Becky Ducsik developed a love for interior design while growing up with her stepmom, a successful interior designer in the Bay area who was forever creating high-end custom interiors for her clients. After high school, Becky set off to earn her bachelor’s degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, with a field specialization in the arts. It was at IU where she met her husband.

     After college, the couple moved to the Pacific Northwest, where Becky took a job in website design, but interior design was never far off her radar. In fact, every time Becky and her husband moved to a new home (which was often), she found herself remodeling, furnishing, and decorating it. “I had this huge passion for spaces and for building an environment that was functional and beautiful,” she recalls. “I also became really comfortable with home improvement projects having collaborated with contractors, architects, and engineers through my own renovations.”

     Becky was offering complimentary design services for friends and neighbors, but soon had enough clients to start her own interior design company, The Phinery. “There was a shop for rent just a few blocks from my house on Phinney Avenue, and I knew it was the one,” she says. She opened the shop in 2016, offering a collection of curated furnishings and décor, and a beautiful design studio for her clients. By 2019, she grew out of the space, and opened a larger studio and home store down the street on Greenwood Avenue.

     Today, she employs a team of nine, with four full-time interior designers, a paint color consultant, and an incredible support staff. “I interview and onboard our clients, and manage the internal art direction and creative reviews,” says Becky. With her designers working under one umbrella and drawing from the same supply library, it’s a fun, supportive, collaborative environment that benefits everyone. It is also what makes The Phinery so unique. “You not only get a dedicated designer when you hire us…you get a full team,” says Becky. And because of the team’s size and breadth of experience, the company doesn’t discriminate based on project size, length, or budget, which is unheard of in this business. As Becky says proudly, “Our strategy has always been to be approachable and to make interior design attainable for all.”

     Adding to their approachability is the culture here, which is all about having fun with design. “Our favorite clients are those who get as excited about their designs as we do, as that collaboration creates the best product,” Becky explains. “We are great listeners, we are empathetic, and we have all gone through the process of remodeling our own homes, so we relate well to our clients, which is huge, and not something you will find with a junior designer.” It is also why Becky hires designers who are already experts in their field and who have demonstrated a true natural talent for design.

     Since opening, Becky has built a strong referral-based business that will most likely expand further in the coming years, but for now is focused on solid client work. “We offer remodel designs for kitchens, bathrooms, and additions, and also deliver complete designs for clients wanting to take their homes down to the studs and rebuild with an architect,” she continues. “We provide all of the drafting deliverables and material selections, so clients have a clear design deliverable to give to their contractors for estimating.” The other half of their projects focus on furnishings—furniture layouts, furniture sourcing, and final décor—and again, vary in scale from one room at a time to entire homes.

     With 75% of their projects involving homes built prior to the 1920’s, historic homes are their sweet spot. “We work to update these homes for modern-day living while preserving and celebrating their unique character,” Becky says. “We also love taking on vacation homes, which we renovate, furnish, and decorate for the vacation lifestyle the client desires.” As for style, The Phinery specializes in a contemporary, yet vintage look, which is evident in their online portfolio of projects. And while much of Becky’s curated collection is showcased in The Phinery’s Greenwood showroom, she also sources from retail stores like Rejuvenation Hardware for gorgeous fixtures and hardware and Anthropologie for unique, fun pieces. “Clients can come to our showroom, sit on pieces, test out cushions, and customize our furniture to work for their unique space,” she continues. “We also offer an amazing collection of fabrics that customers can choose from for custom made draperies, pillows, and bench seat cushions (all handmade by The Phinery’s workroom in Ballard).”

     So if you have a project, reach out through their website (www.thephinery.com), where you can schedule a complimentary 30-minute ‘Meet and Greet’ with Becky to discuss your project and see if it’s a good fit. If you’re looking for design direction for a project on which you’re already working, you can schedule a 1 hour in-home or virtual ‘Design Guidance Session’ with one of the Phinery's designers. They also offer paint color consultations as well as complimentary fabrication consults for custom draperies, pillows, or bench seat cushions.

     Finally, prior to meeting with any designer, Becky recommends gathering inspiration photos using a site like Pinterest to better understand the general style you like, then asking the designer what they would do with your space. If, by the end of the consult, you are genuinely excited and feel a natural rapport, it’s time to hire them!