What CDC Designs does

Creative Design Consultants (dba CDC Designs) is a privately held, partner-owned interior design firm founded in 1981 in Southern California, organized since 2024 into two practice areas. CDC Home delivers model home merchandising, sales environment design, and design-center design for homebuilders, with services spanning interior architectural evaluation, strategic programming, space planning, FF&E specification, sourcing and installation, and digital 3D rendering. CDC Studio serves multi-family and commercial developers with amenity, clubhouse, re-development, and lifestyle-driven commercial design. The firm's underlying technology stack is conventional for the sector - CAD and Revit for documentation, plus advanced 3D rendering for client visualization - underpinned by a structured five-phase design process (Discovery, concept development, documentation, sourcing, installation).

The business model is project-based B2B professional services: clients engage CDC on a per-project basis via direct sales, website/phone/email contact, and referrals; pricing is custom-quoted based on scope, with no subscription or recurring fees disclosed. Revenue therefore tracks development-cycle volumes at enterprise homebuilders, multi-family owners, and select architects and private clients. Customer acquisition is sales-led, driven by 40+ years of brand reputation, an award portfolio (23 consecutive years on Interior Design Magazine's 100 Giants; #1 ranked residential firm in 2023), and a reported 90% client return rate that converts repeat business into a durable demand pipeline. Geographic reach spans 20+ U.S. states from the Costa Mesa, CA headquarters.

CDC's competitive positioning rests on entrenched brand authority, deep domain specialization, and quantified client outcomes (e.g., 125% above market rate and 80% occupancy in 8 months at The Martin; 400% increase in clubhouse rentals at City Lights; 80% pricing uplift at Dolphin Marina). Named enterprise clients include Toll Brothers, Shea Properties, Woodside Homes, Brookfield Residential, Tri Pointe Homes, Sares Regis Group, Trumark, Goldrich & Kest, AMLI Residential, Shea Homes, Community Development Partners, Trammell Crow, and The Latigo Group. The firm holds no patents, has no external institutional ownership, and does not disclose financials; growth is funded by partner equity and reinvestment, with a recent 2024 rebrand and practice-area restructure signaling a more deliberate go-to-market posture going forward.

Name

CDC Designs

Legal name

Creative Design Consultants

Website

https://cdcdesigns.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CDC Designs (Creative Design Consultants) is a privately held interior design firm founded in 1981 serving U.S. homebuilders, multi-family developers, architects, and private clients across 20+ states, delivering model home merchandising and commercial design through two practices (CDC Home and CDC Studio) under a project-based professional-services model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Interior Design Services

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Interior design services
• Model home merchandising
• Commercial interior design
• Multi-family design
• Residential space planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Costa Mesa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Interior Design Professional Services: CDC generates revenue through professional services fees for interior design consulting, model home merchandising, sales environment design, and commercial multi-family design projects. Revenue is project-based, one-time fees for each engagement rather than recurring subscriptions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CDC Designs (Creative Design Consultants) is an interior design firm founded in 1981 that provides professional interior design services through two practice areas: CDC Home delivers model home merchandising and sales environment design for homebuilders, and CDC Studio provides commercial interior design for multi-family, re-development, clubhouse, and lifestyle-driven projects. The firm serves leading public and private real estate development companies across 20+ U.S. states, delivering services such as space planning, FF+E sourcing, project management, and 3D rendering on a project-based, custom-quoted engagement model.

Product overview

CDC Designs (Creative Design Consultants) is an interior design firm founded in 1981, organized into two distinct practice areas: CDC Home delivers model home and sales environment design for homebuilders, while CDC Studio provides commercial design services for multi-family, re-development, clubhouse, and lifestyle-driven projects. The company has been named to Interior Design Magazine's 100 Giants list for 22 years and operates with nationwide reach across 20+ U.S. states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CDC Home Model home and sales environment design service for homebuilders and residential developers. Creates intentional, branded spaces intended to inspire prospective buyers to envision themselves at home and take the next step in the purchasing process. Includes interior architectural evaluation, strategic programming, space planning, FF+E sourcing and installation, exterior color consultation, and landscape coordination.
• CDC Studio Commercial interior design service for multi-family developers, re-development projects, clubhouses, and lifestyle-driven projects across every scale and setting. Covers amenity space design, apartment renovation, clubhouse design, and lifestyle-oriented commercial interiors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% client return rate
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Builders Design: Builders Design is one of the largest U.S. firms specializing in model home merchandising and design for production homebuilders, with a national footprint and similar buyer base to CDC. It is the most directly comparable service-line competitor to CDC Home.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Gensler is the world's largest global design firm with diversified practice areas including mixed-use, multifamily, and residential environments. While broader than CDC, it competes for the same enterprise developer and homeowner-association clients on large multi-family and lifestyle commercial design mandates.
• HOK: HOK is a global design, architecture, and engineering firm with a sizable interiors practice serving commercial, hospitality, and residential real estate developers. It competes with CDC Studio on large lifestyle, clubhouse, and multi-family amenity design mandates, though as part of a much broader portfolio.
• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a major global architecture and interior design firm serving healthcare, education, commercial, and residential clients. Its interiors group competes with CDC Studio on multi-family and lifestyle-driven commercial design engagements, especially at the higher end of multi-family and hospitality.
• Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA): HBA is a leading international hospitality and luxury interior design firm with deep multi-family, residential, and amenity space work. It competes with CDC Studio for high-end multi-family, clubhouse, and lifestyle design commissions from large developers and operators.
• Wilson Associates: Wilson Associates is an international luxury design firm serving hospitality, mixed-use, and luxury residential developers. It is comparable to CDC Studio on upscale multi-family, clubhouse, and amenity design mandates targeting premium positioning.
• Yabu Pushelberg: Yabu Pushelberg is an internationally recognized design firm with strong practices in luxury residential, hospitality, and mixed-use development interiors. It overlaps with CDC on amenity and lifestyle-driven design for premium multi-family and mixed-use developers.
• AvroKO: AvroKO is a design firm specializing in hospitality, food & beverage, and residential environments with a strong multi-family and lifestyle practice. It competes with CDC Studio on developer-driven amenity and lifestyle design work where storytelling and brand experience are central.
• HKS: HKS is a major architecture and design firm with an interiors practice serving mixed-use, hospitality, and residential developers. It is comparable to CDC on integrated multi-family and mixed-use design commissions from large institutional developers.
• DLR Group: DLR Group is an integrated design firm providing architecture, interiors, and planning across hospitality, multi-family, and community sectors. It competes with CDC Studio on multi-family amenity, clubhouse, and lifestyle-driven interiors work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cdcdesigns.create.share.inspire
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cdc-designs
• Instagraminstagram.com/cdcdesigns
• Xx.com/cdcdesignsideas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

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 CDC Designs