A milestone moment: Cat receiving the ASID Excellence in Design Platinum Award for 2026. 

We are SO EXCITED to tell you that we were the recipients of the 2026 Excellence In Design Award, Platinum(!) level.  Helping our clients and bringing them joy is why we do what we do, and seeing them delighted with their home is all the reward we need.  That said, it was still such an honor to receive recognition for this large-scale project that was years in the making. It was so full of our design heart and soul that we can't help but be so grateful to have it recognized in this way.  And, we couldn't wait to share it with you <3 Read on for all the details!

We spent last weekend at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Carolinas Chapter conference, which took place in SC.  They held their annual Design Excellence Awards, where they recognize outstanding interior design projects from the year.  We were honored to have this Durham Custom home design chosen as the Platinum Award Winner.  This multi-year project was one of our most customized projects to date, with the design beginning as a “someday” dream for these clients, and becoming the home they'd always wanted brought to life. Everything from the layout to the exterior to the final picture hung on the wall was crafted by our team, and it was a proud (and very grateful) moment for all of us.  If you haven't seen this project yet, you can take a tour of the full home below!

 

Front Page News!

Speaking of this project, we were thrilled to have it picked up for the cover of the latest issue of Designers Today!  This industry publication is a favorite among the design community,  and it was exciting to see this much-loved design on the cover.  We have quite the affinity for this cozy, deep teal family room (more coming on the blog soon!) 

Coming Up Soon…

NC Modernist Home Tour in Chapel Hill

We were SO excited with Preservation Chapel Hill reached out to us about this event.  They are partnering with NCModernist (if you haven't checked them out, their website is fascinating!) to put on a tour of classic homes built in the Modernist style in Chapel Hill.  We were asked to help fund this event and couldn't be more excited.  Tickets will go on sale SOON, at the link below!

2026 Fall High Point Furniture Market

Yes it is THAT time of year already! October marks the yearly Fall High Point Furniture Market.  It's the world-wide mecca of all things design, and we are so fortunate to have it right here in our backyard. We'll be traveling there for a full week of sourcing the best quality furnishings for our clients and meeting with vendors who help us provide deep value for our clients. It's an important part of our work, and we also spend a lot of time at Market giving back to the design community by speaking on educational panels (LOTS this year!). If you follow us on socials, we always invite you into the Market whirlwind with us!  If you're just joining us here in the CFD fam (hiii! we're so glad you're here!) you can find a link to our instagram and facebook below, which is where we will show most of the behind-the-scenes footage while we're at market. If you're wondering “What is market??” We've got you covered there, too! A deep-dive into the significance of this event (hint: much more than shopping) and why it matters for our clients is at the button below. It's a fun recap of the history of the NC furniture trade and how it became the impactful international event it is today. 

From all of us on the team, we're so glad you're here. We love sharing the behind-the-scenes of our design work with you!  We also love to hear from you.  Always feel free to reply to this email, or give us a holler over at hello@catfrenchdesign.com.