Not those founding fathers…

Theeeese founding fathers

It was only fitting that 2 weeks after launching ourselves full speed ahead with a completely new name that we took a work trip out to South Dakota for a Showplace Cabinet Seminar. While we were out there we took it upon ourselves to see what the vast “flat lands” had to offer. It turns out this is the perfect place for team bonding and really taking the time to reflect on what life has to offer and actually what it has already provided.

Smith & Co. Interior Design is a subsector of United States Lumber Company, founded in 1925. The interior design expertise is not a new thing – for years US Lumber was offering kitchen and bath design services as well as all of the parts and pieces needed to build your home, addition, or remodel. Taking the leap of faith and splitting the interior design team off from the lumber yard was only a matter of time. How do you know when it’s time exactly? Well, you don’t. But if you have the right people and it feels right you dive in head first.

Our first adventure as the Smith & Co. Interior Design team was truly one for the books. We flew into Rapid City South Dakota and drove over to our Airbnb which was located in the Black Hills. Hill City was the name of the town and it was a quaint, one stop sign town. Hill City is a central location for all of the sites. 15 minutes to Mt. Rushmore, 10 minutes from Crazy Horse, 5 minutes from multiple wineries and just the town itself had so much rich history we were absolutely never bored. Even our cabin was an experience. The owners had goats, horses and dogs (our favorite) ((except our horse girl, Beth)).

I remember at times looking around at the wide open spaces around us in South Dakota and thinking to myself “what is the RUSH?” when we are back at work after this trip why do we feel so overwhelmed with life and so rushed by others around us? Taking a trip like this is so completely necessary to re-center yourself and take a look at what really matters. It opens our eyes and our minds to the true meaning of what we do and that is to think outside the box that is your house or room. Look out the windows and bring in the textures of nature. Get to know you, our client, on a personal and true human level in order to understand the functionality of your space. To se the mood with colors and to bring all of the parts and unique pieces together in order to make your house, or whatever your space is, feel like your home.