Armed with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a masters in real estate finance from New York University, designer Robin Wilson left the corporate world in 2000 to pursue her dream to become a designer. Eventually, she amassed a portfolio of clients that included President Clinton’s Harlem office, the White House Fellows office and private residences.
Wilson was flying high, but something was off. Disillusioned with the realities of the design world, she almost left to pursue other interests. Instead of leaving the industry completely, she pivoted and rebranded in 2020 to Clean Design Home. Wilson, who grew up in Austin, Texas, with severe allergies and asthma, had always focussed her practice on wellness and creating spaces that were healthy. After the rebranding, her business skyrocketed, along with pandemic sales of her award-winning book, Clean Design: Wellness for your Lifestyle.
Today, Wilson is the first Black-American female founder of a licensed, global textile brand and is an expert in the hypoallergenic and allergen-aware niche. Her Clean Design Home business success is based on authentic experience from her allergic and asthmatic childhood.
Clean Design Home focuses on the allergen-aware consumer with an array of luxury products including bedding, bath, kitchenware, home décor, mattresses and more. In her spare time, she still accepts select design commissions and has some secret projects in the works.
Design Vibes recently caught up with Wilson to talk about her journey and about what’s next for her company.
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Design Vibes: How did you get your start in design?
Robin Wilson: Jokingly, I say that my first design project was when I was around 7 years old and my grandfather had a few rental houses. While he had painters working on the properties, he asked me what color the exteriors should be painted. Imagine going from a one-dimensional coloring book to a three-dimensional building! My suggestion was to paint them easter egg colors…and a few days later, I saw the shutters, eaves and trim painted in those colors and it changed my perspective. At the time, I did not know what that job was called, but the excitement never leaves when a finished design is revealed!
Professionally, I began in the design industry after making a pivot from a corporate role to pursuing my dream job–entrepreneurship! Starting as a project manager for renovations quickly morphed into design work because of my geometric visual ability to “see” a space before it is completed, and this gift has propelled me forward without formal training as an interior designer.
DV: What were the early years of your career like?
RW: The early years of my professional career were focused in a corporate role, with the standard navy attire, and my entrepreneurial goals were always lurking in my mind, with an intention to transition by age 30. By age 29, the company that I worked for had an IPO, which gave me the windfall and opportunity to actually transition into working for myself. Building my firm on the foundation of project management, I was able to help high-net worth individuals manage multiple home projects in multiple locations. Summers would be in Colorado and winters would be in the Hamptons–with NYC year-round–and a lot of the skills in navigating building departments, superintendents, family offices and family wishes has allowed me to understand the interpersonal dynamics to ensure projects were completed on-time and on budget. There were so many nuances and details to manage, and technology became my best friend early on! I wish we had AI tools at that time, because everything was done by spreadsheet or by email in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
DV: And then what happened?
RW: It is really easy to become disillusioned with the design world as there is a tension between creativity and revenue generation. The intellectual property of designers is not valued, and often consumers want your ideas but do not want to pay for your expertise. Or a person will watch a TV show, or look at social media platforms to show you what they want, but when you give them actual pricing or timelines to execute or pricing, there can be a lack of understanding that the gut renovation did not take one week. It took weeks of planning, permits, delivery of products with lead times, and then a show films after everything has arrived for installation, but the behind-the-scenes efforts are only shown on a limited basis.
Thus, I realized that intellectual property in design can be minimized. There are many who call themselves designers, but they do not understand the “business of design,” so they charge too little or give the industry a bad reputation for providing short timelines and then under delivering.
DV: You almost left the industry; What was the turning point for you?
RW: The turning point for me was speaking to a mentor who indicated that my name/brand should be converted to a lifestyle brand, and they advised me to lean into the things that I know, which include product development, licensing and marketing/brand strategy. These are all skills learned in my earlier corporate career, and they were honed over the years when my design projects were featured in magazines such as Good Housekeeping, Elle Décor, House Beautiful and others. Working with such professional journalists who respect the design professionals, and who amplify our work through their pages was an eye-opening experience. It allowed me to grow as a design professional who understood the intersection between creative and revenue.
In 2020, after 20 years in business, we decided to transition away from the eponymous brand name to Clean Design Home, which defines our sustainable and eco-conscious design practice. And it also reflects the aesthetic and ethos in my second book, Clean Design: Wellness for your Lifestyle. Immediately, the brand began a renaissance and new creativity was unleashed when the Ellen Show launched the brand during the “12 Days of Christmas giveaway” to first responders.
DV: You are now in your second act as a home goods maven. Tell us a little about your brand and what you offer.
RW: Our brand has morphed into a B2B and B2C entity–working with commercial and residential clients–and brand licensing for our textile products. Our licensed brand, Clean Design Home, offers everything from the foundation (mattress) to the top-of-bed (pillows, sheets, comforters) and bath items (towels, robes, mats). Plus, we have the benefit of working directly with the manufacturer so that distribution of our products is relatively easy for the retailers or hospitality clients.
It’s amazing to realize that 2025 represents our 25th year in business and we still do one to two design projects a year (only for discerning clients) and our work is typically photographed. Often our work is confidential due to the customer requests, but one of our most recent publications, Good Housekeeping, covered a project that we worked on from the foundation to the furnishings in New Orleans. For this project, we worked with amazing partners including Kohler, SubZero-Wolf, WoodMode Cabinets, Cosentino, LaundryJet, Hafele, Progress Lighting, Primo Gas Lighting, Resource Furniture, Delaney Door Hardware and of course, our branded mattresses, sheets and towels were specified for the residence.
We are now sold globally in every branch of the military and at retailers including BELK, Macy’s, Wayfair and on HSN.
DV: Do you design any of the products in your lineup?
RW: I work with a design team each season to share my vision for the next collection of textiles. Each season during Market Week in New York, our collection is presented to buyers who review the collections and make decisions about their retail mix.
Also, you may remember that I launched my bespoke line of furniture at the 2014 International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City with The Nest upholstered chair and sofa collection. This furniture is custom made to our client specifications and takes about 12 weeks to complete because it is hand made from real wood as heirloom pieces.
DV: How do you choose your projects?
RW: Today, I am very careful with design projects as any project takes months and sometimes years to complete, depending on the scope and client. You have to enjoy working with the individual or decision maker. Today, I will only bring on one to two projects annually, and we are very selective.
DV: If you could go back, what advice would you give to your younger self?
RW: What a great question! I think that everyone should do something that I learned during an undergraduate philosophy course: Write a bucket list of 100 things that you hope to accomplish before… Treat that list like a report card for your life, things that you might only dream of doing. And likely you will be able to manifest those things. I have done almost all the things on my original list, and am about to create a new list for this next chapter of my life. As so many wise people will tell you: you have to bet on yourself and your dreams, and a bucket list review annually can make sure that you are on track.
And also, make sure that you do not get “love-bombed” into a personal relationship or you may be affected by domestic violence. High achievers are particularly targeted by those who have ulterior motives due to your assets or connections. Make sure to protect you, your assets and your life by leaving and not staying to “fix” someone else. And make sure to get a prenuptial agreement if you have an established business.