We had the good fortune of connecting with DAWN CHAU and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DAWN, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
That it’s not as easy as all the home improvement shows make it out to be. Projects don’t happen in a few weeks In fact some projects can last years especially if you’re doing a large renovation that involves an architect, city review and permitting, etc. If you are doing a remodel, there is so much planning before the physical project even begins. Planning ahead helps expedite the project so that once the contractor arrives, it’s smooth sailing. These types of shows set unrealistic expectations for our clients.

What should our readers know about your business?
What sets Paradigm apart from other interior design companies is that we’ve nailed down our processes so that we can give you an upfront cost of our services. You won’t find hourly fees here! You’ll tell us exactly what you want to accomplish and we’ll propose all fees upfront, including any estimation of furniture if that’s part of the project scope. We have been tracking every project we do so that we feel confident when we propose our fees as well as estimated time lines. We hope that being completely transparent and upfront with our fees and process gives our clients the confidence to move forward.

I am also passionate about sourcing unique materials that make each home special. You won’t see the same products used again and again. This passion often finds me supporting local businesses and artists wherever I can. We have some amazing talent in the state and it’s rewarding to be able to support them and share their stories. Finding and using unique materials make each project and home special to their owner…and that’s what custom design should do.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh, I love this! I’m going to assume it’s summer. Our family is all about the outdoors and good food so of course it would center around that. In general we’d be hiking and mountain biking all the local trails with at least one adventure to the mountains.

Day 1: Take it easy and grab a nice dinner at one of my favorite places, Black Cat farm. The cozy outdoor cabanas are so fun for a small group to catch up on life.

Day 2: Easy morning (after all we are on vacation). I’ve been wanting to hike Lions Lair and come down the front of Sanitas so we’d do that followed by a nice burger and drinks at River and Woods. We’d head to a concert at Red Rocks for the evening.

Day 3: We’d hit up the delicious baked goods at Lucky’s Bakehouse along with Boxcar latte as we head to our next adventure, Valmont Bike park. The kids will need to expend some energy! We’d grab a rooftop table at Avante and take in the views of the Flatirons.

Day 4-6: Friends are fully acclimated so we head to the mountains. We hike and explore Breckenridge on day one followed by a great dinner at Rootstalk. This has been one of my favorite meals I’ve had recently. Days 2-3 we’d head down to Buena Vista. We’d lounge by the river and listen to live music while the kids tube down the river. The last day we’d hike a 14er and end with a soak in the Mt Princeton hot springs to ease the muscles.

Day 7: We’d hit the farmers market and have lunch there followed by a walk around East Pearl (I love all the cute, local shops here). We’d end the trip with a rooftop dinner at Corrida overlooking the Flatirons.

There are far too many things I love sharing about this amazing place but that’s a good start.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I think it’s worth giving a Shoutout to the super small high school I attended. They had a program called School-to-Work. It gave high schoolers the opportunity to shadow people in our desired field. I was fortunate enough to shadow a talented husband and wife team that had an architecture and interior design studio. I hadn’t considered interior design until this experience.

And family of course! Without the continued support of my husband, kids and parents I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Website: www.paradigmdesigners.com

Instagram: ParadigmDesigners

Linkedin: Dawn Chau

Facebook: ParadigmInteriorDesignInc

Image Credits
Jeff Morris Photography

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