Let's Meet Dana Dore — Chaletmomma

Hello everyone this week I am so happy to share my friend Dana Dore with you. Dana really is dynamic - this talented lady is a Floral Designer, Blogger and major DIYer on top her day job - as Creative Director of The Herbary at Bear Creek - which is a wonderful garden center/gift shop/cafe all rolled into one in Howell, NJ.

Dana has been married to Bob for 9 years and they have two daughters Emme age 7 and Cece age 3-1/2.

I asked Dana to tell us about her youth: “I grew up in Edison, NJ. My parents Dean and Joanne Dubiny inherited my grandparents' 1950's ranch right before I was born. My dad grew up in a handy family, so he was taught how to use tools, sew and cook at a young age. My parents were constantly updating our house. I think my parents were in a similar boat as I am... a great neighborhood, great schools but, not their dream home. My mom loves decorating and my Dad loves projects so they were always working on something! I used to flip through my mom's stack of Country Living magazines and her Spiegel catalogs picking out ideas for my future home and I would hang out with my dad in his garage while he was tinkering around in there. I always asked to try out any tool he was working with and he mostly let me.”

Dana did you decorate your bedroom as a child? “Yes! I remember my very first design decision. My parents were redoing my bedroom - I was probably 7, and my mom let me select the color for my wall to wall carpeting. It was a very rosy pink, and I loved it! I still remember finding the swatch and getting that "this is it" feeling. When I was a little older (probably 15 or so) I wanted to make my room more mature, so I convinced my parents to let me paint my room dark pink on the top 1/3 of the walls and use this pearly embossed Victorian wallpaper on the bottom 2/3. It was very fem! I got a new Laura Ashley quilt too. I also built a faux fireplace on one wall and hand painted a ceramic tile surround. Looking back, my parents gave me a lot more freedom than I gave them credit for!”

Powder room - this is the first image in Dana’s Instagram feed that caught my eye!

I love to ask about anecdotes from childhood - anything you wish to share: “Just the other day I was talking with my neighbor Nick about when we were introduced to hand tools and power tools and how it impacted our adult lives. I was probably 4 or 5 and I remember that my dad was building something in the basement with 2x4's. There were a ton of scrap pieces, so I arranged them all in the shape of a windmill, hammered a longer piece in the middle so that it actually spun, and then colored it all with a chunky green crayon. I was so proud of myself! When I was 6 or 7 my dad was using his drill press, and I noticed that the little indentations in the scrap wood he was working with looked like barnacles on a humpback whale. That inspired a whole series of wooden plaques that I made of various sea creatures. They were all made of scrap wood and acrylic paint. I made a whale, sea turtle, manatee and dolphin. Each one gave me an opportunity to learn a new tool and the safety lesson to go along with it.”

She went on: “Out my 2 kids, my youngest, Cece, definitely gravitates towards the building and construction stuff. When I started building my current project - our fireplace, Cece was at my ankles playing with my scrap 2x4's and it choked me up.”

Dana please tell us what you studied in College and how you ended up in the world of design: “I went to Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ and studied Fine Arts. I originally went for education, but after my first round of student teaching and my first college art course, I knew my passion was not in teaching. My parents were upset with me when I changed my major, but it all worked out. Being that my school was right down the road from The Mall at Short Hills in Millburn, NJ I started working part time at Anthropologie which led me into a long career in store visuals for the company.” 

“The art program at Fairleigh was very small - it was actually situated in the old cafeteria and kitchen of the university. I loved it though. It was a small group of very passionate artists. My professors were both passionate, accomplished artists and they pushed me to be better. I am still so grateful that they pushed me and gave me tough, constructive critiques. I gravitated towards painting and put off most of the sculpture and 3D classes until senior year but, when I started working in 3D my mind exploded with all of the material possibilities! I had so much fun exploring new materials and manipulations - a lot of what I learned in those classes helped me excel when I started working in store display for Anthropologie.”

Oh Anthropologie tell us about your career with the retailer: “I started working there as part time sales during my senior year of college. When I graduated they promoted me to a full-time sales position. I was also given time to assist the store visual team. Once I was exposed to that side of the business, I was hooked! At that time, 90% of the in-store displays were handmade and I was so determined to land a full-time job as a Display Coordinator and to actually earn an income "using my degree." I got the position about a year later, and from there I continued to grow and be placed in more high profile stores - eventually working at the 5th Ave NYC store.”

“I was young, eager and a hard worker - and it paid off. I was asked to join the Corporate Visual Team which was full of veteran well respected visual people at the age of just 25 after only a few years with the company. I was so honored. It was tough though. I was younger than anyone else on the team (at my level) by at least 10 years and it was my first experience in a corporate environment. I learned so much, I had a few different responsibilities on the team, but my overall focus was to test out new materials and ideas for in-store displays and communicate the installation to the stores via the corporate website. My favorite part was the material testing - I loved getting my hands on something and trying to manipulate it into something else.”

“Adored House is me, and I’m so grateful that I have the opportunity to share the journey.”

— Dana Dore

The Dore family: clockwise: Dana, Bob, Emme and Cece

“Even though I was the youngest on the team, I was the first to start a family. I knew having a baby might ruffle some feathers and I was terrified to tell my manager. I prepared a presentation about how my maternity leave would be during the slowest part of the year for the company, and her response was "there's never really a good time to have a baby." Her voice saying that burned into my brain and it made me really do some soul searching but, after I had Emme I went back to work on that team for 2.5 more years. Those years were even tougher! I was the only one with a child, and no one could empathize with the change that made on my life. I still loved my job, and I burned the candle at both ends to make it work, but when I wanted another child, I knew I had to look for another position. I needed something closer to home (I drove from Monmouth County to Philadelphia every day for 7 years) and I needed to work with people who were more understanding of what family life entails. When I was 7 weeks pregnant with Cece, I landed a position in NJ. It was a much better life for a while. I worked with other moms, had a lot of work from home flexibility, and pretty much made my own hours. I learned a lot about numbers, people, development but, the only problem was I was not super passionate about the work. After a year or so the company downsized and I had the option of taking a position in NYC or taking severance. I opted for NYC despite having a 4 year old and a 10 month old because we needed the income and the thought of looking for a new job was so scary. I didn't even last a year. It was just too much - I was tasked with managing young, Brooklyn-ite artists with unpredictable attitudes and if I'm being honest - it was Hell. After some more changes within the company and 14 years of service I was let go. It was crushing at first, but now I know it was my intended path.”

“I was unemployed for all of 18 hours, I started working at The Herbary, and turned my focus toward my family, home and myself. I am in such a better place now, and I am so glad that life lead me where I am. I love my job as Creative Director - I have my hands in so many areas of the business - I am in charge of the overall design and the vision for the entire Home and Garden Center. I do all the buying of the non-plant items, although I do share my 2 cents about the plants we carry. I just ordered a ton of stuff for Christmas just the other day and I get to put all that Anthropologie experience to use by merchandising the shop. I also help decide what pots go where - what plants are planted together just adding that creative touch and a more unique prospective on planting. I am making good use of my graphic design minor by managing the website, social media and print media for the Center. We’ve really expanded our Events business - and that push was from me. We’ve held full-scale festivals, private dinners in our Green House and Floral Design Workshops. I head up all planning and marketing for these events. Any creative aspect of the business and that’s me!”

I started following both your Instagram feed and your Blog a few years ago - will you tell us how you got started: “I started following Deb @seekinglavenderlane on Instagram after a friend sent me her account when she realized we live in the same town. She is the very first home decor account I ever followed. I didn't even know people had IG accounts just for home decor - I shared pictures of my kids and meals! One day I saw in Deb's stories that she was viewing an open house in my neighborhood. I messaged her about it, and long story short - she didn't end up getting that house, she actually bought the house across the street from me and after she closed I invited her and her kids over. She was so complimentary of my house and style and encouraged me to start an IG account and blog of my own. I think that was a Saturday afternoon and by Sunday night I had an account and had registered my domain name. I wasn't clear about the direction of Adored House at first, but it quickly morphed into how I am turning my builder grade, newer home into the classically styled home I always coveted.”

Pregnant with Cece on closing day August 2016

“When we were house hunting in 2016, I was very pregnant with Cece and wanted nothing more than an old house. Bob was totally against the idea and completely practical and (practically) forced me into agreeing to buy this basic, plain Jane, beige-d out newer house. In hindsight he was right this low-maintenance house on a big piece of property on a quiet street was the perfect move for our family and I have had so much fun making it ours.”

Dana has worked tirelessly over the last few years transforming her home. Here’s the list of projects she’s tackled:

Diningroom: Board and Batten and Paint
Entry Hall: Board and Batten
Powder room: Board and Batten, Paint and Wallpaper
Upstairs Hall: Board and Batten, Paint and Wallpaper
Swapped out Interior Door Knobs
Homework Space: Built Desk, Shelving and Paint
Principal Bedroom: Board and Batten, Paint and Redesigned
Livingroom: Increased the cased walls, built and installed custom Transom. Crafted and Installed Paneling, Molding and Paint
Livingroom: Currently building and installing a custom fireplace and surround.

When the fireplace project is finished this will be a huge item checked off Dana’s To Do List. She has always wanted a home with a fireplace. This goes to show you friends you truly can make your home whatever you wish it to be. “I love sharing the transformation and how I make it my own. Also, because I do not have the big salary I used to, I like showing how I achieve the look for less and the ways I go about saving money by thrifting or doing the work myself. Adored House is me, and I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to share the journey.”

recently installed custom built transom and handcrafted paneling

Please tell us about your latest professional project Adored House Flowers: “I have always loved growing flowers! I had my first garden at 8 years old. I started making bouquets my first Spring at The Herbary. The woman I was working for had me make a bunch of fresh bouquets to sell on the weekends, and they were a hit! Before I knew it I was being asked to create floral arrangements for weddings and other events. During the winter, when there were not as many weddings, I started holding Floral Design Workshops at The Herbary. They were so fun (I was lucky enough to have you attend one) and when I talked about them on IG, I had so many people say they wished they could join a class - that started the ball rolling for Adored House of Flowers. I have big ideas for AHoF, but I'm not quite ready to roll them all out right now. I have good groundwork laid for me to come back to when the time is right.”