Growing up in Highlands with both parents running local construction companies—her father owns Highlands Construction; her mother owns Allyson Builder – Marlee McCall Beres seemed destined for a career in building and design.
From a young age, she was immersed in the job-site rhythm, filing paperwork as soon as she was old enough and spending her high school years delivering materials.
“I was always on job sites, got to meet clients,” she recalls. She began to see the complicated, often fraught relationship between architects, contractors, and clients, and set her sights on bridging that divide.
This early exposure shaped her academic and professional path. At UNC Charlotte, she earned both undergraduate and master’s degrees in architecture.
But rather than diving straight into design, Marlee deepened her construction fluency, working in robotic wood panel manufacturing and virtual framing.
Her aim: to “break down the architecture-contractor relationship” by learning both sides intimately – how ideas are drawn and how they actually get built.
In 2021, Marlee launched Red Fox Design Shop. The practice focuses on complex residential renovations in Highlands and the Mid-Atlantic, where she now lives.
“I definitely bring value in being able to coordinate with people and get to the essence of their ideas,” she says. “Then I can translate those ideas into a space that really works.”
One recent project involved connecting two existing structures with a light-flooded hallway – a seemingly simple gesture that completely transformed the feel of the home. Another favorite required installing an elevator at a home on the Highlands Country Club, with the machinery presenting itself prominently on the main façade. It was a project that called for technical finesse and design sensitivity in equal measure.
Marlee calls herself a problem solver at heart. “I work on layout again and again until I get something that checks the most boxes – but I always keep the way it looks and feels at the forefront.”
Her process is iterative and deeply collaborative. “I assume there will be several rounds of changes. That’s part of the work.”
Humility, learned in her family’s business, anchors every project.
“No matter how long you’ve been doing this, problems will arise. But if you can confront them without letting ego get in the way you can deliver a better product.
It’s this practical, hands-on ethos that sets Red Fox Design apart. They get a partner, a problem solver, and a tireless advocate.
Pictured | Marlee McCall Beres
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