KARI DE LAVENNE

"Kari didn't play with dollhouses as a child; she built them."

Majoring in Housing at Iowa State Univeristy, Kari studied urban development, construction, the physcology of family and home as well as consumer sciences and textile science. Raised in a family who loved to travel, she saw the world through artful eyes, and knew her future was in art and interior design for which she minored. Her degree first led her to the one of the founders of the furniture industry, Ethan Allen.

"I learned how well-built furniture was made from the inside out, various wood species, grains, stain applications, how wood was bent,  the best upholstery spring systems, and care. I still draw from that knowledge today."

Future adventures took Kari to Califoria to work in Property Management for a major Commercial Developer in Los Angeles, as well as boutique design houses working for elite clientele in the Rolling Hills neighborhoods. Continuing her education at UCLA taking coursework in Business and Human Resources earning her addtional designations and an additional career for the next 5 years.  Her calling remained sound and led her back the the path of design.

While raising her family in Oregon she gradually open her own boutique design firm which she proudly runs independently.  "I'm a one-person operation, and I prefer it that way.  It's important to have my hands on everything so the end result is visually seamless and my clients get undivided attention which is why I work one project at a time".

DE LAVENNE DESIGN, LLC was established in September of 2010. Since then Kari has transformed dozens of spaces to their best potential.She also realized her own dream come true when she built her own "life--sized dollhouse" which was completed Summer of 2021.