Following the path that brought Zach and Ashton Gifford to open Closets by Design Chattanooga shows that past experiences and future dreams can intertwine to create new opportunities.
Zach, who grew up in the Chattanooga area, joined the Navy after high school and served our country for thirteen years. “My first six years, I was enlisted,” shared Zach. “Then I got my degree in mechanical engineering, was commissioned as a junior officer, and went back in on active duty as an ensign. I was a submarine officer for three years before transferring into the intelligence community.”
Deployments and assignments took Zach away from the area, but when he got out of the Navy, Zach headed home to Chattanooga to care for his father who was living with Parkinson’s disease. Not long after returning, he met Ashton.
“After we met, I looked into nursing and ended up going to Northeast Alabama Community College and got my associate’s degree in nursing,” said Ashton. “I worked as a nurse for about six years at Erlanger with women's oncology and during my time there, I earned my bachelor's degree of nursing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.”
In 2020, Zach and Ashton married in a small ceremony not long after a special marriage proposal. "We had been dating for about six years and in September of 2020, we went on a vacation down to Pensacola,” remembered Zach. “We stayed at the beach and on the last day we were there, I proposed to her right there on the beach. There were people at the hotels on their balconies who saw us and were cheering and yelling for us.”
As Zach pondered his next career move, he considered a postgraduate degree in automotive engineering but instead felt the pull to step out and try something new and exciting, specifically opening his own business. As Zach began exploring business opportunities, a franchise consultant connected him with Closets by Design.
“We got in touch with a franchise consultant out of Jacksonville, Florida, and before consulting, he had been in the closet business down there for a few years,” said Zach. “But he was actually a competitor of the Closets by Design franchise in Jacksonville and said he just could not compete with what they offered. He knew it was a solid company that provided fantastic support for franchises from the corporate headquarters, and he got me really excited about it.”
The more Zach spoke with the co-founder and President, and other franchise owners, his confidence in building this business relationship grew. After months of preparation and training, Closets by Design Chattanooga opened in the summer of 2024 with Zach and Ashton both ready to assist customers.
With over forty years of experience, Closets by Design corporate leaders have intentionally developed a business model that allows franchise owners to succeed in providing customers with organizational solutions using excellent products combined with an emphasis on friendly and reliable service.
“We help people get organized by providing a space for them to organize all of life’s stuff,” said Zach. “While it is a very functional product, it's also a beautiful product, and we strive to bring to life each customer’s vision.”
Contrary to the name, Closets by Design provides multi-solution organizational systems for all kinds of spaces including offices, bedrooms, mud rooms, garages, craft rooms, laundry rooms, and pretty much any place where items are stored at home or in an office setting. Solution possibilities include cabinets, shelving, desks, wall beds, and the option for floor-based systems, meaning that products are built from the floor up and elements are not hung from walls. With an almost endless combination of pieces, it is easy to customize a system for a variety of needs.
Creating a personalized organizational solution begins when designers meet with customers to find out each customer’s wants, needs, and budget. “Our designers go in and take the time to listen to the client,” said Ashton. “They want to understand the client’s needs and give them that basic functionality while letting the client design the closet that they want at the price that they want.” Once a customized design is created, the components are manufactured and installed, giving customers a new, beautiful space to enjoy.
Although it is a franchise model, Closets by Design Chattanooga is a locally owned business that pours back into the community by hiring local people to handle each aspect of projects from design to manufacturing to installation.
“We take pride in the fact that we create local jobs and hire local people,” shared Zach. “We handle everything in-house and by not outsourcing or subcontracting parts, we maintain quality control. It also allows us to have a quicker turnaround time. If there are problems or issues, we can tackle them within a day or two instead of it being a three- or four-week turnaround to get something reproduced from somewhere else.”
In addition to believing in the high quality of the products and services they provide and finding satisfaction in helping customers find organizational solutions, Zach and Ashton both truly enjoy interacting with the people they meet and work with on a daily basis.
“I just love Closets by Design in general,” shared Ashton. “From the corporate side, everyone is always super nice and helpful. I also love the people who we work with. We have a tremendous staff with us and whether it be the people at our front office, the production team, our install guys, or our designers, they are all really great! Everyone is very nice and supportive of one another.”
As an added bonus, Zach and Ashton find that working together daily is a pleasant change from their previous careers.
“I love the fact that I get to see him all day long,” said Ashton. “As a nurse, I worked night shift and most of the time, I worked three days in a row. I would swap my days and nights all the time, I was constantly tired, and I got to see him maybe two or three days a week. Now that we get to work together, I really enjoy the fact that we just get to be together. During exciting times and hard times, we are there for each other.”
“We share an office here,” adds Zach. “Our desks are right next to each other. At lunchtime, we can close the door, eat lunch together, and just have some personal time even while we're at the office. It's really awesome.”
Zach and Ashton bring a love of people and an excitement to help others to Closets by Design Chattanooga. No matter if the project is small or large, their friendly team members are happy to find the best organizational solutions for your home and office.
Closets by Design is a local and veteran owned franchise located at 210 Hamm Road Suite A in Chattanooga. For more information on which Closets by Design personalized storage and organizational solutions will work best for you and to book a consultation, visit chattanooga.closetsbydesign.com or call 423-922-5446. Also follow Closets by Design Chattanooga on Facebook and Instagram.
Since 1982, Closets by Design has built a reputation of integrity as the industry leader in customer service and total customer satisfaction. Zach and Ashton Gifford are proud to provide Chattanoogans with custom tailored designs and the highest quality product construction.
We take pride in the fact that we create local jobs and hire local people. We handle everything in-house and by not outsourcing or subcontracting parts, we maintain quality control.
We help people get organized by providing a space for them to organize all of life’s stuff. While it is a very functional product, it's also a beautiful product, and we strive to bring to life each customer’s vision.