Shirley Slee
Known for her signature unique designs, Shirley Slee has built a loyal following in the San Diego community. By mixing the perfect blend of clean, yet warm elements, Slee understands what it takes to make a house a home. For Slee, it’s all about boldness, simplicity, and livability.
As Principle at Shirley Slee Design and as a Principle Agent at Shirley Slee Realty, Slee is proud to lead an expert team of realtors and designers who share her passion for exceeding her client’s needs. Her career began more than 20 years ago with the buying, designing, and selling of her own personal homes. In fact, she started flipping and renovating homes in Ventura County at the age of 19 with her late husband, John. They continued fixing, selling, and repeating the process all along the coast with their four children. 19 homes later, Shirley turned her passion into a full-time business about six years ago, making a name for her designs and her ability to change values in neighborhoods around Carlsbad, Oceanside, and La Jolla.
For Shirley, it’s all about finding the diamond in the rough. She can walk into a home and have a vision for a space within minutes, and the fortitude to see it to fruition. Over the years, Shirley has built a loyal following through her unique design esthetic. It’s easy to distinguish a Slee remodel thanks to her signature touches, including olive trees, swings, and cozy firepit gathering areas. Shirley doesn’t believe in fads, and prefers her designs to be timeless, using natural, tried-and-true materials such as natural stone, marble, wood, Venetian plaster, and lime-wash finishes on interior walls. She loves infusing Mediterranean design features, including color schemes made up of light and warm tones, as well as an extensive use of wood, iron, and plaster.
In addition to creating dream interiors, Shirley has also designed exterior hardscaping, landscaping, pools, outdoor kitchens, gardens, and vineyards. She loves incorporating Mediterranean elements outside, too, including olive trees, lavender, bougainvillea, and natural grasses. By working closely with architects and contractors, Shirley and her team can offer a plethora of services to assist clients throughout all stages of the buying, selling, renovating, furnishing of a home.
For Shirley, design and realty have always been a family affair, including the five projects she completed with her late husband and her brother. She currently lives in Carlsbad, California with her four children, including her oldest two, John and Sage, who also work with her by project managing and designing. When she’s not working, Shirley rechargers by resting, swimming, using the sauna, hiking, reading, and spending time with her children on family Sundays.
Shirley also has a second home in Bishop, California, where she was born and raised on the Bishop Paiute reservation. As a Pauite and Miwok Native American, Shirley is proud of her heritage and even practices many traditional ways of life, including basket weaving. Her Bishop home is located next door to her parents, sisters, and brothers, and she finds it to be the ideal place to heal, recharge, and reconnect with family.