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The Yates Desygn team recently completed a remodel of this Preston Hollow home. The interior design is the\u00a0work of Bryan Yates and Georgina Valenzuela. The Hill Group handled construction.<\/p>\n
Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell<\/p>\n
When\u00a0Yates Desygn<\/a> launched in 2016, founders Bryan and Mike Yates expected Bryan\u2019s portfolio of work from New York City would quickly open Dallas doors.<\/p>\n \u201cExtremely naive,\u201d Bryan says. \u201cWe were humbled pretty fast.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The pair pivoted to relationship-building, leaning into advice a former employer had given: \u201cGo to everything and don\u2019t talk about work. It\u2019s about really connecting with people.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n That shift paid off. Shortly before the studio celebrated 10 years this June, a woman cold-called the office to announce that she was going to be their client: \u201cI\u2019m working with you; I\u2019m between five different houses,\u201d Mike recalls her saying. \u201c\u2018I want you to pick the one that you feel your design will fit into,\u2019\u201d Bryan finishes the story.<\/p>\n Old meets new in The Parlour, which Yates\u00a0Desygn dreamed up for the 2025 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas. Contemporary furnishings mingle with traditional paneling, parquet flooring and an unexpected brass-mesh ceiling feature.<\/p>\n Lisa Petrole\/Styling by Russell Brightwell<\/p>\n They couldn\u2019t ask for better evidence that their investment in both relationships and design has paid off. \u201cWe are now reaping the benefits of what we\u2019ve been putting out there,\u201d\u00a0says Bryan, the firm\u2019s principal designer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bryan and Mike met in New York while Bryan was working for another design firm and Mike was the production manager for a dance company. They married in 2015, shortly before deciding they were done with New York City and ready to start their own company.<\/p>\n The pair chose Dallas for its growth trajectory and relative economic stability. \u201cI knew Bryan and I were going to be successful because he\u2019s so talented,\u201d says Mike, who serves as managing director of Yates Desygn. But those first years were daunting. In some ways, they feel like they\u2019ve been in business for five years, not 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Peaks and valleys<\/p>\n A moody speakeasy designed by Yates for the 2021 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas drew the attention of builder Chris Hill, who became a frequent collaborator.<\/p>\n Lisa Petrole\/Styling by Melanie McKinley<\/p>\n In 2021, Yates Desygn made its first\u00a0Kips Bay Decorator Show House appearance<\/a>. (The team also designed a space for the 2025 Dallas house<\/a>.) Builder Chris Hill, president of The Hill Group<\/a>, was blown away by the speakeasy Bryan created in the basement of the 2021\u00a0home. \u201cDark and moody and just beautiful,\u201d Hill remembers. \u201cI immediately told him that I needed to be doing his work.\u201d<\/p>\n Hill wasn\u2019t the only one impressed. But the growth that followed came at a cost. By 2023, things were, bluntly, bad on the inside.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were really good on the client side of it, and internally, it was a little chaotic,\u201d says\u00a0Georgina Valenzuela, the company\u2019s second employee, who is now senior designer and team lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The team\u2019s first employee quit during the tumult, offering hard but honest input for her bosses on the way out.\u00a0Valenzuela was the only employee left and \u201cfreaked out a little bit.\u201d Mike asked her to give him and Bryan six months to fix the things they knew were wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how glad I am I stuck it out,\u201d\u00a0Valenzuela says.\u00a0<\/p>\n This lounge brings the comforts of home to the firm\u2019s Design District headquarters. It offers sculptural seating, layered artwork and collected accents.<\/p>\n Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell<\/p>\n The changes they made are evident inside and outside the studio. Hill, the builder, has now worked with Yates on multiple projects, including the company\u2019s new headquarters, which opened in the spring of 2025 in the Design District. He calls the Yates team a \u201cpolished outfit, a more well-oiled machine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hill appreciates that his own expertise is a valued part of the equation. He loves Bryan\u2019s designs. But also, \u201cif we think we can make it better, we present that,\u201d Hill says. \u201cHe knows what I can produce.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Make no mistake, Yates picked Hill as much as Hill picked Yates. \u201cWe believe in using only the \u2018A\u2019 people, so our clients are getting what they should be getting,\u201d Bryan notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The same approach has gone into growing what is now a team of seven. Mike says internal work focuses on clear expectations and a personal growth plan for each team member. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to build experts \u2014 within the industry,\u00a0 within our own organization.\u201d<\/p>\n Building trust<\/p>\n Warm-wood cabinetry and abstract artwork bring a sense of symmetry to the great room in this home designed by the Yates team.<\/p>\n Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell<\/p>\n The Yates process is built on trust. Bryan \u201ctakes everything very personally,\u201d Hill says. \u201cAnd with that comes an extra level of dedication. \u2026 I think that shows in his designs and finished product.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Lori\u00a0Willox and her husband had talked for years about updating the dark kitchen in their Preston Hollow home when she stumbled across photos of a Yates project and was captivated by the style. \u201cBut it also looked very comfortable, which was important to us,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t want things that I can\u2019t sit on or [to have to] tell people, \u2018Don\u2019t touch that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Their project proposal came with photo-realistic 3D renderings. But Willox also got to experience something tangible. Sitting on on a sample sofa reassured her that, indeed, Yates Desygn\u2019s polished aesthetic doesn\u2019t come at the expense of livability. \u201cI need to see something physical,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd then we trusted them on comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n That trust extended beyond the business owners.\u00a0Willox got to know the whole team during the project. \u201cThey create a really warm environment over there,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yates central<\/p>\n Is your office\u2019s conference room this chic? Didn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell<\/p>\n \u201cOver there\u201d used to mean 1,600 square feet of shared office space on North Central Expressway; now it means 3,000 square feet of their own.\u00a0The primary open workspace is inspired by a library. Double rows of oversized desks keep the team close while giving each person room for both digital work and hand sketching.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we do is very collaborative,\u201d Bryan says. \u201cI have my hand in every project; so does everyone else.\u201d Collaboration is so key, in fact, that he\u2019s already abandoned the office he built for himself \u2014 it\u2019s now a second, smaller conference room. \u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t want to be removed from the team,\u201d he explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n The space designated as Bryan Yates\u2019 office includes stacks of\u00a0design books, works of art and other pieces, including an anonymous note encouraging him to \u201clearn how to park.\u201d<\/p>\n Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell<\/p>\n His erstwhile office still features some of his favorite art, including a colorful creation by his niece, a piece by Los Angeles artist Robert\u00a0Moreland and a torn scrap of paper left on his car by an anonymous contributor. It says, \u201cLearn how to park,\u201d the edge softened with a smiley face.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yates Desygn\u2019s materials library lets clients see (and feel) design elements before final selections are made.<\/p>\n Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell<\/p>\n The materials library comprises two tall rows of drawers and cabinets that flank a massive central workspace. The day Abode stopped by, it was piled with rolls of upholstery fabric \u2014 pillows in waiting. One set of drawers opens to reveal\u00a018 different styles of cabinet pulls.\u00a0<\/p>\n Allowing clients to see and touch physical elements is crucial to the process. The samples aren\u2019t only about aesthetics; they also demonstrate how design can save time and improve function. \u201cIt\u2019s not about what things cost,\u201d Mike says. \u201cIt\u2019s about understanding what your money is being invested into.\u201d<\/p>\n But there\u2019s no way to stock everything that will end up in a design. That\u2019s where trust comes in. You can take a luxury car for a test drive, but not a luxury home. \u201cWe\u2019re selling a dream,\u201d Bryan says.<\/p>\n The next decade\u00a0<\/p>\n Bryan and Mike dream big. They\u2019re thinking about a furniture collection and more out-of-state and international projects. But their dream also includes more of the team-building that stabilized Yates\u00a0Desygn when its internal culture was floundering.<\/p>\n A richly veined vanity becomes a focal point in this bathroom designed by the Yates team for the Preston Hollow home.<\/p>\n Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell<\/p>\n Bryan wants to focus on giving employees greater decision-making autonomy, \u201cso that I\u2019m not always the bottleneck.\u201d\u00a0Valenzuela feels that change\u00a0coming. \u201cWe focus so much on us that I feel like I could answer the same way Bryan would,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for past clients, Mike and Bryan may see you around town, but they don\u2019t expect to see you in the office. A Yates design is meant to last. \u201cYou\u2019re going to do it right and you\u2019re going to do it once,\u201d Mike says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you end up moving, call us,\u201d Bryan adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Angled ceiling planes and a procession of arched windows add architectural interest to this room in the newly designed Preston Hollow residence. Patterned seating offers another layer of dimension.<\/p>\n Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell Yates Desygn created this artistic living area in the basement of the 2021 Kips Bay Decorator Show Hous Dallas. The stairs are surrounded by hand-painted\u00a0suede walls (developed with Ever Atelier), while the living space includes\u00a0a curved B&B\u00a0Italia sofa and Breccia Nuvole marble fireplace.<\/p>\n Stephen Karlisch\/Styling by Melanie McKinley This is another view of the 2021 Kips Bay project, which the firm refers to as \u201ca hidden retreat layered in intimacy, warmth and quiet opulence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Stephen Karlisch\/Styling by Melanie McKinley Chartreuse and aubergine pop in the space Yates Desygn created for the 2025 Kip Bay Dallas Decorator Show House.<\/p>\n Lisa Petrole\/Styling by Russell Brightwell A streamlined wood desk, low bookcase, tailored lounge chairs and a linear sconce bring subtle\u00a0Mad Men\u00a0swagger to Mike Yates\u2019 olive-and-plum office.<\/p>\n Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell Light and greenery soften the Yates office\u2019s exposed brick and industrial ductwork.<\/p>\n Lacey Land\/Styling by Russell Brightwell<\/p>\n Love homes, gardens and design? Get more good stuff from Abode by following us on Instagram<\/a> and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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