WRITER | CANDIE CONAT
PHOTOS | ASHLEY AVILA
After spending six hours at an appointment to select one couch for a client — yes, just a single piece of furniture — Laura Davidson was frustrated. It was becoming increasingly inefficient for the interior designer to help clients design and accessorize their homes without a studio showroom. Finally, her husband Jeff said, “You should just open your own studio!” Fourteen years later, it has proved to be one of the best decisions they ever made for her interior design business. Jeff is a partner, having left his engineering career to run the business end of things behind the scenes. Laura’s spacious studio enables room-by-room staging to display an extensive array of quality home furnishings spanning a variety of price points and styles.
Laura has spent her life enjoying the creativity of interior design. Her business has grown almost entirely via words of praise spread by her clients. She began working on smaller projects and has graduated to working on homes as large as 8,000 square feet or more, across the state and beyond.
Laura begins the process with a new client by engaging in a client study. This involves conversations to reveal what is most important to the client – how they live, the personalities of the family, what features they anticipate most – all the while keeping in mind what the future might hold as the family transforms over the years. Many times, clients don’t know exactly what they want; it’s up to the experienced designer to help mold and shape the final result to match each client.
Laura and her three designers can create a variety of looks and styles, although each designer tends to have a unique flair. Laura herself gravitates to the fresh, crisp, clean, and comfy look. Laura is proud that her clients describe her finished homes as “welcoming, cozy, and truly functional.” She tries to be family-friendly and practical, yet timeless in her choices.
Between the designers and Laura’s hardworking team in the studio itself, this crew can handle anything you throw at them. Especially if you throw a pillow. In fact, Laura says they might well be considered pillow addicts, with their large, fun mix of decorative pillows. But when you visit, you will find far more than just pillows. You will find a selection of home décor for any taste: throw and area rugs of all shapes and sizes, lamps, artwork, mirrors, custom bedding, and window coverings, along with furniture for any room in the home – all from top names in the home furnishing world. And if they don’t have exactly what you’re searching for, they will find it; special orders are not a problem.
Laura and her designers specialize in following projects through to the very final detail, even making the beds with perfectly selected linens. They will be there during installation of custom window coverings to make sure everything is just right and coordinate with contractors for painting and other outsourced parts of the project.
Dwellings, Inc. 3730 44th Street, SW Grandville, MI 49418 l (616) 262-1035 l DwellingsInc.net
