Desired Designs aims to be a source of inspiration and pipe line for minority women and women of color looking to thrive in the design world. Desired Designs seeks to be a safe, collaborative and explorative studio that allows for women to find opportunities to grow in their area of passion in design.
Jakecia C. Durham
Owner and Principal Designer
Jakecia C. Durham , NCIDQ, IIDA, LEED AP ID&C, is owner, founder, and Principal Designer of Desired Designs. Jakecia is an NCIDQ certified designer who received her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design at the University of Cincinnati. She continued her design education to complete a Master of Arts in Visual Communication Design, concentrating her studies in Branding Environments and Design Presentation. She brings not only an academic background to her practice but also a wealth of experience in the field as a designer and educator. Jakecia enjoys designing both residential and commercial spaces. Her personal design passion is working with small business owners and on small commercial projects. She has worked over 10 years in design education having taught at Cuyahoga Community College and currently at Kent State University.
In Jakecia's free time she enjoys spending time with her husband and three children. If she wasn't a designer, she would be a ceramic artist. "I love ceramics!" Travel is her favorite source of inspiration. "Traveling brings so much exposure to a variety of cultures and environments."
Fun fact about Jakecia: She completed a half-marathon
Favorite Emoji: Raised hands emoji
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Khamia Montgomery
Design Assistant
Khamia is a Design Assistant at Desired Designs. She attended Cuyahoga Community College and majored in Interior Design. She received her Associates of Applied Business in 2022. Khamia chose to pursue interior design because she always enjoyed redecorating and remodeling rooms in her childhood home. Her creative eye continued to grow and brought her to this line of work . Khamia’s heart lives with residential design and her passion place resides with bathroom renovations. Khamia thrives in putting together design boards and making selections for projects.
During Khamia’s free time, she loves to be at HomeGoods, spending time with her family, or playing sims on her desktop. If Khamia was not in the design industry, she'd be a Doula. Her favorite source of inspiration is Pinterest, Instagram, or Architectural Digest.
Fun fact about Khamia: In High School, Khamia, was a gospel singer and youth choir director.
Favorite Emoji: Happy crying
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Amarri Brown
Design Assistant
Amarri Brown is a design assistant at Desired Designs. She attended Tuskegee University for her Bachelor's of Architecture degree. She graduated in the spring of 2022 with a desire to specialize in interiors. Growing up with family in the construction field broadened her knowledge and interest in design. While always having a passion for architectural design, her interests have also advanced towards interior processes. Her area of interest and passion in design has always been witnessing the full design process from conceptual ideas to final construction. Amarri thrives in pulling together a design project with design boards and selections. She also takes projects to the next levels with our three-dimensional renderings and visualization.
In her free time, Amarri loves to practice yoga, spend time with her loved ones, and explore cultural and art scenes when traveling for experience and inspiration. If it had not been for her love of design, writing novels would be another interest she'd love to pursue.
Fun fact about Amarri: Amarri loves to bring her design ideas to life through building on the Sims game.
Favorite Emoji: heart hands emoji.
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Fiona David
Interior Design Intern
Fiona David is an intern at Desired Designs. Fiona is currently an interior design student at Kent State University. Fiona will graduate with her Bachelor's Degree in Interior and Environmental Design in 2025. Fiona become obsessed with architecture and interior design in elementary school; spending everyday after school in the library where there was a huge section of interior design books. Fiona feels passionate about commercial design in public buildings. Commercial design can give a designer more freedom to do larger projects with a greater scope. She likes bringing color and life to a space where a lot of people will be able to experience it.
During Fiona's free time she enjoys go hiking, kayaking, biking, and dabbles in photography. If she wasn't pursing interior design, Fiona would be interested in pursuing writing Fiction or Photo Journalism. Fiona is often inspired by her dreams and daydreaming about her designs.
Fun fact about Fiona: Fiona spent high school in a horticulture program and participated in the Ohio Environthon, Landscape Olympics, and many Floral Competitions.
Favorite Emoji: Queen Emoji
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Jamie Vaughn
Procurement Specialist
Jamie Vaughn attended the University of Akron for her Bachelors and Master's Degree in Music. She has been a music teacher for the last 15 years and decided to branch out and try a new job opportunity; procurement for Desired-Designs LLC. Jamie works diligently to keep our orders on track for clients, developing relationships with vendors and keeping our accounts up to date. Her area of interest in design has been learning about high end design companies and seeing our project transformations.
In her free time Jamie likes to play violin and viola, tennis, ping pong, watch The Office and spend time with family and friends. She loves to laugh!!
Fun fact about Jamie: Jamie has a yellow axolotl named Corncob.
Favorite Emoji: Skeleton face
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