There is nowhere else like Golden Oak. The only private residential community on Walt Disney World property in the world, it sits inside one of the most meticulously maintained and purposefully designed environments ever created — and the homes within it are built to a standard that reflects that extraordinary context. I am Marilou Stones, an award-winning, licensed interior designer with 40 years of experience working across Central Florida’s finest residential properties. Designing inside Golden Oak is, for a designer, one of the great privileges this region offers — and I bring to every project here the full depth of my experience, my attention to detail, and my genuine appreciation for what makes this community so exceptional.
Golden Oak homeowners are not a single type. Some are families for whom Disney is woven into the fabric of their lives and their identity. Others are collectors of extraordinary experiences, drawn by the rarity and the access that come with an address like this. What they share is a refusal to accept anything less than the best — in the community they have chosen, in the home they have built, and in the interior that makes that home their own. That is the standard I hold myself to on every project I take on here.
Professional Experience
Interior Design
State of Florida
Professional Body
Multiple Awards
US, Mexico, UK
A complete and discreet interior design service — delivered to the standard that Golden Oak demands and the community’s design guidelines require.
Designing inside Golden Oak requires more than technical expertise — it requires a designer who understands the community’s character, can work within its design framework, and brings a standard of quality and care that is equal to the investment the property represents. I am based in Winter Garden, just minutes from the Golden Oak entrance, and I have spent 40 years building a practice across Central Florida’s most significant residential projects. I know this landscape, I understand these homes, and I have the experience to work at the level Golden Oak demands.
Whether you are designing a forever home, renovating a property you have lived in for years, or furnishing a vacation rental that needs to impress from the first listing photo, I bring the same level of care and expertise to every project.
Golden Oak’s neighbourhoods — Carolwood, Golden Oak, and Silverbrook among them — each carry a distinct architectural character, from the shingle-and-stone warmth of the Craftsman and cottage-inspired homes to the more formal lines of the estate properties. The community’s design standards are intentional and exacting, and the landscape that surrounds every home has been created to a level of refinement that most residential developments never approach. Designing an interior for a Golden Oak home means working with all of that — taking a property that is already extraordinary and making it, in every detail, unmistakably yours.
The interiors I create for Golden Oak are not generic luxury — they are specific to the architecture, the neighbourhood character, the natural light, the life the family intends to live there, and the experiences that make this community what it is. Whether the home is a primary residence, a vacation estate, or something in between, the interior must work at every level — beautiful enough to do justice to the setting, functional enough to live in fully, and personal enough to feel like home.
I offer a complete interior design service for Golden Oak homeowners — including full estate design from concept through to completion, new construction projects covering structural and finish selections through to complete furnishing and styling, whole-home renovation, bespoke furniture procurement through domestic and international sources, and guest suite, entertainment, office, and lifestyle space design. I also work within Golden Oak’s architectural review process and can coordinate directly with Disney’s design and community management teams where required. Every engagement is tailored entirely to the scope, character, and vision of the individual project.
Yes. Golden Oak operates within a design framework that reflects Disney’s commitment to the community’s character and standard of finish — and I work within that framework with respect and precision. My role is to create an interior that is entirely personal to you while honouring the architectural language and community standards that make Golden Oak what it is. I have experience working within design-review environments and understand how to navigate the process smoothly and professionally.
Many Golden Oak homeowners use their home in multiple ways — as a primary residence, as a vacation estate, as a gathering place for family and guests, or as all of these things across a single year. I design with that full spectrum of use in mind: spaces that feel equally at home for a quiet Tuesday morning and for a celebration with fifty guests; layouts that work for the adults who own the property and the children and grandchildren who fill it; and a level of material quality and finish that holds up to full-time use without ever looking like it is trying too hard. The best Golden Oak interiors feel effortless — and effortless takes considerable effort to achieve.
There is simply nothing else like it. Every other luxury community in Central Florida — Isleworth, Keene’s Point, Windermere’s finest addresses — exists within the normal real estate world. Golden Oak exists within Walt Disney World, which means it has been designed, maintained, and curated to a standard that no private developer has ever matched. The landscape is extraordinary. The community management is extraordinary. The access and the experience of living there are extraordinary. Designing an interior for a home in this setting is one of the great opportunities this profession offers — and I approach every Golden Oak project with the seriousness and the joy that it deserves.
Ready to transform your space? Let’s talk about your
home and bring your vision to life — with a design that is
as functional as it is beautiful.
Marilou Stones is an award-winning, licensed interior designer and ASID member serving Winter Garden and Central Florida for over 40 years.
Monthly Florida design ideas, straight from Marilou’s studio.
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