Pros Share Their Proudest Moments of 2022
Meeting challenges, expanding teams and giving back brought pros on Houzz satisfaction this year
The past year threw hard challenges at professionals in the home design and remodeling industry, but they still came out on top. Proudest accomplishments among this group included expanding their in-house design-build teams, making new connections in their fields and changing their clients’ lives for the better. Please keep the conversation going by sharing your proudest moments of 2022 in the Comments.
Sometimes design pros decide their goal is to let go and designate some tasks to employees. Interior designer Jena Bula of Delphinium Design in Charlotte, North Carolina, found that a new hire helped her better balance her time.
“Leading up to 2022 I set a few goals for myself, and one of them was to find ways to delegate tasks that take up a lot of time but can be done effectively by someone else,” she says. “In January of 2022, I hired our amazing social media manager, and having her as part of my team has been a game changer! She took over the role of running our social media as well as composing our monthly newsletter and blog. She’s been such an asset to the team and freed up a lot of time, which we’ve reinvested in design and project management. This has allowed us to take on more clients and spend more time invested in the project details.”
Seen here is a relaxing living room project the designer completed in 2022.
“Leading up to 2022 I set a few goals for myself, and one of them was to find ways to delegate tasks that take up a lot of time but can be done effectively by someone else,” she says. “In January of 2022, I hired our amazing social media manager, and having her as part of my team has been a game changer! She took over the role of running our social media as well as composing our monthly newsletter and blog. She’s been such an asset to the team and freed up a lot of time, which we’ve reinvested in design and project management. This has allowed us to take on more clients and spend more time invested in the project details.”
Seen here is a relaxing living room project the designer completed in 2022.
Atlanta interior designer Reka Jemmott was most jazzed about making new connections to expand her business and her knowledge this year. “I have been most proud of learning about new products and making new business partnerships,” she says.
She was also happy to find new ways to market herself. This included being on a podcast and being chosen for a Bathroom of the Week story on Houzz. That bathroom is seen here.
She was also happy to find new ways to market herself. This included being on a podcast and being chosen for a Bathroom of the Week story on Houzz. That bathroom is seen here.
Bainbridge Island, Washington-based architectural designer and ADU expert Lucas Gray’s most satisfying accomplishment of 2022 was getting a strong start on a personal project. The project also yielded the satisfaction of stretching from designing into building.
“My wife [an architect] and I purchased some land and started designing ourselves a new house. The goal was to keep it relatively small and efficient with an emphasis on sustainability and natural materials,” says Gray, pictured. They are currently developing the construction documents, getting cost estimates and working through permitting hurdles.
“My wife [an architect] and I purchased some land and started designing ourselves a new house. The goal was to keep it relatively small and efficient with an emphasis on sustainability and natural materials,” says Gray, pictured. They are currently developing the construction documents, getting cost estimates and working through permitting hurdles.
Because the permitting process will take months, they designed a small cabin on the property to live in during construction and have begun building it themselves. The cabin is seen here and in the previous photo.
“Building it is a whole new learning experience,” Gray says. “It is a small, 200-square-foot cabin, but it will have large sliding glass doors that open up the space to the surrounding forest. The close connection to nature and outdoor living spaces will make it a fun place to be as we finalize the main house.” They have a lot to look forward to in 2023.
“Building it is a whole new learning experience,” Gray says. “It is a small, 200-square-foot cabin, but it will have large sliding glass doors that open up the space to the surrounding forest. The close connection to nature and outdoor living spaces will make it a fun place to be as we finalize the main house.” They have a lot to look forward to in 2023.
Greg Koehler, owner of Richmond, Virginia, landscape design-build firm Outdoor Dreams, focused on expanding his in-house team to complete projects this year. As the size and scope of the projects have grown, so have the different ranges of skills the team members require.
“As a company, our goal has always been to do as much of the work required for our projects as possible using our own in-house labor instead of subcontractors,” Koehler says. “Over the last five years, our project scopes have grown considerably and we’ve had to expand the use of subcontractors to include carpentry, masonry and pool services. After bringing carpentry services in-house a few years ago, we were able to bring both masonry and pool installation in-house in 2022. Using predominantly in-house labor allows us to control costs and our construction schedule, resulting in a better experience for our clients.”
One of their projects, a Masters Tournament-inspired pool landscape, is pictured above.
“As a company, our goal has always been to do as much of the work required for our projects as possible using our own in-house labor instead of subcontractors,” Koehler says. “Over the last five years, our project scopes have grown considerably and we’ve had to expand the use of subcontractors to include carpentry, masonry and pool services. After bringing carpentry services in-house a few years ago, we were able to bring both masonry and pool installation in-house in 2022. Using predominantly in-house labor allows us to control costs and our construction schedule, resulting in a better experience for our clients.”
One of their projects, a Masters Tournament-inspired pool landscape, is pictured above.
“I have always recognized the power of advertising and marketing and their benefits. However, I did not commit too much time for this sector of my design business. It was not until this year that I recognized the importance of marketing,” Toronto-based interior designer Diana Bastone says. “I had the pleasure of being a part of Houzz TV to share a recent home we completed [pictured here]. I was so amazed at the positive feedback from this episode. I had people reach out interested in design services that were outside of Toronto. The power of marketing!”
Principal architect Dan Nelson of Designs Northwest Architects found his Camano Island, Washington, firm stretching beyond its usual specialty of single-family custom houses in 2022. “Now we are starting to see more multifamily and mixed-use projects coming into our office as our area of the state is continuing to grow,” he says. “We are currently working on two supportive housing projects for homeless families.”
Some of the firm’s proudest moments also involved giving back to the community. “Every year we take on a certain amount of pro bono or reduced-rate community projects,” Nelson says. “This year we have participated in the renovation of an art pavilion we did for the local Chamber of Commerce 25 years ago, helped with preliminary planning for the expansion of a synagogue and did preliminary design for a prayer pavilion for a local Methodist Church.” The art pavilion is pictured here.
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Some of the firm’s proudest moments also involved giving back to the community. “Every year we take on a certain amount of pro bono or reduced-rate community projects,” Nelson says. “This year we have participated in the renovation of an art pavilion we did for the local Chamber of Commerce 25 years ago, helped with preliminary planning for the expansion of a synagogue and did preliminary design for a prayer pavilion for a local Methodist Church.” The art pavilion is pictured here.
Share: What were some of your proudest moments in 2022? Please share them in the Comments.
More for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Learn about Houzz Pro software
Talk with your peers in pro-to-pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
He also found that 2022 was a year when his firm could select clients who cared about design and sustainability, which lines up well with his firm’s principles. “That’s a big accomplishment,” he says. But he’s most proud of how his projects have improved his clients’ lives.
“Most of our clients tell us they know what they want … then we open their eyes to what they can have,” he says. One example is a recently completed basement library project, pictured here. His clients originally hired him to work on their kitchen, but when he saw how many bookshelves lined the walls of every room in their house, he suggested that they needed a library. “A library was not even close to being on their must-have list, but seeing how they lived and opening a few design doors changed all that,” Conroy says. Enabling the immense pleasure his clients get from the space was a favorite accomplishment this year.
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