For Megan Daughtry, home is truly where the heart is—no matter whose home it may be. Through her interior design company, Proud House Studio, Daughtry seeks to help people find “a great sense of bliss in their home, cocooned in comfort and surrounded by gorgeous finishes, fixtures and furnishings.” The daughter of an architect, Daughtry is inspired by change, and credits her upbringing for her ability to “see beyond the existing structure and envision a new space.” Though Daughtry has always harbored a love for design, she took a two-decade detour into the service industry before circling back and making it her life’s work. Her first company, Second Nature Interiors, came to fruition after Daughtry left her job as Director of Retail at PrAna, earned her National Kitchen and Bath certification, and designed her own small backyard studio.
With time and experience, Second Nature naturally evolved into what is now Proud House Studio, a true embodiment of Daughtry’s desire to help homeowners create beautiful, functional spaces. She found studio space in an old distillery and envisioned transforming the space’s three small tasting rooms into an inspiring design studio, complete with a full kitchen installation and a collection of Daughtry’s favorite building materials. Her hope is for her new location to be “a welcoming space,” featuring a carefully curated collection of design and decor products intended to make design decisions exciting instead of daunting. Also, she plans to offer a variety of events and at the studio, from art shows and seasonal design parties to floral arrangement and cooking classes.
From her new and improved home base, Daughtry continues to find inspiration in each new design opportunity, using her well-honed ability to “read” her clients to help bring their visions to life while sticking to their budget and remaining true to their style. For each new project, Daughtry takes into consideration her clients’ unique taste, their collections, and their home’s architecture as a starting point, and from there, she explains, “the house tells me how it wants to be transformed through its stories of those living there, how they live, and what they love...I make sure traffic patterns have good flow, structural changes are minimal, the budget is applied, and voila!”
As far as current design trends go, Daughtry is loving “the evolution of modern interiors that honor the mid-century style of most Boulder homes while elevating them with modern technology.” She extolls the virtues of a “timeless palette,” which for her includes clean white walls—Benjamin Moore’s Simply White is a favorite—black window and door frames, and white oak floors. For adding color, Daughtry loves desert neutrals that “evoke a sunrise moment,” complemented by another popular trend—woven natural textures in lighting, furnishings and baskets. In her own home, the designer finds particular comfort in her Henry Sectional from West Elm: “It’s where I start my day at 5 a.m. with coffee, journaling, watching the sunrise and setting my intentions for the day.”
It's the perfect space for Daughtry to focus on creating perfect spaces for everyone else.
Find Your Design
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Search for someone whose style is in sync with your own. While any designer is skilled at studying your taste and channeling it into your design, you’ll get the best results from someone whose fundamental approach mirrors what you imagine for your home.
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Look for certification. National Kitchen and Bath Association certification indicates that your designer is current on building codes, industry standards and trained in software that can facilitate 3D renderings and “fly through” presentations before investing in their recommended selections.
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Pay for your kitchen and bath remodel designs. You can get “free” help at any home center, cabinet shop or kitchen remodeling company, but in reality, their fee is built into the cost of the products. That can limit your options and result in costly errors due to a lack of hands-on project management.
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Share your actual budget. Discussing money can feel awkward, but there are beautiful design solutions for every budget, and a good designer will maximize their client’s investment wisely and achieve the function desired.