Design Authentic is a boutique design studio founded by award-winning designer Susan Carson in 1985. Combining the ability to see beauty in every space with meticulous results-driven processes, we collaborate one-on-one to make your vision a reality while prioritizing high-quality materials and sustainable practices. With Authentic, you get more than a reimagined home, office, retail space, or senior living facility; you establish a design partner to accompany you at every stage of your life.
Design Authentic is the leading boutique design studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. With over 37 years of experience, we offer design services from pre-construction space planning to full completion. Our mission is to become your dedicated design partners, not one-and-done project managers. Transformation happens at many different stages of life. We are long-term collaborators, creating spaces to which you feel deeply connected and evolve with you over time.
Principal and Lead Designer Susan Carson knew a creative life was her calling when she joined her first art class at 5 years old. One of her first drawings was of a tree using charcoal. Susan recalls marveling at all the elements required to make up the final image, like the texture of the bark, the wispy strokes of the leaves, and the contrast of shadow and light. Susan sees the beauty that exists all around us; her goal is to help people discover that beauty for themselves, using her ability to harness a creative vision, structure it, and execute it with precision.