1. Who are you and where are you located?

I'm an high-end residential interior designer specializing in multi-million dollar new construction design and multi-hundred thousand dollar renovation design.  Since March of 2008, my partner, Erin Weir and I have been educating interior designers and decorators online with practical marketing and business classes that the schools don't have time to teach.

2. Do you provide online services in addition to offline services?

Our services were entirely offline when we were actively doing interior design work.  With our new business, Design Success University, we are offering only online services.

3. What is your favorite room to design, and in which style?

I love bathrooms since you've asked me about one favorite room.  We've done everything from contemporary to ultra traditional, and they are all fun.  I love the challenge of working in small spaces or borrowing space from adjoining rooms to create luxurious boutique hotel spa baths for our residential clients.  The most over the top project we did for a master suite was about $250,000 just for the bathroom.  It included the multi-head shower/steam room with intricate mosaics and millwork.  I also love powder baths because they can tell the story of the unique client's personality.

4. Tell us about your career; how has it unfolded?

I began as a manufacturer's representative with a Fortune 500 company many years ago, and I called on architects and designers to help them specify our products.  After that, I worked for a flooring distributor, again calling on architects, designers, and also commercial subcontractors.  Then I worked for a subsidiary of American Airlines and helped to design two commercial spaces.  After I moved to Denver and married, my friends flew me around the country to design their homes.  So, I finally went back to school and got my interior design degree.  By the time I was in my last semester, I was taking 18 hours and working full time on my own projects. I started my own firm during school.  There were 8 people in my firm at our peak in 2001, and we did close to a million dollars of revenue before 9/11 hit.

5. What sort of projects do you work on?

My passion is construction and renovation with a specialty in bathroom, tile and millwork design.  I've worked with modest budgets up to unlimited budgets...they are all fun.  We even did two fix and flips a few years ago before the real estate market crashed.

6. What has been your key to success?

My business background, insatiable desire to learn and improve as well as my determination and selling skills would be the keys.

7. When you view a vendor’s website, what is the most important factor when deciding to buy an item, i.e. photographic presentation, accurate description, quality, design, location etc.?

A relationship with my vendor is the most important factor after I find the right style and quality of products.  The website has to be easy to navigate and use.  Flash is not a good idea for most sites because of the time it takes to load the images. 

8. What advice do you have for someone with a new house to decorate and perhaps a limited budget?

Start with the easy things - paint is the best option because you can make such a dramatic change.  Restyle by moving items from different rooms and rearranging the furniture in new ways.  Pick one or two treasured objects or rugs as the basis for your design, and keep your palette simple.  Three colors at most.  One dominant with 60% of the palette, 30% for the secondary color and 10% for the accent.  Don't match everything perfectly. 

9. What are the most common decorating mistakes made by homeowners? How would you correct those mistakes?

Don't match everything perfectly...it looks to contrived.  Come close on the colors and be adventurous.  The second big one is a problem with scale.  Invariably, many people that do their own work have furniture that is too large or too small for the space.  The third big mistake is designing to impress someone else.  Please yourself...and go for comfort.

10. Most of us are always eager to know about the latest color, design, and furnishing trends. What design trends can homeowners incorporate into their interiors that are up-to-date but classic?

If you keep the majority of your large pieces in neutrals with classic or transitional (between contemporary and traditional) styling, and use accent pillows and accessories that work with the trends, you'll keep your budget under control.  Personally, I like timeless design.  I have a client from 11 years ago that asked me to come and "freshen" her place.  All we did was repaint the same color, clean everything and do some minor lighting changes.  It still looks as current today as it did when we designed it.

11. What is the best way to transition your home from season to season, such as summer to fall?

Slipcovers and pillows are great.  You can also get inexpensive outdoor rugs for the summer and put away your dark, heavy rugs.  Paint a new accent color somewhere in your home to "spice" it up and create a new and dramatic focal point.  Rearrange what you have.  Edit for the summer, and add your accessories back for the colder seasons.

12. Which design project has been your overall favorite and why?

That's so hard to answer.  Many are my favorites...I'll pick three.  One was a nearly $5M spec home.  I designed every last detail of the interior and exterior, and redesigned much of the architecture.  Another one was a high-rise condo with completely custom furniture throughout with fabulous art and lighting.  The third one is a master suite redo for a $300,000 home.  The client spent about $100,000 and took a boring white bathroom and we created an incredible spa retreat with a huge closet...of course with heated floors and fabulous lighting.  The bed linens were like a ball gown...shimmering under the contemporary crytal chandelier.

13. What do you think of the Design Style Guide website?

It is terrific.  The site is well laid out and easy to navigate.  The clean backgrounds are perfect for showcasing the art.  Great job!

 

 

Gail Doby, Design Success University, LLC

Website:http://www.DesignSuccessU.com

Contact Info: info@designSuccessu.com

Other: http://www.Twitter.com/gaildoby

 

*Note: All pictures are from Gail's portfolio -published with her permission and are subject to copyright.

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