By Donna Heiderstadt
Family lore has it that Gina D’Amore Bauerle’s first words were, “This room needs an area rug.” That’s hardly surprising given that her parents, Frank and Marilyn D’Amore, took a hand-painted pillow and bedding business at a flea market in South Florida and grew it into a full-service interior design and furniture showroom business, D’Amore Interiors, in Denver, Colorado. Today, as Partner and Interior Designer, Gina’s passion for “the only job I’ve ever had” is evident in her commitment to creating unique spaces for her clients. Her husband Eric Bauerle is also a partner in the family business—and their seven-year-old son, Knox, is already expressing opinions on his mom’s designs. Gina, who took home first place for her Small Cotemporary Bath design (along with the Best Overall Bath award) at the NKBA Kitchen & Bath Design + Industry Awards at KBIS 2022 in Orlando, took time recently to share her thoughts on the bathroom’s conception and execution, where she finds inspiration and the one person with whom she’d love to have a cup of coffee.
What was the main inspiration or driving goal for your winning design for Contemporary Small Bath?
This is a vacation home for my clients in the mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado. The entire home was designed around this amazing view they have of the mountain. We wanted the style of this home to fit its natural environment, but at the same time feel contemporary. By using this natural chamcha wood console table as the vanity pedestal, we were able to incorporate the rustic and natural wood in a less-common application, which in my opinion makes a more contemporary statement. From there, the entire main wall of this powder bath is a mirror, which not only opens up a small dark space, but also keeps that main wall minimal and simple and doesn’t detract from the showpiece vanity. We mounted the faucet in the wall through the mirror, which makes it look like it’s almost floating over the organically shaped bronze vessel sink. Two offset and staggered pendant lights played off of the asymmetrical vanity shape. The floors are this really cool barn-wood-looking tile with metallic embossed accents. The remaining walls were covered in this wild wallpaper that looks like a topography map! What I love about powder baths is that you have less rules than you do in a bathroom that someone uses to get ready for their day in. It’s also the bathroom that all your guests use, so why not give them something to talk about?!
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What was your biggest challenge for the design?
Gosh there were quite a few with this little one! I found this wood console two years prior to this bathroom being completed, and my amazing vendor agreed to hang onto this piece for me until we were far enough along in construction for me to tell them where the hole needed to be drilled for the drain. The mirrored wall posed some difficulty as well since we needed to mount the faucet through it. This home is four hours away from where I am based, so all these details had to be worked out very carefully with a builder who was less than thrilled with my unconventional ideas!
What do you see as the biggest change in bath design over the last two years?
I think one of the biggest changes I am noticing is the incorporation of technology into the design. It’s not really that the technology itself is new, but I think it’s been available long enough that even my clients who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy are willing to make it part of their designs now too. This includes everything from high-tech toilets to steam-shower systems and lighting.
Where do you go to get new ideas, find new inspiration?
I get a lot of inspiration from products I see at trade shows as well as Instagram. I photograph (or screen shot) anything that I see that I love, and store that in my proverbial “back pocket” until I have the perfect client to use it with. I also get loads of inspiration from my clients, as their unique situations are what drives the designs. I love learning what my parameters are for every new design, including architectural styles, natural habitats, personal preferences and, of course, the end goals that I always try to up the ante on.
If you could have a conversation or a cup of coffee with anyone (alive or dead), who would that be?
I would have to say it would be Will Ferrell! He has been my favorite actor since his early SNL days, which also became a common interest when I met my husband (and one of the silly reasons we knew we were soul mates right away). I have two dogs, a Golden Retriever named Ron Burgundy and a Berner named Rickie Bobbie (she’s a girl so we changed the spelling a bit) that are named after characters he plays. His movies are always my fall back when I want to relax and feel happy.
About Gina D’Amore Bauerle
Gina D’Amore Bauerle grew up in her family’s business, Denver-based D’Amore Interiors, worked part-time at age 12 as the showroom’s “gift shop manager,” took on her first client at age 17 and received her Bachelor’s degree in marketing/advertising from Johnson & Wales University. In 2020, she was named one of Five Under 40 by Colorado Homes & Lifestyles and one of the Forty Under 40 by Home Furnishings Business. She is currently a partner in D’Amore Interiors with her parents and husband.
