Rhinebeck Violet Studio
Design, place, and the art of retreat
A botanical design studio creating interiors, objects, and guest experiences rooted in the history and landscape of the Hudson Valley.
Meet the Studio
Melisca Klisanin · Founder, Chief Designer & Creative Director
The Studio
Environments with beauty, memory, and a sense of belonging
Rhinebeck Violet brings together design, botanical history, art, and restorative experience.
The studio was created from a shared fascination with old houses, gardens, material culture, and the nearly forgotten story of the violet-growing industry that once shaped Rhinebeck.
Our work begins with place. We consider the history of a property, the atmosphere of its landscape, and the way a guest or resident should feel within it. From there, we build rooms and collections through art, books, textiles, objects, correspondence, color, and sensory detail.
Creative Leadership
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Melisca Klisanin
Founder, Chief Designer & Creative Director
An award-winning artist, designer, and experience curator, Melisca leads the visual direction of Rhinebeck Violet.
Her work has crossed residential and retail interiors, gardens and landscapes, product design, carpets, branding, and experiential environments. Her approach is grounded in a balance of simplicity and luxury, with close attention to scale, proportion, intimacy, and the way people move through and remember a space.
After building her career in New York, Melisca moved to Rhinebeck to devote more time to her artwork. There, the region’s forgotten violet history became the seed for a new creative practice—one rooted in botanical beauty, local memory, and the art of living well.
View Melisca’s Selected WorkSelected Work
A multidisciplinary practice across interiors, objects, landscape, and experience
Melisca’s body of work spans creative direction, residential and commercial interiors, custom carpets and furniture, gardens, hospitality, and immersive retail environments.
Selected Clients & Collaborators
Selected private clients, collectors, design firms, and creative collaborators from across Melisca’s practice.
Press & Recognition
A career across design, art, and material culture
Melisca’s work has been featured across design, interiors, lifestyle, and product publications. Her projects have ranged from private residences and retail environments to furniture, carpets, gardens, and original objects.
Explore the Full Portfolio
Melisca and Dana on the porch during their first winter at the house
The Beginning
A house, a landscape, and a forgotten floral history
Rhinebeck Violet began with a place before it became a studio.
When Melisca and Dana first encountered the old Rhinebeck house, it was weathered, imperfect, and surrounded by gardens waiting to be reclaimed.
As they began caring for the property, they discovered the story of the violet fields and greenhouses that once made Rhinebeck known far beyond the Hudson Valley. That history gradually became a lens through which to see the house, the landscape, and the possibilities of place-based design.
Read the Rhinebeck Violet Story
A Complementary Perspective
Dana Klisanin
Place-Based Experience Advisor
Melisca’s sister Dana brings a complementary perspective on nature, story, and the experience of place.
Drawing on her work in psychology, research, and nature-based wellbeing, Dana contributes local and ecological storytelling and insight into how environments can invite attention, restoration, and a deeper connection with their surroundings.
Our Approach
Design · Place · Experience
Design
Visual direction, interiors, objects, materials, and atmosphere led by an experienced designer and artist.
Place
History, landscape, architecture, and local botanical culture translated into a distinctive identity.
Experience
Sensory and restorative details that shape how guests pause, notice, feel, and remember.
Work With the Studio
Create a place people remember
Explore our botanical design concepts for hospitality, wellness retreats, private houses, guest suites, and rooms of retreat.