INTERVIEW WITH CUMBY
How long have you been doing what you're doing?
Actually, I have a degree in Furnishings and Interiors from theUniversity of Georgia, through the College of Consumer Science. It was a real hands on approach education at that time, even learning how to make window treatments! After graduation, I tried several different angles of the design field in a small town in Middle Georgia. Several years later, I moved to the Atlanta area after visiting a Street of Dreams in 1988. My heart soared and I genuinely had the biggest goose bumps ever after taking the show home tours! I knew that I was destined to be a mover and shaker in the design industry and made my plans to join a prominent firm. Experience here incorporated decorating many model homes for large developers, working with custom clientele, and partnering with custom builders for speculation homes and for their custom clients.
With many years of decorating experience in various avenues of the design field, I found my calling with my company, Cumby’s Custom Interiors, in Roswell, GA. Yes, my first name is Columbia, but my friends and clients call me Cumby. It is apparent that I connect with so many people that are looking to improve their homes for their personal needs and desires but “don’t necessarily want the same thing everyone else has." I absolutely love working with clients and enjoy what I call the WOW factor – seeing first hand the satisfaction and joy that my clients have with their homes, to make their house truly their home. Sometimes dreams can be found in smaller packages as well as large but they are still dreams looking to become reality.
WOW factors come in all sizes and cause many emotional reactions. I certainly have great satisfaction in taking their wishes to the next level. I have lived this particular avenue myself with remodeling and redesigning several personal homes to fit our needs with recently building my dream home in the Athens, GA area of Metro Atlanta. Now, I have discovered many marvelous ways to help YOU, no matter what your location may be. THAT is such a grand feeling to help many people!
We are impressed with your portfolio, but what sets you apart from other designers?
Cumby’s Custom Interiors is a full service interior design company in the Atlanta are, but serves the world. This is my business and has been the focus of my career. We will always be very time conscious with returned phone calls and emails as well as extremely important decisions through the design process.
Because we work with clients who want to set themselves apart from the cookie cutter design, we value your custom needs and couple you with great resources and service people that will make this involved process as stress free as possible. I use customer service resources that have an incredible reputation in this industry and enjoy working with clients. This way, you know that these are “tried and true” referrals, not a yellow page advertiser that we don’t know. We take time to marry the right professionals or resources to meet your personal needs, personality, and desires.
Because custom clients, like you, are each unique in every way, it is important to understand that your individual needs and desires will be reflected in your interiors. I listen. Your home should reflect your personality, not mine. I’m there to guide you, to help you make good decisions, and keep you from making costly mistakes, and to keep your goal in sight. These important decisions will have an impact on you for a long time, not just for one day.
Let’s be completely honest, I am passionate about what I do and I enjoy helping people, like you, reach their goals and dreams. Our clients will tell you that I am extremely “hands on” and build relationships with the people I help and with the people I surround myself in business. I offer to you emotional support, honesty, and a straight forward approach to working through the design process. It will be a relationship that I hope to include you in as well.
Ok, this sounds really great but it also sounds expensive. Are we going to be able to afford this?
The decisions, the resources, the “know how” of a good interior designer is invaluable to you as clients. And it is to your benefit to work with a creative designer that realizes the investment you are making in your most personal investment, your home. Not only do you save money on costly mistakes by having your personal design consultant, you save precious time that you can devote to your family and career, and you can be more stress free with the decisions you are making. Isn’t it smarter to surround yourself with the experts that will make your house your home?
PLUS, it’s amazing that I’ve had dozens of potential clients return to me after their building is in progress or after that have made costly mistakes to say that they have paid out more money to have mistakes corrected and that it could have been avoided if we had worked together. Or they are having trouble with communicating to their resources what they have always wanted as part of their home and they had to “settle” instead. That reality check is expensive and really hurts your feelings. I really don’t want that to happen to you.
Why not really think about this, seriously, and give us a call – a complimentary “get acquainted” consultation either in person or over the phone to talk about your dreams, your home, your interiors. Let’s see if we can create your dreams in your home together. So, maybe the services and creativity that we provide are not so expensive after all, are they?
With whom do you work best?
You will benefit the best by working with me if you are looking for that custom or unique home of your dreams, and don’t have the time, the expertise, or know how to get started. And don’t worry, your design project may just start with a room by room plan with a priority system in place but ultimately with your dream in mind. Hey, you are a good candidate!
Who is not going to benefit from your help in designing your home?
You have to understand that I love what I do, but I also want you to be comfortable about the relationship that we create together to accomplish our mutual goal. If you are a doubter or are having trouble seeing that this is what you deserve, then you need to really think about taking this step until you are sure that we can work together. Do some soul searching and know that you deserve these gifts before you can obtain them.
Will I lose control of my project if I use a designer?
No, you will not lose control at all. I am here to help you work through the project, working as an extension of your creativity, exploring your wants and desires. A “bad” designer tries to take over and does what “they” want and it becomes common and not custom. This is your house, your home, not mine.
Can I use some of the people I’ve used before too?
Certainly we can use some of your “people” as well as incorporate other resources or vendors that I recommend. It’s important that we use the people that have the right fit for our needs and that will give us the end result that we all desire.
What about your referrals or former clients?
Check out the Testimonials page to get great feedback from my custom clients that will help you realize that each client, each interior, each dream is different but the common thread is that we achieve wonderful results, sometimes even an emotional response, designed especially for you. Our raving clients love to tell their stories and will gladly speak to you, if you so desire.
I want that WOW Factor in my home, too. How do we get started?
Please give me a call at 404.585.6506 or email our design team to schedule our ‘get acquainted’ appointment. Let’s talk about your design needs, desires, and vision for your home! I look forward to hearing from you.
EDUCATION
Columbia holds a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Science with a major in Furnishings and Interiors from the University of Georgia. She continually updates her knowledge and skill by participating in continuing education programs. Several of these education opportunities have been sponsored by IFDA (International Furnishings and Design Association), a professional organization in which she has been a member for a number of years in the Georgia Chapter, based in Atlanta.
Several board positions and committee chair positions held in this organization include Vice President of Education Foundation for 2 consecutive years and Special Event Coordinator. In 2005, Columbia won the “Unsung Hero Award” in the Georgia Chapter of IFDA for her commitiment and hard work throughout the year and for coordinating a successful fund raising event in Atlanta.
A graduate of the Staging Diva TM program, Cumby has entered into a new design avenue with staging to sell and staging to dwell– broadening the model merchandising design to a new level. Also a speaker, Cumby has presented this “hot topic” to many real estate agents and homeowner associations alike. Cumby is very involved in the Atlanta Designers Network, a prestigious Atlanta based design group of 40+ designers, for the past 10 years. She has recently served as President for 2 years and is presently serving a 2 year commitment as Past President/Parliamentarian
ABOUT
Cumby's Interiors is owned by Cumby (Columbia) Hammock-Cobb, one of Atlanta’s top interior designers. A well rounded designer with close to 35 years of experience. Cumby specializes in residential, professional office, remodel management and light commercial design with an emphasis on model merchandising and staging.
Cumby has clients and projects in the Southeast United States, including Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.
Photo by ZoomWorks Photography