Today we’d like to introduce you to Blima Ehrentreu.
Hi Blima, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started The Designers Group with one belief that has never changed: **the spaces people spend their lives in should make those lives better.**
When I started the firm, that idea was more of a philosophy than a business strategy. I built TDG project by project, often taking on projects that other designers overlooked. We worked on senior living communities, healthcare environments, and institutional spaces where the focus was often on function, with less attention paid to how the space actually made people feel.
Working on those projects changed the way I looked at design.
I always tell our healthcare clients that we want the environment to match the level of care they are providing. You can have an incredible doctor and an incredible medical team, but if you walk into a facility that feels old, dark, or institutional, you don’t necessarily feel that level of care.
That thinking became a big part of how we approached design across every sector.
Over the years, TDG has grown from a small firm in Toronto into an international interior design and project management firm, with studios in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Toronto. We have completed more than 500 projects across senior living, healthcare, hospitality, workplace, residential, and institutional spaces. We are also a women-owned and MWBE-certified firm.
I am proud of that growth, but I am even more proud of the team we have built. I have always believed that bringing together people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives makes the work better. Design is collaborative, and the more perspectives you bring into the process, the more opportunities you have to come up with something innovative.
Today, I am especially interested in what technology can do for our industry.
We started developing TDG Intelligence because we saw an opportunity to use AI to improve the way we work, not just the way we design. That is what excites me about where the industry is going. We can use technology to make our processes more efficient while still keeping the human part of design at the center.
For me, that has always been what design is about: understanding the people who will use a space, figuring out what they need, and creating an environment that works better for them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Growing TDG across multiple markets while maintaining the quality of our work and building a strong team has been one of our biggest challenges and one of the most important parts of our growth.
One of the biggest lessons for me has been that growth itself isn’t necessarily success. You can grow revenue, take on more projects, open new markets, and still have to step back and ask yourself whether the business is operating the way it should. There have been times when I’ve had to be very honest with myself about what was working and what wasn’t.
I’ve also learned that you can’t build a company around one person. I always wanted TDG to be about our group of designers, which is actually where the name The Designers Group came from. I wanted to build a firm where the collective talent of the team was greater than any one individual.
In the early days, I was involved in everything. As we grew, I had to learn to delegate, build systems, and surround myself with people who were better than me in areas where I wasn’t the expert. That wasn’t always easy, but it was necessary for the company to grow beyond me.
There have been plenty of mistakes along the way. But I don’t look at those experiences negatively. They have made me a better leader and have forced me to become much more intentional about how we grow.
I think entrepreneurship is really about being able to keep moving forward when things don’t go according to plan. You learn, you adjust, and you keep going. That’s probably been the biggest constant throughout my journey with TDG.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Designers Group is an international interior design and project management firm with studios in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Toronto. We are women-owned and MWBE certified, with more than 15 years in practice and over 500 completed projects.
We work across senior living, healthcare, hospitality, workplace, residential, and institutional projects. Our philosophy is designing with purpose, creating a better world. In practice that means we start with the human experience and work backward into aesthetics, budget, and schedule, rather than the other way around.
What sets us apart right now is TDG Intelligence, our AI-integrated design workflow. We use it to move faster through the repetitive parts of a project, from documentation to specification to coordination, so our designers can spend their time on creativity and innovation. Technology is not the point. Better projects delivered with less friction is the point, and I believe the firms that thrive over the next decade will be the ones that figure this out early.
I am also proud of TDG Gives Back, our charitable initiative that supports communities through design, donations, and meaningful partnerships. Giving back is not separate from the work. It is an extension of why we do it.
If there is one thing I would want readers to take away, it is that good design is not a luxury layer added at the end. It shapes how people feel every single day, and that is worth taking seriously on every project, at every budget.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is that the work we do actually improves people’s experiences.
That belief shapes how I think about design. In every sector, the decisions we make have real consequences. Lighting affects sleep. Wayfinding affects dignity. A well-placed seating area can determine whether a resident spends the afternoon around other people or alone in their room. Those moments are what make design matter to me. It is not just about how a space looks, but about how it makes someone feel and how it supports the way they live.
That same thinking extends to the people behind the work. The Designers Group has grown because of the people who have built it with me, and creating an environment where designers can build real careers, take ownership of their work, and be recognized for what they contribute is incredibly important to me. I also believe we have a responsibility to create greater visibility and opportunity for women in this industry.
And I believe that responsibility extends beyond our own walls. Through TDG Gives Back, we use our skills, resources, and relationships to support the communities around us through design, donations, and long-term partnerships.
For me, all of these things come back to the same idea: design has a quiet but powerful influence on people’s everyday lives. When we recognize that, the work becomes about much more than creating beautiful spaces. It becomes about creating experiences that make people’s lives a little better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thedesignersgroup.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedesignersgroup/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedesignersgroup/
