sfa design offers services such as architectural design, project management, construction documentation, custom furniture design, art and accessories selection and renderings.

For Sue Firestone, CEO of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based sfa design, creating an ambiance for some of the world's most luxurious resorts and private homes is something she fell in love with more than 30 years ago, she says.

Firestone started her career in interior design in the mid-1970s when she worked as a junior designer for a firm in Southern California. Eventually, Firestone worked her way to the top and took ownership of the business until she exited the firm in 1995. At that time, Firestone says, she was undergoing a major lifestyle change and decided she had the capabilities and client base to launch her own business. "I wanted to have my name on my own company," Firestone recalls.

In 1996, Firestone relocated to Santa Barbara where she started sfa design, a boutique interior design firm that caters to high-end residential and hospitality markets. "Starting from day one, we've never had a signature look," Firestone says. "Our philosophy - whether we're designing for a hotel in Bali or a businessman in New York - is to look at [a client's] lifestyle."

Under the direction of Firestone, the firm offers services such as architectural design, project management, construction documentation, custom furniture design, art and accessories selection and renderings.

sfa design has created lavish interiors for a long list of high-end clientele, such as the Venezia Tower at the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. As part of a 1,100-room addition at the hotel complex, sfa design designed an opulent Venetian palazzo look with ornate backlighting, hand-painted murals and marble bathrooms.

Other projects include The Residences at MGM Grand in Las Vegas and several suites in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. On the residential side of the business, Firestone designs home interiors for elite athletes, musicians and business executives.

Hospitable Market
The recent revival of the travel and tourism industry is driving new projects for the firm. Executives and leisure travelers are again looking for luxury time-share condominium hotels and lavish resorts. "Quite a bit more money is being spent on more luxurious hotels," Firestone notes. "People are viewing them as a home away from home."

Firestone has noticed a shift away from monotonous design and toward a trend that embraces the local culture and history of the hotel or resort. "Even if it's an overnight visit, people want to know where they are," Firestone says. sfa design responds to the trend by creating environments that have a "sense of place" and incorporate the qualities people appreciate in their own homes, she notes.

Turnkey Solutions
The company competes with large, national firms in the hospitality market, but Firestone says its "unique residential experience is what sets it apart." In fact, sfa design won several hospitality design projects after working in the private homes of several leading hotel developers. "We have the edge on both sets of competitors," Firestone says.

sfa design's success stems from its ability to offer total turnkey solutions void of one signature style. Instead, Firestone says her 30-person team approaches each project with an open mind to determine exactly what each client wants. "Our design is driven by what the client needs and wants rather than what we think a home or hotel should look like," Firestone adds.

For example, in 2005, the firm created a traditional Mexican-inspired theme for the Fairmont Heritage Place in Acapulco, Mexico. When the purchasers rejected it and requested a more contemporary, Asian-inspired motif, sfa met the challenge. "We had to switch our minds to be more open to what the market was looking for," Firestone explains. At sfa design, a successful project requires "listening to the client and not coming up with preconceived notions of design, and remembering that it is a service industry where you have to perform within budget and on schedule," Firestone explains.

Technological Advances
Firestone says the profession has benefited from more sophisticated technology. Advances like computer-aided drafting software and real-time Webcasts allow sfa design to communicate efficiently with its clients.

"The sophistication of communications has changed things for the better," Firestone says. "Doing a project in Bangkok is as easy as doing a project in [the United States]."

To distinguish itself from the competition, sfa design customizes Web sites where clients can review materials they chose for their projects. The firm can also set up Web cams on its construction sites so clients can view the progress. "It's more than being a decorator; we're a full-service resource," Firestone says. The technology has saved the firm time and money when faced with the challenge of working with a strict budget and aggressive time schedule, she explains.

Moving Forward
In the future, Firestone plans to grow the firm's reputation by hiring a public relations firm to promote its projects. "We need to get more press out there about our residential work," she says.

Firestone also hopes to expand the company by hiring more employees. In order to attract more people to relocate, Firestone says she needs to break the perception that it is too expensive to live in Santa Barbara. Now, the firm operates an internship program for aspiring designers. Under the mentorship of experienced designers, qualified interns are offered full-time employment with the firm.