Burress Design Group began as a personal interest for Founder and Principal Designer Christina Burress, and it has grown to an established boutique design firm offering luxury services.
The business debuted a showroom in late April, marking the latest milestone in the growth of the design firm.
The setup
Burress started her career in health care, including earning a graduate degree in hospital administration. Her office space at the hospital was one of the spaces that showcased her design skills.
“They saw how I decorated my office, and they all loved it,” she said of her coworkers. “Then I've got the doctors coming to me asking if I could help them with their office and pretty soon, the department asked if I could do the whole psychology floor.”
Following the birth of her second child, Burress and her husband, Jason, built a house with George C. Fuller Custom Homes, in which Burress led design efforts and collaborated with the architect.
“We had a housewarming party, and a lot of people came and said, ‘Who was your designer? It's beautiful.’ and I said, ‘Well, it was me’,” Burress said. “They were like, ‘Oh, you missed your calling.’”
She launched Burress Design Group in 2020 with a social media post showcasing her own home design. Following some inquiries, the first job Burress took on was a full home renovation. The business grew, with Burress later adding team members including a finance director, another designer, a curator and a procurement team member.
Burress said her husband bought the showroom space in Adriatica Village with an initial plan to expand his business, Burress Injury Law, into the space. The idea to develop the design firm’s showroom in the space was pursued, and later completed, following more than a year of remodeling work, Burress said.
The showroom serves as a workspace for the team but also showcases various design elements and high-quality finishes including Venetian plaster, tilework, trim work, marble thresholds, various types of wood and more. Burress said the showroom design was intended to highlight the variety of things the group could incorporate into designs for clients.
What they offer
Burress Design Group offers both renovation and furnishing services for residential and commercial spaces.
The team’s full-service approach includes interior decorating with an in-home consultation and sourcing of custom furnishings, accessories and decor, as well as larger-scale remodeling projects for homes and businesses that Burress leads herself. The firm offers both interior and exterior design services as well as virtual design services and hourly design consulting, its website states.
“Renovations we are excellent at,” Burress said. “The details, that's what sets us apart.”
Commercial spaces that have been designed by the Burress Design Group include Elaine’s Cocktail Kitchen in Frisco as well as The Rook and the Burress Injury Law building in McKinney’s Adriatica Village. The group serves the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but has traveled to destinations such as Seguin and San Antonio for jobs, Burress said.
Burress said she enjoys designing in classic and traditional styles with elements of coastal design, but the group is able to design spaces that meet the clients’ needs.
“If I had to do all coastal [design], I would be bored after a while,” Burress said. “If you come to me and say, ‘I'm eclectic, I love cultural art and horses and a little bit of Western and modern, and I want all of that in my house,’ ... we can do that.”
Quote of note
“We source very specific to our clients needs and passions and loves. If they say, ‘We love old world furniture and antiques, but we want to make it look modern.’ We have the talent to be able to ... incorporate that but bring a fresh perspective into it,” Burress said.
How it works
Burress said she works to ensure that the group is a good match for the client, and vice versa.
“We're more of the luxury design. We've been able to focus in on what that means and who we're able to serve,” she said. “Clients may not think that we're a good fit, but we're also seeing if they're a good fit for us too, because ... a boutique luxury design firm is different than just a regular designer that you might find at Pottery Barn.”
Following the client signing a contract, the initial design of the space is created in a software program. Clients visit the showroom to see the design, which is showcased on a big screen and discussed with the Burress Design Group team, as well as look at finishes and samples.
“[Clients] generally visit us in the showroom, I would say, three or four times during the process,” Burress said. “We bring them stuff too, so it's a whole back and forth.”
The showroom also features a variety of boutique products, including home decor the Burress Design Group team uses in clients’ homes as well as clothing, purses, jewelry, art and more. The business hosts seasonally themed edits four times a year, coordinating with the seasons, which are events that showcase curated product selections.
Outside of those events, guests can shop the showroom by appointment only. To set an appointment, call 214-727-9909.
Diving in deeper
Burress shared some tips for simple ways to improve the appeal of a home. Top tips include:
- Lighting: The color and temperature of light is measured using the Kelvin scale, with lower numbers like 2,700 Kelvin representing more yellow light and higher numbers like 4,000-5,000 representing more white and blue light. Burress recommends using between 3,000-3,500 Kelvin in home lighting to strike a balance between well-lit and a cozy feeling.
- Paint colors: Walls may look different based on lighting, especially natural light. When selecting paint colors, Burress recommends looking at the samples in the morning, then again in the afternoon and again in the evening to see how the paint reflects in different lighting.
- Interior design: Burress said a common mistake made when decorating a home is making everything look the same when selecting design elements. She recommends mixing metals, wood colors, wood grains and more to give the home a feeling of depth and warmth.
Looking ahead
Burress said she is interested in continuing to grow the business, but wants to prioritize quality over quantity.
“I would love to go from a team of five to 10 [people], and be able to fly us down to wherever the projects are,” she said. “Scaling it, but still keeping those personal relationships and the quality that we've always been known for.”
