Mother-Daughter Duo: Their Teamwork Started With Staging
The mother and daughter in this design team build on each other’s strengths. We ask them 5 questions
Join us this week as we celebrate Mother’s Day with a series on mother-daughter duos in the design world.
Favorite project: For the Los Angeles farmhouse kitchen seen here, mother and daughter split roles. Dawn did most of the consulting on the renovation, such as regarding moving walls and opening the kitchen up to the dining room. Megan turned her attention to finding the lighting, furniture and hardware. They work best when they can settle into their separate roles: mom working on the big picture and daughter on the details.
We asked each the same five questions. Here’s what they said.
Tell us about your daughter’s …
Tell us about your mom’s …
Mother’s Day plans: Not together, but celebrating in the same fashion by going to church and spending the evening with family.
Your turn: Do you work with your child or parent? Please tell us about your family design team in the Comments.
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Design Lessons My Mother Taught Me
Create a Cheery, Romantic Mother’s Day Tablescape
We asked each the same five questions. Here’s what they said.
Tell us about your daughter’s …
- Biggest strength: Pushing clients to new heights in their style
- Design signature: Baskets
- Paint color personality: Soft blush pink
- Go-to snack: Acai bowls and Dr Pepper
- Personality in three words: Beautiful, creative and fun
Tell us about your mom’s …
- Biggest strength: Extensive knowledge
- Design signature: Farmhouse-modern style
- Paint color personality: Pretty gray. “I always tell her that she should be recognized for her contributions in changing ugly tan houses to pretty gray houses before it was cool,” Megan says. “But seriously, she’s always one step ahead.”
- Go-to snack: Chips and salsa
- Personality in three words: Talented, kind and generous
Mother’s Day plans: Not together, but celebrating in the same fashion by going to church and spending the evening with family.
Your turn: Do you work with your child or parent? Please tell us about your family design team in the Comments.
More
Design Lessons My Mother Taught Me
Create a Cheery, Romantic Mother’s Day Tablescape
Time working together: 12 years
Design roots: As soon as Megan started helping her mom stage homes, she knew the interior design business was for her. Dawn’s love of design started when she bought her first house. “I would walk in and instantly start moving walls and decorating in my head,” she says. They started staging homes together 12 years ago. Two years ago they started their own design business.
Lessons: Megan has learned from her mom that only kindness matters in the end. “She really is the most genuinely kind and patient person that wants to do right by people,” she says.
First project: A million-dollar new home. Dawn says this large project launched their business and got them a lot of exposure. Today the majority of their work is consulting, designing and furnishing for new constructions because of that first project.
Long-distance design: Megan lives in California; her mom lives in Arizona. They frequently meet up and are in constant communication. They rarely disagree, Megan says, but when they do, “it’s because I want to try something that isn’t realistic. My mom has to bring me back to earth.”
The power of lunch: A few years ago they had a huge installation to do, and Megan sat down in the middle of the floor and demanded lunch before she would move another muscle. “Megan gets ‘hangry,’” Dawn says. “She’ll be the first to admit it. She’s happy and productive only when she is properly fed. We still joke about it today.”