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Aubrey Davis – ABC Modern Design Studio

ABC Modern completed this beautiful IKEA Kitchen Remodel using our Silt SmartMatte Shaker Slim doors. In the master bath they used shaker slim fronts in Super Real Walnut Laminate. ABC Modern - IKEA Kitchen Remodel Shaker Slim in Silt SuperMatte 12

Getting to know your team and their experience makes for a more successful project. In our post Inspiring Interior Designers we introduced Aubrey & Craig at ABC Modern. In this week’s post we talk with Aubrey Davis about her experience in Commercial & Residential Design, creating amazing wallpaper, and custom IKEA Kitchens. From Starbucks to Aerospace facilities, to flipping homes and kitchen remodels, ABC Modern can help any homeowner prepare for and remodel any project.

modern boho kitchen with vg doug fir cabinet fronts and white chairs on island

Construction & Interior Design

What was your introduction to construction and design?

Yeah, my introduction to construction design was through school at first and I went to school to be an interior designer. I got a B.A. in interior design and graduated and started working for a general construction firm. So I felt like that was actually a great place to learn design because as a designer in construction firms, you’re held very accountable for all the decisions that you make.

They have to fit in the budget and they have to be constructive or you hear about it directly from your own team. So it was a great place actually, to learn interior design. That’s wonderful. I know you had mentioned, you know, having a full time job and doing these other projects on the side.

Lake Wanatchee Remodel Before 1. For Homeowners, finding inspiration for the design of a new kitchen or remodel is the most important step of the project. Most of us plan to live in these spaces for decades to come. That requires that we love the design from start to finish. This week we explore four brilliant Design and Remodel teams that will inspire and maybe even compel you to hire them for your next remodel project.

Is that what you were doing while you were also doing kind of your own thing?

Not at first. That was about 20 years ago. So there’s a lot of in the Senate, a lot of time in between then and now. I like I said, I started in residential remodeling and custom builds and then moved into the commercial construction world, doing some aerospace work for a well-known Seattle company and then doing some commercial design and construction work with Starbucks. And now I’m looping back around to residential design and construction again.

That’s very, very cool. Do you did you enjoy residential or commercial more or do you like both equally, or where do you stand on that?

I think the work experience of residential and commercial are so different from each other. I think that the process and the workplaces are so different from each other. Working in residential, you’re just so hands on and immediately connected to what you’re designing and you have a lot more control and you have a lot more ability to design what you want. And you could work in commercial construction for your whole career and never really get to design anything. But in residential, you’re going to be like in the field, on the ground making decisions right away, which I think makes it a great place to start because you get very in touch with the details.

Magnolia before and after. For Homeowners, finding inspiration for the design of a new kitchen or remodel is the most important step of the project. Most of us plan to live in these spaces for decades to come. That requires that we love the design from start to finish. This week we explore four brilliant Design and Remodel teams that will inspire and maybe even compel you to hire them for your next remodel project.

Commercial Vs Residential Design Work

Is there a commercial project that you can point to that you’re that you’re most proud of?

Yeah. The, the commercial projects that I built, I did a couple like multimillion dollar sales galleries in the aerospace industry and they were both of those projects were in a lot of turmoil before I started. So they had been kind of spinning in legal troubles and political troubles for a couple of years. Before I got there. People had kind of given up on them and I was really only expected to just kind of try to close the projects, but ended up building a couple of really impressive buildings.

I’m not only proud of just the work that we did, but just having the perseverance to finish something that others couldn’t finish. When I moved into that position, I moved into overall project management. So I was managing design and construction and definitely got to exercise a different set of skills as an overall design and construction project manager.

I’m sure, you know, with every project, it just helps you grow your skillset overall. Is there a commercial project that stood out as especially challenging?

Oh, I don’t think this could have been any more challenging than they were. I really I did that work for three years and got at least ten years worth of experience doing that. I was on a little team of four that was executing these projects and in the three years that it was doing it, we had a turnover of ten and I was the only person who was there for the whole time.

Magnolia Remodel Before 1. For Homeowners, finding inspiration for the design of a new kitchen or remodel is the most important step of the project. Most of us plan to live in these spaces for decades to come. That requires that we love the design from start to finish. This week we explore four brilliant Design and Remodel teams that will inspire and maybe even compel you to hire them for your next remodel project.

So it was intense and I’m glad I went through that learning experience. An older and wiser me would have run away from those projects like maybe the other people were smart enough to do that. But yeah, so like I was young and ambitious to a fault and stuck with it. I definitely learned a lot. That’s always, I think, one of the most valuable things.

Successful Residential Construction & Design

Are there any aspects of commercial residential design that you find particularly rewarding?

I mean, I really like to build things. I like to work hard and then have there be a tangible outcome to my work. So, I like to be productive. I think in residential design, you get to be more connected to that. I I’m not a person who is up for like politics and climbing the ladder and all that stuff. And I think with commercial design you have to be a lot more motivated by social capital. And I just really just want to make a difference and build things.

Maple Leaf Project kitchen island elevations. For Homeowners, finding inspiration for the design of a new kitchen or remodel is the most important step of the project. Most of us plan to live in these spaces for decades to come. That requires that we love the design from start to finish. This week we explore four brilliant Design and Remodel teams that will inspire and maybe even compel you to hire them for your next remodel project.

So I think that residential is probably a better place to be an entrepreneur in that area, like in combination with being an entrepreneur, that that really creates a good fit for me and my skills. And as a smaller team you do have more control over the design and you also have a lot more responsibility too. So those two things go hand in hand. And if you’re working for a big firm, you might have just one piece of the puzzle that you’re responsible for.

A lot of times a residential interior designer or architect has most of the puzzle in their hands, and they really are responsible for not just coming up with an idea, but following through with all the documentation to execute that being there during execution. You know, you just have a lot of a lot more responsibility. But that can also be more fun when you get to have more control over what’s built.

Maple Leaf Project guest bath suite elevations. For Homeowners, finding inspiration for the design of a new kitchen or remodel is the most important step of the project. Most of us plan to live in these spaces for decades to come. That requires that we love the design from start to finish. This week we explore four brilliant Design and Remodel teams that will inspire and maybe even compel you to hire them for your next remodel project.

So what is the most unique thing that you designed or worked into a design?

Okay, so fast forward, like all the way forward till now. Am I? So Craig and I, our last project that we just finished was a log cabin up near Leavenworth. It’s. It’s not a place called Lake Wenatchee, and we spent a year renovating the Log Cabin. It’s a good sized log cabin built in the 1970, and it has five bedrooms and it was pretty dilapidated and dirty. So it really needed a complete and total overhaul. We touched every part of that place, and then we followed through and did all of the decoration of it as well, which is a piece that I don’t always get to be involved in, because a lot of times when you finish a remodel, you’re out of budget, right?

Modern Design ℅ Modern Wallpaper

People think they have the budget to continue into furnishing, but then they actually end up spending it. So I definitely have a lot more experience with the remodel part of it. Although I did used to work in custom furniture even before college, but what was I going to say? So on this project? And we followed through and did all the furniture, all the accessories, and even down to the wallpaper, which gave me a chance to actually design custom wallpaper to put into that project.

SimpleStick Home Goods. From Starbucks to Aerospace facilities, to flipping homes and kitchen remodels, ABC Modern can help any homeowner prepare for and remodel any project.

And I got to use my own artwork and designed something specifically for those bedrooms, which was it was really fun to be able to get into that level of detail and then actually not only design what we were, but actually be there and put it up and kind of follow it through to the very end.

So we’re kind of building on that. I know that you have you’re doing your own wallpaper line, is that correct? Yeah, I do, yeah. I have my own line of wallpaper that has my artwork on it. And then I’ve just recently added pillows and kitchen towels to the to my online store.

SimpleStick Boho Feels Collection. From Starbucks to Aerospace facilities, to flipping homes and kitchen remodels, ABC Modern can help any homeowner prepare for and remodel any project.

That’s so cool. How did how did you get into that?

I have I have been an artist before I was ever a designer, just from the time I could hold a crayon. I’ve been kind of obsessed with drawing things and always I’ve always been trying to merge together, design and art, and figure out how I’m going to use both of those things.

SimpleStick Boho Feels. From Starbucks to Aerospace facilities, to flipping homes and kitchen remodels, ABC Modern can help any homeowner prepare for and remodel any project.

And a number of years ago, the idea of wallpaper just kind of occurred to me as being the way to bring together my artwork and interior design, and it’s taken a number of years to really like learn how to create a repeating pattern digitally and then learn about how to get it produced. And lastly, which I’m working on now, is learning how to market it online, which is a whole other beast, Really.

SimpleStick Vintage Vibes Collection. From Starbucks to Aerospace facilities, to flipping homes and kitchen remodels, ABC Modern can help any homeowner prepare for and remodel any project.

Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And that’s going pretty well so far. Do you find that that’s kind of taken off or…?

Yeah, it’s been really well received. I’ve gotten great reviews and I’ve used it myself a number of times, and it actually is. It’s not it’s not just hype. It actually is really easy to put out. It’s peel and stick wallpaper. I don’t know if you‘ve heard of that. Yeah, it’s so much easier than the old fashioned way with the paste and the water and all that kind of stuff. And I actually, honestly, I would say it’s easier than painting.

SimpleStick Vintage Vibes. From Starbucks to Aerospace facilities, to flipping homes and kitchen remodels, ABC Modern can help any homeowner prepare for and remodel any project.

Modern Design Trends / Timelessness

You’ve been in the industry for a long time, so are there any design trends that you were happy to see fade away or that you wish would go away?

I don’t know. There’s so many really, like over the years, certainly, that were just really I’m kind of glad to see glass tiles fading away. I feel like that held on for too long. I guess just as a general answer, there tends to be like a builder grade way to do things and a more design forward way to do things.

Magnolia Remodel During 1. For Homeowners, finding inspiration for the design of a new kitchen or remodel is the most important step of the project. Most of us plan to live in these spaces for decades to come. That requires that we love the design from start to finish. This week we explore four brilliant Design and Remodel teams that will inspire and maybe even compel you to hire them for your next remodel project.

And I think every decade has like a group of things that fall into the builder grade category. And, you know, lately it’s become a lot of gray and white and final, you know, plank flooring and stuff like that. And it’s I guess that’s what I’m always trying to elevate above without getting so neat that it limits the market.

Yeah. It’s it’s a balance there for sure. With our construction firm, you know, one of the main things we try to focus on is timeless finishes. You know, promoting it to clients that this is a remodel you’re not going to have to redo again in ten years. That it’s not going to fade away. So trying to balance that out, you know, but still adding personalization to it.

Magnolia Remodel During 2. For Homeowners, finding inspiration for the design of a new kitchen or remodel is the most important step of the project. Most of us plan to live in these spaces for decades to come. That requires that we love the design from start to finish. This week we explore four brilliant Design and Remodel teams that will inspire and maybe even compel you to hire them for your next remodel project.

I definitely like the idea of timeless finishes and Craig and I have done a lot of remodeling and one of the reasons why I like remodeling is because when you’re remodeling, the house already has a certain amount of integrity built into it. So I think that your job is to match that and prepare it for its next 50 or 60 years.

When you’re building a brand new house, you don’t know whether it’s going to stand in the test of time. But when you’re remodeling a house, you already know that certain parts that have stood the test of time. So really you’re just trying to add something with integrity to kind of continue that legacy.

Produced by Todd Zimmerman

Producer of the John Webbccast

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