So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself—where you’re from originally and where you live now.

Dasha Hervey I was raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, but I always felt most at home near water — either in the ocean or on the snow. My bestie calls me her mermaid, and I love water in every form, wet or frozen. I even named my car Elsa, the Snow Queen.

Tell us one thing you love about where you live now?

I’m a bit of a nomad, splitting my time between Del Mar and Mammoth Lakes. I love Del Mar for its sunny, swimmable beach days and Mammoth for its POW days and clear mountain skies. I follow the weather, the adventure, and of course, my clients.

Tell us a little bit more about what your company does and how it started? How does it help your customers?

Sea and Pine Interior Design is a full-service interior design studio specializing in elevated mountain, coastal, and lifestyle-driven homes. We help clients create spaces that are beautiful, functional, and deeply personal.

The company started after a major life shift. I had a serious back injury, two small children, and a husband who held the fort down while I had to rethink everything. I realized I didn’t want to keep bowing down to the corporate world and working 60-hour weeks. I had to dig deep and rewrite my life.

During that season, I realized I had a choice: I could keep living by someone else’s definition of success, or I could carve out a life and career that truly fueled me. Interior design became that path. It brought together my creativity, psychology background, and love of home in a way that never felt like work.

That experience helps my clients because I understand that home is not just about how it looks — it is about how it supports the life you want to live. My goal is to take the overwhelm out of the process, listen deeply, and create spaces that bring clarity, comfort, beauty, and joy to everyday living.

If someone wants to start a business, what's advice that will help them?

I would tell them to start with what they truly love, because when your work is fueled by passion, it rarely feels like work. Be smart and practical: don’t quit your day job until you can financially support the leap. Find a mentor. Hire people who are better than you. Never stop learning, listening, or staying curious. Know your value, and don’t negotiate against it. Practice what you preach every day, and over time, you will become the expert. Also, treat yourself along the way. Celebrate the wins, big and small. Starting a business means you get to own your life, but it also means no one is coming to do the work for you. Expect it to take more effort, time, and grit than you ever imagined — and do it anyway.

What was one feedback from a happy customer/client that you won't forget about?

One piece of customer feedback I’ll never forget was from a client who shared how much gratitude and joy she felt after the design was complete. It wasn’t just that the space looked beautiful — it improved the way she lived every day. She was so happy and thankful that she even gave me a diamond necklace, which I still wear. It reminds me why I do this work: good design can genuinely improve people’s lives.

Where do you see your company in the future?

Sea and Pine continues to grow year after year, and I see that growth expanding even more in the second-home market. It is such an honor to design for adventurers — people who buy homes to escape the day-to-day and spend more time doing what they love in beautiful places. Our goal is to create spaces that support that lifestyle, enhance their investment, and make their getaway time feel even more memorable. We design homes that complement the natural setting — whether mountain, coastal, or desert — and are truly designed for the way you retreat. Our hope is that your indoor experience will elevate your outdoor adventure!

What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

The biggest misconception is that interior design is simply decorating. For a professional designer, it is so much more than selecting pretty things. I'm dual degreed and specialized in what I do. My work includes design concepts, space planning, detailed drawings, layered construction documents, permitting support, finish specifications, furnishings, and everything that leads to the big reveal. A professional interior designer is often closer to an interior architect. It takes years of experience, technical knowledge, and collaboration with artisans, tradespeople, contractors, vendors, and the community to bring a beautiful design to life. I think most people do not fully understand the layers, the process, the team effort, and the extraordinary attention to detail it takes to do this work well.

What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business and how did you deal with it?

One of my biggest struggles has been learning when to say no. I am passionate about what I do, and I get excited by every fresh possibility, every new client, and every unique project. I love the variety of the work, but saying yes too often can make it hard to protect my work-life balance. Because my work doesn’t always feel like work, I can easily go down the rabbit hole searching for the perfect piece, the perfect finish, or the perfect solution. Over time, I’ve learned that saying no is not a lack of passion — it is a way to protect the quality of my work, my creativity, my family, and the clients I have already committed to serving well.

What was your favorite music artist and athlete growing up?

Favorite artist: Joni Mitchell. I love her soulful voice and the way her lyrics are both creative and beautifully honest. Favorite sport: That’s harder because sports were always part of my childhood. Every Sunday, I watched Wide World of Sports with my dad and four brothers. But secretly, I preferred Wild Kingdom and dreamed of camping out in the wild and working with Jane Goodall.

Any shoutouts you want to make?

Yes — my biggest shout out would be to nature. Every time I’m in nature, whether I’m forest bathing, diving under a tourmaline-colored wave, or skiing solo down a peak, I’m amazed by the beauty of creation and the rugged individualism of people who are drawn to wild places. I think God is the coolest designer. The color combinations, the change of seasons, the patterns, the textures — it all puts me in awe. I imagine He had so much fun creating it all. My hope is that we continue to be good stewards of these beautiful places, so the next generation can experience the same wonder, beauty, and adventure that I have been blessed to enjoy.

Where can our readers learn more about you and your company?

Readers can learn more about Sea and Pine Interior Design by visiting www.seaandpine.com. I also publish a quarterly blog with design trends, ideas, and helpful interior design tips for homeowners, second-home owners, and anyone looking to create a more beautiful and functional space.