Hi, I'm Michelle Leigh Roberts-O'Donnell
Designer | Realtor | Event Planner | Landscaper | Mom
My name is Michelle Leigh Roberts-O’Donnell. I am the founder and president of 82Rents, an event and landscaping company, Michelle Roberts O’Donnell Real Estate, and Michelle Leigh O’Donnell Interior Design. I love business, being creative, and working with clients one-on-one.
When I tell people I own three separate companies, I’m usually met with the question, “How do they all connect?” To me, it’s quite simple. Here’s my story.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved design, decorating, and style. When I was eight-years-old, I began experimenting with the contents of my dollhouse to find a better flow for its miniature family. To my parents’ dismay, I soon graduated to rearranging our home’s furniture. Ten years later, I won the unofficial title “Best-Looking Dorm Room” in college.
After graduating from Widener University, I traveled extensively in the U.S. and Europe for a nutrition management and consulting company, working alongside architects tasked with designing commercial kitchens and dining rooms at healthcare facilities.
My first entrepreneurial venture was 82 Rents, an innovative event and landscaping company. As the owner, I soon realized that part of the event planning process is dependent on re-engineering interior and exterior spaces in my clients’ homes to enhance their function. I began helping people renovate and stage their homes for major life events such as graduations, birthdays, family reunions, anniversaries, and more. Working with my clients one-on-one to bring their visions into events that surpassed their dreams became my passion.
During this time, with a continued realization for my love of design, I began my tenure teaching business classes as an Adjunct Professor at Drexel University’s Business and Design school.
Simultaneously, my husband and I began buying, renovating, designing, and selling properties in Cape May, New Jersey. Through this process, I learned about construction and what it takes to be an excellent project manager. My favorite endeavor was an 1890’s fisherman’s cottage, which was originally owned by a local sea captain. After researching the history of the cottage, I incorporated authentic fishing touches into the snug navy blue cottage for the new owners and their two dogs.
As our HGTV-type business grew, I realized becoming a licensed realtor in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to be able to offer my clients a one-stop shop for all things home-related. I love helping people find their dream homes as much as assisting them in their renovations for a buy-and-flip, or with staging and selling homes to the most qualified buyer.
What makes working with me unique my aim to understand each of my clients’ unique styles and to incorporate them into the interior design of their home.
Because you’ll receive services related to all things home, you can relax and focus on what really matters: making memories with those you love.
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
From purchasing and designing your dream home to event planning, Michelle Leigh Roberts-O’Donnell has a lifetime of experience in making sure everything moves along beautifully and smoothly.
Client Reviews
“I was extremely lucky to work with Michelle. Finding somebody with expertise in so many different disciplines, who could sense what I wanted when I couldn’t always articulate it, helped transform my home into exactly what I envisioned.”
~ Laura
“Michelle worked tirelessly after our closing, searching for furniture, décor, and soft goods in my budget that helped to transform the rooms. Many times, I had to tell her to get off her computer and go to bed. She even accompanied me on two furniture shopping trips.”
“Michelle is very conscientious and respectful of your style preference, budget, and deadlines. Her design skills and range are broad, unlike some other designers I worked with prior to Michelle. “
~ Jordan
