Breaking The Mold

Breaking The Mold

Doni Flanigan can be described as an artist, a musician, an athlete, an eccentric and his most treasured title, a family man.

Flanigan and his wife, Terry, are the parents of three daughters: Alexa, Sarah and Charlotte. All three of these beauties have graced the cover of Venue magazine, with Sarah being on the cover of this issue. It seems only fitting that despite the many stories of Flanigan’s life and career, it is his girls that he wants to talk most about. This long-haired, immensely confident tough guy gets choked up just talking about them. He praises them each for their many accomplishments and praises God for the family he has been blessed with. Flanigan’s career path began at an early age. As a teen, he was a competitive athlete involved in boxing and basketball. He began his modeling career during these years, and it soon transformed into a music and dance career working with Disney and Tokyo Disney. He toured Japan with an all-Japanese band sponsored by Yamaha Corporation. All of this before he reached his mid-20s. At the age of 27, Flanigan moved back to Los Angeles where he met Terry. Together they created what would be Flanigan’s life-long career.

Doni Flanigan Designs Inc. has grown to be a nationally recognized design firm with work in LA, New York and the Midwest. Flanigan is known as a master interior designer, artist and builder. Doni Flanigan Designs Inc. has received countless awards through- out his career. He has won the Best of Houzz design and service awards in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021. “I take that competitiveness I learned in sports and bring it to my work. I want to be the best in this industry,” he says.

“I was just one guy on a motorcycle knocking on people’s doors and asking for a shot to do just one room and promising they would love it!” Flanigan says of his business’ earliest days. And they did.

Word traveled about his work, and soon he was de- signing for celebrities like Paris Hilton, Kirstie Alley and Kobe Bryant. Flanigan spent two years working on an 18,000-square-foot chateau for Paris Hilton’s parents. He was a designer in demand. “Give me one room and I will change your life!” became his motto.

Doni’s distinctive style

Flanigan is one of a kind and says his clients need to be the same. The typical Doni Flanigan Designs client is trusting. They must know his style and give him free reign to do what he does best. The average cost of a home design by Doni Flanigan is $1 million and up. “I am spending their money but spending it wisely,” he says.

He does it all — floors, ceilings, drapes, art and décor — and the complete room reflects his vision. The finishes are ornate and unparalleled.

Flanigan learned many of his art, vision and thrift skills from his father, an Indiana pastor. Growing up in small-town Indiana, his father helped him learn how to take something old and recreate it to make it look rich and unique. Together they would paint murals for clients.

“My dad was a master artist; he could do anything,” Flanigan says.

He went on to study and train under other master artists in the south of France and Peru. He soon made that one of his specialties — taking a once flat-painted wall and making it look like glimmering stone. “Flat paint never compares to furniture quality glazes or European hand-polished plaster walls,” Flanigan notes.

One House at a Time

As his design business grew, so did his talents. Flanigan’s designs address every detail. Not only is he designing, but he is also creating. Custom furniture design and production, custom cabinetry, fabrics and drapery, and a complete library of finishes for walls and ceilings are all part of the package that is Doni Flanigan Designs.

His journey led him back to the Midwest and Cin- cinnati several years ago. Though he still does some work in LA, it is limited to a few weeks a year. Cin- cinnati has welcomed him with open arms. One of his first jobs in Cincinnati was gutting and remodeling Cincinnati’s third-largest home in his signature style in just three months.

“They had faith in me, and I did it,” he recalls. He never doubted for a minute that he could. “That’s just my nature. I’m taking over, one house at a time.”

Flanigan’s most recent project, a beautiful home in Indian Hill, started out as a shower remodel. This somewhat small project has since grown to a master 

bath remodel that includes a free-standing tub with lights under the tub, a beautiful copper-leafed wall, a master bedroom, an office and kitchen. The home also boasts a beautiful entryway feature — a 20-foot- high rotunda. To make the most of this amazing fea- ture, Flanigan took the formerly flat-painted walls and finished them to look like black limestone. On one wall, he created a tarnished silver finish, and at the top rests a scripture etched in black granite. The results are stunning!

Flanigan does not work alone. He has surrounded himself with an eight-person team — “the best of the best,” he says. “They are masters at what they do and are always willing to try something new. Each client and job is unique, and everyone does their best to make them feel that way.”

Faith and Horse Sense

To keep himself up to the task, Flanigan is pas- sionate about remaining strong. He believes that his physical fitness is key to doing what he loves: designing, creating and, most recently, horseback riding. Raising and caring for Arabian horses is how Flanigan envi- sions his future. He says he finds great joy in riding and caring for them, as well as raising them up for the competitions they were born to be a part of. His strength, he adamantly adds, is an extension of his suc- cess in all that he does.

And clearly, Flanigan is passionate about his faith. “God gives me visions,” he says, describing the roots of his success.

“Some people say God talks to them; well, he screams at me! It is a gift. I never went to school for this. God put this in my head. Before I enter a house, I make the sign of the cross and say, ‘It’s showtime, God. Let’s do this!’”


DONI FLANIGAN - DESIGN & CRAFTSMANSHIP BEYOND IMAGINATION

For more information, contact Doni Flanigan at doniflanigan@gmail.com or call 513.207.6571, visit houzz.com/pro/doniboydesign/doni-flanigan

Related Stories

No stories found.
Venue Cincinnati
www.venuecincinnati.com