SWFL interior design exec turns childhood dreams into reality

The first telltale sign Dominique Coffman wanted to be a designer came when she was a child. She was always adjusting the furniture in her room. 

“My parents would laugh that they would come up to my room and I would have moved large, heavy furniture around by myself,” Coffman says. “I was always trying to create a better space.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

As vice president of design at Naples-based firm Interiors by Design West, Coffman has navigated almost every position at the firm, from assistant to lead designer to now managing a team. The company was her first full-time job after finishing an interior design degree at Florida State University. She never left the business. “This is the only job I’ve had, and I love it,” Coffman says of her 18-year tenure. 

While Coffman’s initial interest in the field may have been fueled by a pure love of design, little by little, she’s enjoyed the translation work that goes on between the clients and designers. At Design West, the average client is usually near retirement age and has a particular style in mind. Some of the studio’s designers, on the other hand, are much closer to early career than end of career. Coffman’s job is to partner the designer’s vision with the client’s, and she has it down to a science because of the sheer number of projects she’s supervised.

“When I review designs and I’m looking at the fabrics, I put myself in the position of our clientele, which is older,” Coffman says. “When you have younger designers, they don’t always see it from the perspective of that age. But I’ve seen enough people of that age give feedback on design, and I just know what they’re looking for.” 

The creative side of the business may have come somewhat naturally to Coffman. But she credits Design West founder and CEO Glenn Midnet with teaching her what it means to run a company. That includes the grit it takes to run a business heavily connected to the real estate industry through economic downturns and other external factors. It’s why Coffman says watching Midnet “show up every single day has been a masterclass in resilience.” 

Meanwhile, at work, the mom of three kids under 10 is a go-to mentor for her team and others at the firm. It’s why it’s not unusual that she goes from a constant chorus of “Mom, Mom, Mom” at home to “Dom, Dom, Dom,” her nickname, at work. Some of her designers even jokingly call her “Dommy Mommy.”