Creative Design Group

What Creative Design Group does

Creative Design Group (CDG) is a privately held, full-service interior design firm founded in approximately 1988 and headquartered in San Ramon, California, serving home builders, multi-family developers, and senior living operators across California and Nevada. The firm delivers professional interior design under three core offerings: Model Home Merchandising (design development, material specifications, furniture procurement, installation, CAD drafting, architectural review, and accessory replenishment for new-home model complexes), Multi-Family Design (space planning, material specification, construction administration, commercial furnishings, artwork and accessories for apartments, lobbies, clubhouses, offices, and retail), and Senior Living Design (design consultation, paint selections, furniture procurement, and built-in design and fabrication for age-qualified communities). Operations run from a single Bay Area office with a 1–10 person team structured into specialized departments covering Furniture, Art, Window Treatments, Accessories, Architectural Drafting, and Commercial Design.

The business operates as a project-based professional services firm, with pricing quoted per engagement and complimentary consultation offered as a lead-generation mechanism. Revenue is generated through direct enterprise engagements with home builders and developers for whom CDG functions as a long-term design partner tied to community launches. Named clients include Toll Brothers, Taylor Morrison, Shea Homes, Ryder Homes, SummerHill Homes, Landsea Homes, Kiper Homes, Essex, Meta Housing, Wathen Castanos, and Marina Village Associates, with multiple projects per client evidencing embedded relationships rather than transactional engagements. The firm is owner-led by Kelly Krhoun (President), who holds a USC communications/marketing degree, UC Berkeley interior design training, and active Building Industry Association leadership roles.

CDG's competitive positioning rests on three decades of relationships with major builders, an award track record described as exceeding 100 awards including 10 national recognitions (notably a 2017 Golden Nugget Award for Best Age Qualified Senior Living Community), and a full-service execution model that spans design through installation. The firm has no disclosed funding, no app/API/SDK surface, no proprietary technology platform, and limited geographic reach beyond California and Nevada, making it a category-specialist boutique rather than a scaled platform.

Name

Creative Design Group

Legal name

Creative Design Group

Website

https://smcdg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Creative Design Group is a San Ramon, California-based interior design firm founded in 1988 that delivers model home merchandising, multi-family, and senior living design services to home builders and developers across California and Nevada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Interior Design Services for Home Builders

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141), Interior Design Services (541410)

akta.pro primary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Residential Interior Fit-Out (Multi-Family & High-End) (IMAFANAE)

Keywords

• Model home interior design
• Multi-family design services
• Senior living design
• Home builder merchandising
• Commercial interior design

Headquarters

HQ city

San Ramon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Interior Design Services: Professional interior design services for model home interiors and commercial design projects, including design development, material specifications, furniture procurement, installation, and ongoing refresh services. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services engagements with home builders and developers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Creative Design Group delivers professional interior design services for the home building industry through three core service lines: Model Home Merchandising, Multi-Family Design, and Senior Living Design. Services span design development, material specifications, architectural drafting, furniture procurement, installation, and accessory replenishment for residential and commercial projects executed for builder and developer clients in California and Nevada.

Product overview

Creative Design Group offers professional interior design services primarily through three core service offerings: Model Home Merchandising, Multi-Family Design, and Senior Living Design. These services are delivered as distinct but complementary design offerings, serving both residential and commercial interior design needs. The company operates as a full-service interior design firm rather than a software product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Model Home Merchandising Interior design and furnishing services for residential model homes, including design development, target-market evaluation, frame walk consultation, material specifications, architectural review, CAD drafting, built-in cabinet design, furniture procurement, installation, and accessory replenishment, delivered to home builders to enhance buyer appeal and sales velocity for new home communities.
• Multi-Family Design Interior design services for multi-family residential properties delivered to real estate developers, including material specification, space planning, construction administration, commercial furnishings, artwork and accessories for apartments, lobbies, clubhouses, offices, and retail spaces within multi-family properties.
• Senior Living Design Specialized interior design services for senior living communities tailored for age-qualified residential environments, including design consultation, paint selections, furniture procurement, and built-in design and fabrication that balance aesthetics with accessibility and comfort requirements.

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Modsy: Modsy provides 3D-rendered interior design services for homeowners. An emerging tech-enabled interior design service targeting consumers - comparable category (interior design services) but distinct end customer and delivery model.
• Havenly: Havenly is an online interior design platform connecting consumers with professional designers for room-by-room residential design. An adjacent player in residential interior design services, but with a consumer-direct tech-enabled model rather than builder B2B merchandising.
• Decorilla: Decorilla is an online interior design marketplace offering virtual and in-person design consultations to consumers. Adjacent competitor in the residential interior design services category, with a digital-first delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• RH (Restoration Hardware): RH is a large multi-channel home furnishings retailer with an interior design services arm (RH Interiors) serving luxury residential projects. A broader incumbent offering overlapping designer-led residential furnishings, though not specialized in builder model home merchandising.
• Ethan Allen Interiors: Ethan Allen is a vertically integrated home furnishings manufacturer and retailer with a national interior design service network. A broad incumbent offering residential design services at scale, but distributed across all consumers rather than concentrated in builder merchandising.

Direct peers

• Mary Cook Associates: Mary Cook Associates is one of the largest US model home merchandising firms, providing interior design, furniture procurement, and installation for production and custom homebuilders nationally. Operates the same core service line as Creative Design Group - model home merchandising for builder clients.
• Hitchcock & Van Loan Design Group: Hitchcock & Van Loan is an interior design firm focused on model home merchandising for residential homebuilders. Competes head-to-head with Creative Design Group for builder model home accounts in the Western US.
• Décor & You (Julie Schuster Interiors): Décor & You is a model home merchandising and new-home interior design firm that supplies design, furniture, and accessories to production homebuilders. Closely comparable business model to Creative Design Group's Model Home Merchandising offering.
• Lita Dirks Design Group: Lita Dirks Design Group is an award-winning model home merchandising and interior design firm serving national homebuilders. Directly comparable in service offering (model home merchandising, builder client base) and reputation-driven positioning to Creative Design Group.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Creative-Design-Group-209028495774382

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Creative Design Group