Meet Debra Cummings | Hospitality Interior Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Debra Cummings and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Debra, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I grew up moving around quite a bit until around middle school and high school, which taught me how to make friends easily and connect with people I didnt know. My father, who is from Peru, really shaped many of my perspectives~ his dedication to hard work and education ( his perfect english!) pushed my sisters and I to excel academically, even though we had different interests. For me, that interest was always in art and being creative. My mother consistently nurtured that side of me, even letting me repaint my room however I wanted every time we moved. Those experiences influenced who I am and what I do today. Although I breifly considered law in college, it only took a couple of years and one conversation with my mom, to realize my true path was in the arts and design, which is where I have built my career.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a child drawing and painting were constant, redesigning my room, noticing how other peoples houses were decorated, were my first forays into Interior Design. What sets me apart is how I connect my background and life experiences with design~ growing up moving around, taught me adaptabliity, to observe environments, and notice how it felt. Travel has also been a huge influence on my work. Experiencing different cultures, colors, and textures around the world continuously informs the details I bring to my designs, helping me create spaces that feel both authentic, layered and inspired.
Professionally, I followed my creative instinct through design school and into a Hospitality career where I have been able to blend technical skill with storytelling through environments. I have worked on projects that blend functionality that also resonate emotionally. Design is not just decoration; its a way to shape how a person feels in a space, how people can sit and connect, have a meaningful experience, and maybe not even notice their surroundings.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in the South Bay, so my mornings start with a walk on the Strand to see the ocean and get some coffee with my dog, Olive. If I am taking a visitor, we would have to go to the iconic Manhattan Beach Pier and walk down to the Roundhouse Aquarium. You can watch many surfers, paddle boarders and sometimes see the dolphin swim by from there.
In the afternoon, you can rent bikes and ride down the Strand to Hermosa Beach, get a cocktail at Tower 12, they have great espresso martinis! During football season this is where we may be for a sunday afternoon.
In the evening, there are many great food spots along the Beach cities, Strand House in MB, Mangiamo, and RockN Fish to name a few, then you can head to Hermosa to the famous Comedy and Magic Club where you might see Jay Leno on a sunday night.

On another day you could go to Redondo Beach Pier, watch the boats in the harbor, buy some fresh fish or grab a drink up at Tonys on the pier. There’s kite flying, surfing and lots of beach goers. You can keep driving South and end up at Terranea for a great sunset dinner along the cliff.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As I mentioned, my parents were both very instrumental in my education, but my mother nurtured my artistic talents from a young age and pushed me to realize that when I thought I needed to be something more ” Academic”, that actually Loving what you do everyday is more important. I try to instill this to my children now, as kids choose their college paths based on an unknown~ it is very important if you are going to be “working” the rest of your life that you are enjoying getting up to do it.

Website: https://www.sanddesign.com

Instagram: debra_design_travel_fun