PRINCIPAL

Principal designer, Dan Rak, is a Michigan native and graduate of Michigan State University where he earned degrees in accounting and law. Upon graduation, Dan moved to Chicago where he practiced tax with one of the "Big 4" professional services firms. Ultimately, Dan decided to follow a more creative path, launching Dan Rak Design in the winter of 2014. Dan's work was quickly recognized and the business started to grow. One by one, the team came together to form the highly talented and dedicated group that serves our clients today. Dan continues to lead the creative direction of each project and splits his time between offices in Chicago, Western Michigan and Southwest Florida.

OPERATIONS

Emilie has been our resident planner and problem solver since 2018. With almost 10 years of experience in the design industry, she orchestrates every detail to help our design team achieve its vision. Emilie maintains a positive relationship with vendors and clients, coordinates our project plans, and keeps the firm in working order.

As Dan says, “ Everybody needs an Emilie.”

OPERATIONS

Elliette, a Chicago native, was new to the interior design industry when she joined Dan Rak Design in 2020. Elliette immersed herself in her role and quickly became adept to the industry. Elliette not only works closely with Dan and Emilie to improve our design & operations process but also with our designers to ensure proper execution of a project. As part of the Operations Team Elliette overseas all product orders, ensuring that every order arrives safely at our warehouse and ultimately, in our Client’s homes. Elliette also utilizes her creative talents in managing the DRD Brand presence and Social Media accounts.

DESIGN

Emily Samano, an Arizona native joined DRD in 2019. Before joining the DRD Team Emily spent several years in the industry honing her skills. Emily is a graduate of Arizona State University and the American Institute of Interior Design. As our Design Director, Emily utilizes her strong creative talent and leadership skills to lead our design team in creating beautiful, functional spaces. Together, Emily and Dan manage the design process to ensure each design detail is executed perfectly.

DESIGN

Olivia graduated from Lawrence Technological University with a Bachelor's in Interior Architecture. After graduation, Olivia spent several years working as a commercial designer. After she joined the DRD family in 2021, her natural talent for design and attention to detail allowed for an effortless transition from commercial to residential design. As a member of the design team, Olivia collaborates closely with Dan and Emily to create beautiful and tailored design concepts for each Client.

DESIGN

Annee's first introduction to design was at the University of Colorado Boulder where she graduated with a degree in Architecture. She went on to work in commercial design & construction and ultimately found her passion in residential interior design in 2021. As a designer, Annee works with Dan & Emily on various aspects of each job including technical drawings, renderings, client presentations & project management. Annee joined DRD in 2023 and is excited to help the team continue to create beautiful homes.

Let’s talk about the details of your project.

We want to hear about the space, your goals, the timeline, & your budget (if you don’t have one in mind, we can help you come up with it down the line). We’ll also walk you through our process and answer any questions you may have.

We’ll look at photos of the space, floor plans (if they’re available), any inspiration images you’ve saved, etc. We’ll share our preliminary thoughts with you and get all of the information we need to put together a complete design services proposal.

We’ll provide you with a complete design services proposal for your review. Our proposals are comprehensive and include an estimate of our fees for each component of the project. At this point, you should have a good idea as to the investment involved with bringing us onto the project.

Once we have received a signed Statement of Work, we will schedule a time to visit the property and will kick off our concept development phase. Our goal during this phase is to make sure we understand the functional aspects of the space, your budget, and your aesthetics. During this process, we’ll draw up a set of preliminary plans, we’ll create a scope of work for any construction that needs to be done, we’ll come up with a preliminary budget, and will pull together a set of inspiration images to help communicate our vision for the space keeping in mind any inspiration that you might have shared with us for the space. We’ll walk you through these items and collect your feedback.

Once we’ve received your feedback, we’ll create a comprehensive design plan. Taking your comments into consideration, we’ll work from our concept development materials plans and will put together a comprehensive design plan. This presentation will include final layouts as well as proposed material and furniture selections. We’ll walk you through the plans to get your thoughts; we’ll pin down what you like and will make adjustments, as necessary, for things you’re not as excited about.

Once our proposals have been approved, we will begin pulling everything together and will get to work bringing our plans to life. We’ll pull in our expert contractors and service providers (or, if you would prefer, we can work with yours) to get the job done. We’re big on communication and will keep you in the loop along the way.

We’ll deliver your dream home! We’re fully invested in each of our projects until every last detail has been completed (and beyond). Once construction is finished and the space is furnished and styled, we’ll walk through the space with you to discuss any follow-ups or adjustments that may need to be made. We make a lifetime commitment to our clients (who, many times, become our friends) and are always willing to do anything we can to help with any issues that may arise down the road.