It takes a lot of pluck to go from working out of the trunk of a car to
running an internationally recognized design firm pulling in between
$10 million to $20 million annual revenue. And Dawn Kearney Davidson,
owner and president of San Diego-based Design Line Interiors, has just
that kind of determination and ambition. Indeed, it's propelled her
design company to be a leader in commercial, hospitality and high-end
residential design, with a focus on the design and
merchandising of model homes, sales centers and
clubhouses.
Though the Southern California native originally
attended San Diego State University to be a doctor,
Davidson took the advice of her mother -- "to
follow my heart" -- and transferred to Woodbury
University in Los Angeles where she graduated
with a B.S. in Interior Design and Architecture.
Quite simply, "I fell in love," she says.
That love birthed the company in 1985, but like any
good success story, Davidson's career had a rocky
start. While still freelancing, she lost a customer's
deposit when a furniture
company folded. Her drive to
make it up to the customer, a
bank, impressed a man there
so much that he introduced
her to some investors willing
to give her a risky loan. "So
I started the company, paid
him back in six months, and
was off and running."
Davidson went from picking
up three different model
home complexes to designing
corporate offices and a
private yacht in Holland. Once
KB Home signed her firm to
do near exclusive design for
its communities, business
crisscrossed the country and
globe. Soon D.R. Horton,
Lennar, Brookfield Homes
and Shea Homes were calling.
What these companies saw,
according to Davidson, was
her "willingness to get the job
done."
"I think that
deposit when a furniture
company folded. Her drive to
make it up to the customer, a
bank, impressed a man there
so much that he introduced
her to some investors willing
to give her a risky loan. "So
I started the company, paid
him back in six months, and
was off and running."
Davidson went from picking
up three different model
home complexes to designing
corporate offices and a
private yacht in Holland. Once
KB Home signed her firm to
do near exclusive design for
its communities, business
crisscrossed the country and
globe. Soon D.R. Horton,
Lennar, Brookfield Homes
and Shea Homes were calling.
What these companies saw,
according to Davidson, was
her "willingness to get the job
done."
"I think that Design Line is
known for its creativity and passion," she says. "We have
very frenetic time lines. We work under driving rain, muddy
roads, in houses that are incomplete where tile is being
laid and paint is being painted, but there’s a grand opening
advertised that we have to get done. And we do it."
Dawn and Design Line Interiors have earned local, regional
and national recognition, including the coveted industry
SAM, MAME, MIRM and ELAN awards. In 2008, Davidson
was inducted into the Building Industry Association’s Hall of
Fame; she is only one of five women to receive this honor in
35 years. She has served on the BIA’s Board of Directors, acted
as chairperson for numerous Industry Awards programs, citywide
industry functions and charitable events, and earned
the title of Building Professional of the Year and Design
Professional of the Year.
Designed In Line with a Building’s Needs
There is no one "style" that Davidson and her 15-person company
do. Instead, she likes to take cues from the structure itself.
"What I love is staying with the integrity of the architecture. I
think architecture drives design."
An example of this approach is her work with ColRich's
CopperWood community in La Costa Oaks. "They wanted something
outside the box ... So we had contemporary furnishings
that stayed warm and comfortable and connected to the exterior
more traditional architecture. It was through warmth, color,
material, with a softer line design," she explains. "We can design
to any attitude and style long as we find the bridge between interior
and exterior."
Working in California, green design is always on her mind. "We’ve
been green for a long time; we just get greener and greener. In
other places, it will be like someone dressing but forgetting their
socks to go in freezing cold weather
― you won’t do that, or
design without green."
Of course, her approach varies with the space. With a model home,
Davidson usually receives a complete market study from a builder
that allows her to imagine the people who will live there and design
to them. For corporate offices, Davidson has to study the space itself
and see how the workers do their job -- who needs to be near whom
and what. "The space planning of the interior of an office building
is very calculated, scientific in its approach to human living. Lighting
is imperative. It’s a much more organized way of thinking. You still
have the creativity, you just think differently about it."
As for resorts, "That’s very fun," she says. "Hospitality is creating
the dream for those visiting. It’s meant to take people away from
the everyday. It’s got to be fresh and invigorating, stimulating."
But it's not all lighting and throw pillows; it's the construction
phrase where the design team gets down and dirty. "It’s important
to coordinate it upfront, be on-site with framing stages," she
explains. "You might forget duct work, or how sun really hits the
space, so to maximize cooling you have to be there."
Lining Up the Projects
In today's climate, Davidson says Design Line has its hands in
everything it can throughout Orange County and beyond: several
model home projects, a club house, about four private residencies,
a couple small rehab boutique hotels. "In the past we had
mostly concentrated in the new home business, but the economy
has made it very challenging."
No matter what the climate, Davidson counsels "holding to your
vision, and always grasping where you came from, talking what
you learned through all the ups and downs of life and pushing
those experiences in who you want your company to be." It's a
life design that's proved for Davidson, and Design Line, to be more
than a window dressing.