WOMEN TO WATCH
2016

BRITTANY ATKINSON

DIRECTOR OF INTERIORS
WILLIAMS & DEAN ARCHITECTURE | INTERIOR DESIGN

We are a multifaceted architecture and interior design firm with a primary focus on private-sector projects, including corporate, healthcare, retail, multifamily, and hospitality. I have been with Williams & Dean for several years. In 2013, in addition to passing the NCIDQ exam and becoming a registered interior designer, I was named director of Williams & Dean’s Interior Design department. Through the Interiors department, I have a platform to be conceptual, creative, and collaborative, allowing me to design award-winning projects with a great team of designers and architects.

PRESSING QUESTIONS

BEST CAREER MOMENT SO FAR:

Being named Director of Williams & Dean’s respected and award-winning Interior Design Department as well as passing the NCIDQ and becoming a licensed interior designer. Both have provided me opportunities for more responsibility and exploring more facets of my design capabilities.

HOW DID YOU KNOW THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO?

Art and design have always interested me. In seventh-grade math, I designed and modeled a house, piquing my interest. College was when I considered interior design as a career. I went for it, loved it, and never looked back.

WHAT IS A TYPICAL WORKDAY LIKE?

It changes daily. From creating a floor plan for a clinic, selecting finishes for a restaurant remodel, coordinating furniture installs, to meeting with clients, reps, and contractors, every day is different. Whatever it is, there are always lots of emails.

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL?

My husband, Daniel. I have admired him since we were 15. But how he balances the demands of anesthesiology residency while being an energetic friend, attentive husband, and adoring new dad to our baby boy has been the most inspiring.

FAVORITE PART OF LIVING IN LITTLE ROCK:

The wonderful people I have met! From neighbors to my husband’s classmates, girlfriends from Junior League and other people I have met along the way, I have collected some treasured friends.

I WISH I KNEW HOW TO:

Play the piano. I took lessons as a kid but stopped after a couple of years. I love how the skill is so timeless. (I would say sing, but I think that is a lost cause. My husband would agree.)

ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE YOUR 18-YEAR OLD SELF:

Travel while you are young and free. As life goes on, responsibilities grow and time shrinks. There is so much to see, experience, and learn all over the world. And take lots of pictures!

HOW YOU DEFINE SUCCESS:

Happiness. But it comes in many forms. Personally, it is balancing the role of relevant designer, loyal friend, loving wife, and adoring mom. Professionally, it is overcoming challenges so I can be more capable, competent and skilled than I was yesterday.

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS

NEIGHBORHOOD:

West Little Rock

HOMETOWN:

Hot Springs

LAST GOOD READ:

“Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn

FAVORITE FOOD:

Anything sweet...cookies come to mind

FAVORITE LUNCH SPOT:

ZaZa’s

FIRST THING YOU DO AT THE OFFICE:

Greet colleagues and check emails

LATEST SPLURGE:

A trip winery hopping and wine tasting in Sonoma

THINGS YOU DO OUTSIDE OF WORK:

Antiquing and spending time with my husband and baby boy

DREAM VACATION:

Greek island hopping

FAVORITE SONG:

Anything by Bruno Mars makes me smile

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