“I always had a spark for design and all things creative,” Ariana Lovato says about choosing a career as an interior designer with a specialty in kitchen and bath design.
The owner and principal designer of Honeycomb Home Design in the central California community of Pismo Beach, Lovato’s mission for her business is simple: creating timeless interiors with a modern edge.
“I got started in interior design very young,” Lovato says. “My best friend’s mom was an interior designer and I would go to their home after school and see all of her magazine clippings and samples. I would just get really excited over it — the way that spaces can make you feel. It was something I always paid attention to as a younger child.”
Before launching Honeycomb Home Designs in 2016, Ariana completed an internship with an established interior designer before spending five years at a remodeling firm offering design and installation services. (These types of companies are known in the industry as “design/build.”)
Photo courtesy of Honeycomb Home Designs. Photographer: Emily Elise Photography
Executing on client projects is both stimulating and stressful, Lovato finds. The stressful parts come from managing the many different elements involved in a remodel. “It can get overwhelming! Your clients depend on you to help them make the best decisions and provide the information necessary for them to complete their project,” she said.
Experience is the best antidote to the stress. “The more you do it, the easier it gets,” Lovato explains. She also recommends that designers align with respected builders and tradespeople to build a dependable team that respects client budgets. “It is a rewarding career, and no career is without stress. You learn to handle it with finesse as you grow!”
Lovato first pursued her dream through an Associate’s Degree in Interior Design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) and then earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of LaVerne.
“While I learned a lot of design principles in design school, we did not focus on business and business strategies. I knew I wanted to open my own firm, so I needed to earn my business degree to learn as much as I could and to be as prepared as possible,” Lovato said, noting that even learning things like how to build a spreadsheet was helpful, as well as understanding business finance basics, such as how to read a profit-and-loss statement.
Lovato also learned marketing while pursuing her business degree, which helped her create a memorable brand. The hexagon shape was her starting point: “Hexagons are the most structurally sound shape,” she noted, “so it seemed fitting, since I’m in the building industry.”
Once she landed on the idea of a hexagon, the concept naturally evolved into the name Honeycomb.”It was easy to remember and catchy,” she said. “Now, when people see me, they say, ‘Oh you’re Honeycomb!’”
Lovato’s investment in her own education and business acumen is paying off in other ways, too. Earlier this year, she was recognized as a rising star in the industry by the NKBA’s Thirty Under 30 program. For the last three years, she has also earned a “Best of Houzz” Service Award for maintaining excellent client reviews and a high overall rating on the site.
Accolades aside, Lovato’s favorite thing about her job is the sense of satisfaction her career provides.
“Working in interior design engages my creativity every single day, and for me that’s very fulfilling,” she explains. “And when my designs satisfy my clients and help them enjoy their homes to the fullest — you can’t beat that feeling.”
Photo courtesy of Honeycomb Home Designs. Photographer: Emily Elise Photography