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Dream House Furniture & Design
INTERIORSINTERIORS
Dream House Furniture & Design
The owners of Dream House Furniture & Design named their business appropriately. Cassandra Vaira and Wendy Flynn use their expertise and experience to help realize the unique vision of every client by creating living spaces that are beautiful, comfortable, fun — and yes, dreamy.
Vaira opened the original store with her mother, Bonnie Kratovil, 18 years ago in Charles Town, West Virginia. Interior Design was a new career for both women; Kratovil had been a lawyer and a judge, and Vaira’s background was in science and public health. “We jumped into a whole new arena,” Vaira recalled, noting that she and her mother shared a natural affinity for design. They hired Flynn who had worked as an Interior Designer for over 25 years.
Nearly 11 years ago, we decided to move the business to a space in historic downtown Frederick. “We thought it would be a better fit for our store, a wonderful opportunity,” Vaira said. “At the time, though, Patrick Street was the end of the end. Now it’s so busy with so many different businesses. I’ve loved watching downtown grow and change.” With the move, Flynn became a full partner.
Rounding out the “small, capable, dynamic team” are Interior Designer Mary Beutler and hands-on coordinator Andie Dennis. “We challenge each other, and
get along well; we are like family,” Vaira said, noting that they are growing and are hiring a junior designer. Dream House’s 3,500-square-foot showroom displays a variety of vignette-like settings – “arrangements of chairs, sofas, rugs, lighting, art and accessories, lots of eclectic things to look at, try out, and get inspiration from,” Vaira said. “We are definitely not all gray and white, or absolute. The options are unlimited,” she added. “We do like to push our clients’ boundaries a little, but we work with them to create the design. It’s all about what makes them happy.” Dream House’s full-service furniture and design services can be for a single room or a whole house. Vaira said they are “extremely busy” right now and enjoy being a brick-and-mortar retailer rather than just online, getting to experience the products in the flesh. The team connects with clients all over the metropolitan area, mostly from Frederick, but also from Montgomery and Loudon counties and the District. “Day visitors to Downtown Frederick stumble on the store, and see that it is different, unique, that we offer curated home décor. Instead of disposable cookie-cutter furniture, we deal exclusively with medium- to highend investment pieces that are stylish and of excellent quality.”
