Meet Megan Moore of Dado in Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Moore.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Megan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My path to interior design was anything but linear. I graduated from CU Boulder with a film degree, moved to San Francisco shortly after that, and then found myself working in finance. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do as a career, only that I wanted to live in an interesting city, meet interesting people and learn new things. After a few years of working in a corporate environment, I knew that I ultimately wanted to do something more creative professionally.

I went back to school for interior design in my mid-twenties, and started my first interior design company with a partner, while I was still in school. That was a great opportunity to learn things that school simply can’t teach you, to start to develop my design philosophy and create an overall aesthetic. Eventually, after finishing school (which took me six years as I went part-time), I went off on my own and started Dado in 2010.

I would say my path as a practicing designer is anything but linear as well. I have always taken an organic approach to growth. Interior design is a profession with a HUGE learning curve. There are hundreds of variables to every project, it requires a really diverse skill set, from software programs to fabric and material knowledge, to understanding how to work with people, how to sell your skills, how to market them, how to budget (finance background finally came in handy), etc. I didn’t work for a firm after design school. I went right out on my own. So I was always cognizant of the need to be mindful about growth and not expand too quickly.

Dado is where it is today because of this slow and steady approach. We focus on quality over quantity in terms of how many projects we do at any given time and make sure the clients we work with are in line with our philosophy.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Has my design path been smooth? Ha. The simple answer. No. The road has not been smooth. I don’t know if anything in life ever really is. That said, the path to where we are now as a firm has had its bumps, but it’s also always felt organic and purposeful. As if we are right where we are supposed to be. There are always things that you wish would have gone differently at the time, but in hindsight, you recognize that any opportunity that may have felt like a loss was really a bullet dodged.

For any small business, whether it’s interior design or otherwise, I think the primary struggle is how to reconcile growth with your current resources. How to know when to take the leap and hire for more productivity, and when to say no to things that would stretch your capacity and sacrifice the quality of your work. I have always approached that with intuition, and to kind of just trust in where we are.

A struggle that is more specific to a creative field like interior design is simply understanding what it is you are trying to create. For most creatives, your taste level and your vision is usually well ahead of your skillset. Meaning, you come out of school with a good understanding of WHAT you want to create, but you don’t necessarily understand HOW to create it. Building up the skillsets required to turn an idea into something real takes a long time. A really, really long time. And allowing yourself to be where you are, is a struggle for any designer. Or at least discerning designers like myself, who think their work can always be just a little bit better.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Dado is a boutique, full-scale interior design firm specializing in both residential and commercial spaces. We take a holistic approach to our work, considering an interior space as a whole, and we take that approach from concept, down to the smallest of details. Our approach is a little different in that it is not style-driven. The aesthetic of any given project is not the starting point. We are focused on how a space feels over how it looks. By focusing on how you want something to feel first, then how you need it to function, you are able to create an aesthetic that is custom fit to the people who are using the space. We are not focused on trends, and in many ways, we probably move away from trends as much as possible.

Over the years, I’ve realized that my favorite part of being a designer is the relationships I’ve built with my clients. The actual design process is fun and rewarding, but knowing that you’ve created something that genuinely contributes to someone else’s life is priceless. I am most proud of the relationships we’ve built over the years – with our clients, our tradespeople, and our vendors. I have become good friends with many of our clients and tradespeople. I think something a lot of people don’t realize is that in the end, interior design is a service job. So being able to bring quality service to our clients and create something that improves their lives is what it’s really all about.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was basically the same as I am today, just with fewer wrinkles. I was outspoken at times, shy at others. I loved to read, to write, build barbie houses out of books (they were sprawling ranch-style houses). I was and still am an introvert, but I had and still have an expressive side to my personality that masks that a bit.

I always had an interest in art and creativity in general. And I always had an interest in interior design. I would rearrange my room constantly. When we moved to a new house when I was eight, the new house had rust-colored carpet, rust-colored mini-blinds, rust-colored wallpaper. I was not pleased – to say the least. I think I cried when I first saw the house. My mom still reminds of it to this day. I was the kid who wanted to go to Pier 1 Imports instead of a toy store, to see what I could get to decorate my room. In hindsight, my path to interior design seemed written at a young age, but it took me a while to realize it.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1000 E 18TH AVE
  DENVER, CO 80218
• Website: www.dado.design
• Email: megan@dado.design
• Instagram: dado.design

Image Credit:
JC Buck Photography and David Lauer Photography

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