found inspiration in the work of numerous designers, including Charlotte Perriand, Chango and Co., and Kelly Wearstler. “Kelly is very good at designing unique furniture and lighting,” Horace says. “I source her items constantly to get a unique look into a space.”

One of the things that sets her apart as a designer is her commitment to wellness in all areas of her life, especially when it comes to a work-life balance. “There have been times when I’ve been completely burnt out in my career. It’s about giving myself grace,” she says.

She gives her clients grace, too. “Renovation projects can be overwhelming,” she says. “A lot of my clients are working moms. If I can take one thing off their plate, that’s huge to me. My goal in design is to create a comfortable, effortless, and serene space for my clients.”

That’s something she experienced growing up as the daughter of first-generation Americans (she is part Panamanian and part Dominican), especially from her Dominican grandmother. “She had ten kids in the Dominican Republic, and she still found a way to feed the rest of the kids in the neighborhood who were hungry,” says Horace. “She was giving and warm and kind, and those are the kinds of characteristics I want my clients to feel.”—casamarcelo.co