Mother-Daughter Duo: Mom Called and She Answered

Join us as we celebrate Mother’s Day with a series on mother-daughter duos in the design world.

By Room Resolutions

Team: Daughter Amanda Cunningham, left, and mom Jane Cunningham, right. Jane is the president and CEO of Room Resolutions in Las Vegas, and its principal designer.

Time working together: Six years

Design roots: One trip to Disney World and daughter Amanda knew she wanted to create magical destinations. She got a degree in design management, and the interior design field ended up being the right niche for her. 

For mom Jane, it was a childhood dollhouse that started her love of interior design. She would rearrange the furniture, add people and then sit back and admire her work. As an adult, she got the chance to continually rearrange her family’s belongings, as they moved frequently during her husband’s years in the Air Force. 

“Even though our friends and family found it daunting to constantly pack up and move to a new location, I saw it as the next adventure,” Jane says. “It gave me the opportunity to challenge myself to create a home for my family in short order.”

Lessons: From her mom, Amanda learned the ins and outs running a diplomatic and efficient business. “It’s not always easy being a business owner of a service business,” Amanda says.

First project together: Jane had landed a big commercial project and knew she needed help. “I needed the person I trusted the most: Amanda,” Jane says. But Amanda was living and working in Los Angeles. She called Amanda up and said, “I need you! And now!” Two weeks later, Amanda was a full-time employee and her mom’s business partner. “Best phone call I ever made,” Jane says.

 Transitional Kitchen by china marble

Favorite project: A client needed help remodeling her home and adding space for her own mom. Of course, the Cunninghams loved this idea, and the completed project still tops their favorites list. They designed the kitchen seen here, along with other rooms in the house. 

In the kitchen, the client, who enjoys red wine and pasta, loved the idea of using a stain-resistant alternative to marble for the countertops. They used Cambria quartz, an engineered solid-surface material, to give her the look of marble without the worries of stains while cooking, eating or entertaining in the kitchen. In addition to new countertops, the space now has a faucet with red accents, a built-in wine fridge and wine storage above the refrigerator.

Kitchen Counters: Stunning, Easy-Care Engineered Quartz

 Transitional Kitchen by china marble

Room Resolutions

Design signature: The Cunninghams try to work a pineapple into every project they work on together, whether it’s staged in a bowl or a permanent piece of the decor. It stems from their love of Hawaii, Amanda’s birthplace. They have even incorporated a pineapple into their company logo. 

Communication: They have developed their own lingo to use while shopping for clients. “We can speak a few words and know exactly what the other person wants to buy and where to place it,” Jane says. 

They don’t disagree often, and they can usually tell who feels more passionately about the issue, Jane says. If that doesn’t settle things, Amanda says a round of rock-paper-scissors might solve the issue. 

Funniest moment: During a particularly long week of installations, they were exhausted and their feet were killing them. “We decided to wrap bubble wrap around our aching feet,” Jane says. “It helped relieve some pain, but got us laughing so hard due to the popping noise while walking around that we could barely hear each other, let alone complete the task.”

Tell us about your daughter’s … 

Biggest strength: Multitasking under pressure

Paint color personality: An elegant light purple with a silver shimmer. It’s not a specific paint color yet, but if she were to create it, Jane says she’d call it Panda Shine because “Panda” is her nickname for Amanda.

Go-to snack: Cinnamon dolce latte

Personality in three words: Intelligent, artistic and beautiful

Tell us about your mom’s …

Biggest strength: Passion. “She puts all her effort and emotion into her work, and it shows in the final product,” Amanda says.

Paint color personality: Lemon Soufflé by Benjamin Moore

Go-to snack: Sliced apples and peanut butter

Personality in three words: Motivated, detailed and passionate

Mother’s Day plans: Sipping mimosas at brunch and then relaxing by the pool with a fruity drink in hand

Tell us: Do you work with your child or parent? Please tell us about it in the Comments.