Denise Willard has over a decade of experience transforming the homes of clients in the
District of Columbia, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Her work has been showcased on ABC Affiliate, News Channel 8 and
in Washington Home & Garden, The Washingtonian, Elan, The Washington Post, JavaTown and From House to Home Magazine.
Denise is a regular columnist for Viva Tysons Magazine and is part of the Design Diva team for Ask Miss A, a national lifestyle
eMagazine that reaches a growing subscription base of 70,000 visitors each month.
Denise specializes
in creating simple, but elegant transitional interiors that are reflective of her clients' personalities and lifestyles.
The combination of her southern roots and urban lifestyle can be seen in her personal design style, which combines the comfort
and hospitality of the south with the flair of the big city. Denise's
interior design philosophy is that everyone deserves a beautiful home—no matter how small the interior or how large
the budget. Therefore, she welcomes projects of all sizes—from one bedroom condos to 15,000 square
foot homes.
Prior to
launching Decor by Denise, Denise had a very successful career, holding senior-level positions in strategic marketing
and business strategy for nearly fifteen years where she worked for both Fortune 500 and start-up information technology
and government contracting firms. In this career, Denise obtained a B.S. in Commerce from the University of
Virginia and a Masters in Business Administration from the International Executive MBA Program at Georgetown University. Leveraging this business foundation with her creative
talents, Denise focuses her efforts holistically—bringing together design elements that not only meet her customers’
aesthetic and lifestyle requirements, but also their budgetary constraints. Her background offers her clients a unique
right- and left-brained approach to design whereby her ideas and suggestions are grounded in the realities of everyday
living.
In 2010 Denise was elected to
the position of President-Elect for the Washington Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA)
and completed her Certified Green Leaders training, taught by the Sustainable Furnishings Council. In the Spring
of 2011 Denise plans to begin a more in-depth program in Kitchen and Bath design with the Art Institute, an accredited program
with CIDA, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation.
Denise's interests are varied, but her passions are well-defined and run deep—interior
design, animals and helping those who are less fortunate. She has a "soft-spot" for charitable organizations
involving the welfare of animals, children, women and the elderly and often donates her design talents to help raise money
for these causes. Some of her current efforts benefit Knockout Abuse, Habitat for Humanity and Lucky Dog Animal Rescue.
2012 marks the fifth year that Sarah Willis has been part
of the Decor by Denise team. Sarah is Denise's proverbial "right arm," providing leadership and support in
most client-facing tasks—including supporting all the key design processes of space planning, window treatment design,
color palette development, and fabric and furniture selection. Sarah is also responsible for placing and coordinating
all furniture and fabric orders that we process on behalf of our clients. Sarah's keen eye for color and her client relationship
skills make her an invaluable asset to the team. She loves to work on contemporary and bold interiors and likes to push
the boundaries of “traditional” design.
In her time away from the office, Sarah spends time with her husband Zach and
their adorable fluffy Pomeranian, Titan. Sarah enjoys being with her extended family, traveling, movies, events
in DC, art, fashion, volunteering and animals. She has also recently taken a big interest in photography, and hopes to expand
her skills this year. Sarah’s motto for 2012 is: "If you limit your choices only to what seems possible
or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.” -- Robert Frit
Meet Tuyen Huynh
Design Assistant
Tuyen (pronounced
"twin") studied Interior Design at the Art Institute of Washington; however, due to the economic downturn, she had
to put her design career on hold for a few years until she found us. In August 2011 Tuyen joined our team as an Interior
Design Assistant. In her role Tuyen helps with day-to-day design tasks,
working with our clients, vendors and partners, and helping us stay on track with our projects. She also helps with some of
our marketing endeavorts. We are very excited to have Tuyen on board and know she will be a wonderful addition
to our growing team! She lives in Falls Church, VA and in her spare time loves to play co-ed flag
football. Go Tuyen!
Meet Gina Nash
Marketing Director
Gina Nash comes to us
after working for many years in public relations and marketing, most recent of which was helping formulate marketing strategies
and tactics for a growing design-build firm. Gina has already applying her valuable marketing expertise to expanding
our social media footprint and blog, helping forge new strategic partnerships and working on other marketing-related endeavors
to help Decor by Denise grow. She is full of great ideas and is a phenomenal writer, and has proven to be an invaluable
member of our team.
Gina resides in Alexandria with her husband and young son,
Chaise, who is super adorable and loves trains!
Meet Jake & Edward
Our Mascots
In March of 2010 Jake and Edward joined the Decor by Denise
team. They hang out with us all day, lending their support and providing comic relief at times. They originally came from
South Carolina where they were saved from being euthanized as a result of the efforts of Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. Denise was
assigned to be their foster mom, but after having them for just a few short hours, she knew should could not let them go.
They've been an integral part of the Decor by Denise design team ever since.
Denise Willard has over a decade of experience transforming the homes of clients in the
District of Columbia, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Her work has been showcased on ABC Affiliate, News Channel 8 and
in Washington Home & Garden, The Washingtonian, Elan, The Washington Post, JavaTown and From House to Home Magazine.
Denise is a regular columnist for Viva Tysons Magazine and is part of the Design Diva team for Ask Miss A, a national lifestyle
eMagazine that reaches a growing subscription base of 70,000 visitors each month. 
