There is no moment in the interior design process quite so exhilarating as “the reveal.”

It’s when the client first glimpses the alchemy that a designer has summoned after all the consultation, choices and effort come to fruition.

“We love the reveal. It’s the best day ever,” says Pacita Wilson, sole proprietor of the design firm Pineapple Park. “My team and I enjoy it as much as the homeowner.”

A one-stop shop for residential customers for the past 15 years, the Woodstock, Georgia-based studio and showroom operates on the time-tested philosophy of first getting to know the client. Wilson and company work with each patron on an individualized basis to produce custom-tailored interiors and outdoor living spaces, in addition to architectural plans, remodeling and closet design.

Above all, Wilson believes in meticulous attention to detail.

“I always explain to a client that if you are hiring us, you are paying us to make your home look beautiful. But it’s a process. You are never going to experience what a space might be if you cling to your first idea,” she says. “We want input, of course, but 90% of the time, when they let us guide things, they love the result.”

Wilson is the chief of two design specialists on staff of seven, not counting the retained installation personnel, and she is involved in every single project. With homes under construction, design projects are shepherded from blueprint through completion.

“It can be a six-month project or a two-year project, depending on where it’s located. We work throughout the United States,” says Wilson, the mother of two boys, now grown. “Once a home build is finished, we go in and furnish it. There are definitely a lot of hours invested in the process and in the choices to be made. You also have to convey how important it is for everything to be documented and signed off on.”

Wilson caught the home décor bug in 1977 at age 7, having created her own bedroom motif with the help of her mother and a designer. “I knew then that this was something I loved,” says Wilson. “I am definitely self-taught as a professional. My first career was as a hair stylist, and I owned a salon. It was all about shape and color and form, just like interior design. They are very much intertwined. Over the years, I have met interior designers who were stylists first, as well as designers who became stylists.”

Her original design firm, opened 26 years ago in her native Florida, was called Pacita’s Home Collections. After 11 years in Merritt Island, she opted to relocate to Georgia. But the company needed a new name.

“I was advised that it was good business to take my name out of the title. My husband, Ken, suggested Pineapple Park, and I thought, ‘That is so stupid!’ But my business adviser thought it was brilliant. The pineapple is a symbol of hospitality, and after a while I found I agreed with them.”

Pineapple Park opened on September 3, 2010. Today, its primary business remains residential, though it also manages commercial projects like offices and restaurants. Wilson says every day is a continued process of learning and refining.

“The trade shows we attend are instrumental in what we do,” she says. “We incorporate new ideas into our showroom displays, doing our own interpretation of them, and then translate them into clients’ homes. The more you do, the more you grow and learn. We are not doing the same things now that we did 26 years ago.”

If a client has a penchant for something particular, they will be asked to attach examples to the showroom’s design board. “They may like the look or feel or scale of it, or like the style but not the pattern,” Wilson explains. “Often we can clarify what is desired by walking through the showroom, moving from modern to transitional to rustic and beyond.”

One of the integral facets of furnishing the home is and always will be art. On her company’s blog, which she writes, Wilson addresses the transformative power of art for almost any space. “We believe that for us and our company, art sets the tone for the space,” she explains. “So many think that if they are in a small space, the art they display should be small, too. We believe the opposite. You need to use a larger piece so it will elevate the room and make it feel larger. When we start collaborating with a new client, we like them to walk through the showroom and see the art on display. We ask, ‘What speaks to you; toward what are you gravitating? What are the pieces you do not like?’ If you have a wow piece in a room, you must have an interest in it. Ninety percent of our clients like a transitional piece. It may be a landscape but with a contemporary feel. A designer needs to understand what the client is feeling about what they are seeing. What you choose must be in their wheelhouse.”

Some clients may be inclined to buy art that complements their furnishings rather than art that harbors personal meaning for them. A client’s wishes are paramount, of course, but Wilson counsels clients to invest in art that touches them in some way. “I think art should speak to you,” she says. “After all, it is a focal piece so much of the time.”

Pineapple Park’s specialty is turnkey installation, bringing together each harmonious element in a single day, quite a feat of organization and time management. “Five years into my career in interior design in Florida, we had clientele from England that would come to stay in Florida for several months. Working with us became about convenience for them. The more we started talking about turnkey installations the more they wanted that option,” she says. “Then as now, the installation is done before the client sets foot inside. We do it all, from A to Z, and when the client arrives, it’s finished and compete, clean and ready, every towel folded. Nothing is left undone. Once we do the reveal, there is nothing for the client to do but enjoy it.”

Pineapple Park will do small projects, as well, working within the constraints of any budget. Big or small, Wilson says it’s vital to align her designs with those she serves. “The thing I most want to convey to every current or future client is that I love to do a design that makes people feel at home. I want it to elevate and inspire but also to reflect who they are,” she says.

Wilson finds that there tend to be more differences in individual clients’ tastes than between generations or genders. Pineapple Park has been known to create designs for three generations of the same family. And like most successful businesses, Pineapple Park relies on referrals as the keystone of its operation. “Referrals are the best clients to work for,” says Wilson, whose website reflects her considerable skills as a photographer. “We always tell clients that there are no stupid questions. This is your home. We want it to be everything you want it to be. If the client walks in and does not feel enthusiastic about a space, we have not done our job correctly.”

Wilson knows design is an emotional proposition. “You have to be emotionally attached to what you’re offered and believe in it, too,” she says. “I don’t want a client calling me back in five years and saying they are bored, so I like to do things that are timeless.” *

Bill Thompson writes about the arts, travel and design.