Public Relations Contact: Ross Feltz cell: 814-323-8526; rfeltz@decoratingden.com
www.DecoratingDenInteriors.com
Beautiful Interiors: A Beautiful Business Since 1969, Decorating Den Interiors has been making homes and offices more beautiful one room at a time throughout the U.S. and Canada, along with helping creative and talented individuals start a career in interior design. “Whether our clients enjoy being surrounded with time-honored traditional design, bespoke, modern, or cutting-edge couture, it’s our ultimate goal to design spaces that reflect their taste and lifestyle,” says Carol Bugg, vice president and director of design. “Whether the project involves a living room, family room, dining room, bedroom or office, we have the products and ideas to satisfy every need,” she adds. Decorating Den Interiors is the largest interior decorating franchise company in North America. While most franchise owners are home-based, providing a lower overhead, there are more and more owners moving into an outside location as their business outgrows their home. “Several of our top franchises have as many as five design professionals, along with the owner, working from the same studio,” said Jim Bugg, Jr., CEO and president. “And, they are supported by administrators and other staff. Not only are these among our leading operators, several of the designers working within those units are among our largest individual sales people in the U.S. and Canada. Our interior design business model clearly enables growth to a size that can provide significant financial returns for several individuals.” Bugg noted that last year more than half of the company’s top 40 franchises had outgrown being home-based and operate from outside studios, the largest being 12,000 square feet, including receiving and warehouse space. “These are not showrooms,” added David Haseley, vice president of merchandising and marketing. “Our design business model is still to sell a wide range of home furnishings without carrying inventory. Meeting in clients’ homes is the cornerstone of our complimentary design service. However, with furniture now our leading product category, many owners want space to receive some pieces on their own. ” “Most of our new owners continue to begin their businesses as home-based,” said Bugg. “But, we are seeing some of them move out of their home to a studio more quickly. They see the business value of doing that.” 1
Convenience, variety, wide range of suppliers “Our goal is to make the whole process of interior design easy, fun and convenient for our clients,” said Haseley. “With thousands of top-quality home furnishings product samples from which to choose, we have a multitude of choices of fabrics, window coverings, furniture, bedding, lighting, accessories, wall art, floor covering and wall coverings. And the best part? We bring our design ideas and samples to the most convenient showroom in the world – our client’s home or office.” Haseley explains that this method of choosing design concepts “enables clients to select colors and products in the comfort of their own environment, with the lighting, space and lifestyle right there to guide design and product decisions. Our initial design consultation is always complimentary.” Haseley oversees a merchandising program that enables its designers to set themselves apart from others. “Our Preferred Supplier Program encompasses over 100 of the best suppliers in the industry. Our broad selection of products is meant to satisfy design and budget needs no matter where our design professionals serve clients. We offer a ‘Good/Better/Best’ selection of products in ‘Traditional, Transitional, Contemporary’ design schemes – virtually a ‘one-stop shop.’” Real Rooms for Real People Decorating Den Interiors designers are able to help clients visualize concepts for home furnishings with an extensive library of room makeovers from the company’s International Dream Room competition it has held for 32 years. Franchise owners and their team members submit professionally photographed room designs, along with the before photos, and presentation boards showing fabric and color chips for judging by interior design journalists from throughout Canada and the U.S. This year, for example, there were nearly 300 entries in 12 room categories. The journalists select the top three in each category. In a subsequent round of judging, they select the top three from among the best in each category. The room that is judged the best of the best results in that decorator being named the company’s Decorator of the Year, the most prestigious design award presented by the firm. In the past five years, an online judging by the public has been added, which drew more than 30,000 online votes over a two-week period. That voting resulted in People’s Choice awards for several designers and gave greater exposure to the Dream Room designs. “What makes these makeovers more relatable to more people is that they are real rooms for real people with real budgets,” say Sue Pelley, who coordinates the competition each year. “These are not staged photos in which furnishings have been brought in just to show a design concept. They are rooms that are actually lived in by families.” The 2015 Dream Room and People’s Choice awards can be viewed at http://www.decoratingden.com/dream-room-showcase/
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The Making of a Decorating Den Interiors designer Decorating Den Interiors’ owners come from all walks of life, including interior design. Common to all, though, is a passion and talent for design. “The training we offer combines design, sales and marketing, product knowledge and running a business,” says Suzanne Price, director of education and training. “Even with having more than 14 years of experience running a successful design business, I benefited greatly,” said Catherine Pulcine, who with her husband converted their CPI Interiors firm into a Decorating Den Interiors franchise. The company uses a multi-step interview process, a personal assessment instrument, “Discovery Days” at the corporate office in Easton, Md., and other resources to qualify individuals to become franchise partners. “In addition to our initial training and Professional Decorating and Sales School, franchise owners and their design teams are provided with ongoing support in their geographical areas, business and marketing support from corporate staff, quarterly merchandising promotions, and an annual conference and exclusive supplier market,” explains Joanne North, senior vice president, retail operations. “We provide business planning assistance, national and local advertising resources, and regular company-wide webinars. Most of all, we provide camaraderie, encouragement and recognition.” “We also visit the High Point and Las Vegas home furnishings markets on a regular basis,” adds Haseley. “At times, we have the largest group of buyers from any single company with more than 100 in our contingent. We were featured on the cover of one of the major publications that covered the High Point market last year. From draperies to full-service As evidenced by the work of any of the company’s U.S or Canadian design professionals, they are able to provide clients with a wide range of home furnishings. That’s a long way from the firm’s beginnings as a drapery company that enabled dry cleaners to expand their business by replacing draperies that could no longer be cleaned. This year, furniture has overtaken window treatments as the company’s top sales category. “People want custom furniture, something that is special to them, and we do that,” says Haseley. Window treatments of all sorts continue to be an important design element in pulling a room together and are the second highest sales category for the company. “But, we also provide lighting, wall and floor coverings, accessories, and even closet systems,” he says. “We have a two-fold mission,” says CEO Bugg, “help clients have beautiful rooms. And, help some individuals have a beautiful business.”
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