Hi I’m Ryan, and I do Design

Why I do what I do, and why I started Ryan Does Design

Looking back on my childhood, it could be said that a first hint as to where my life would lead, occurred while I was in elementary school. I don’t remember exactly what inspired the decision, but one day I checked out and took home a book from the library on the schematic plans for a variety of playhouses, treehouses, and forts, with the desire to build one of my own. Fortunately, my brother and I were able to convince my parents, and we built a cute little gable-roofed playhouse in the corner of our backyard.

Fast forward to my early adult years, I finally found myself in school studying interior design, with the goal of one day being a designer of hotels. After about 5 years of working within the residential industry of Chicago, this goal became a reality when I took a chance and moved to Denver. It was then that I joined the interiors team at an architecture and design firm who’s work focused mainly on hospitality and multi-family projects.

While I still love what I do as a passionate creative, over the course of the past two years, my attitude towards the industry has gone a little sour. Ultimately, the reason for this is my realization as to just how wasteful the industry really is.

Though I have always had a pangs of guilt for what was being thrown away during demolition on any project, it wasn’t until working on a major hotel renovation that I saw a real shift in my perspective. While collaborating with the team to design new custom carpeting for the public spaces of the hotel, it came to me; “what is going to happen to all of the old carpeting that’s being torn out?” The answer was easy; it was going to the landfill. The same could be said for all the existing finishes, fixtures, and furnishings that were being replaced. It was after this moment, that I began to question my line of work.

It is easy to get excited about a beautiful new space, filled with pretty new things, but why in this process do we never question ourselves; what is happening to all of this waste? If you think logically about it you realize; for every new item we buy and/or install, something is going to be discarded. In the case of the hotel, over 1,000 guest rooms received new carpeting in addition to the public spaces - that’s a lot of square footage, and it all went to the landfill.

Determined to find a way of holding on to the love I had for my career, I joined a group of fellow architects and designers from various firms in Denver who met once a month to discuss sustainability within the industry. In addition to learning about useful tools and resources such as Mindful Materials and Building Green, we had discussions about each of our individual firms, and what we were doing to insure that sustainability was not only a priority for the projects we were working on, but also a focus internally for our offices.

Coming from the smallest firm represented within the group, I felt behind in relation to the practices the others spoke of. I was motivated to bring what I had learned from the group, back to the rest of my company to help create new guidelines and policies for a more sustainably focused future. And then COVID-19 happened.

As with many industries that were impacted by the pandemic, the hospitality design industry took a hit. With the uncertain times, many projects were put on hold, having affects that trickled down to our pocket books. During this time as a newer resident of Denver, I had been living with a roommate whom in May, decided to move out. This left me with nearly a completely empty house, because the majority of the furniture had belonged to them. Not having a lot of funds, and not wanting to be living alone in an empty home, I took to local listings in search of used furniture.

After filling my place with what I consider to be some pretty awesome and affordable finds, I realized I had an opportunity on my hands. In addition to my goal of designing hotels, it has also been a life dream of mine to operate my own business. I knew that the time was right for me to take advantage of my lightened work load, and get Ryan Does Design off the ground.

Building from my desire to make interior design more sustainable and attainable, I came up with my mission - to provide good, timeless, and quality design, using only repurposed goods. It is my hope that others will see the beauty that objects with history have, and can contribute to your environment. I believe that it is time we stop thinking that our homes can’t be ‘nice’, unless everything just came off the production line wrapped in plastic, and start looking at how we can preserve and re-use what we have to continue to be beautiful, and last a lifetime.

2020 has been a big year in many ways, and consumers are becoming more ecologically aware. Pair that with the impact the pandemic has had on income levels, and the amount of time people are spending in their homes, there couldn’t be a more perfect moment for me to pursue my dream of helping others love where they live, while reducing our impact on the planet.

[Above: The dining space of my home, filled with found goods.]