Check Out Dillon Arnold’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dillon Arnold.

Hi Dillon, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I am born and raised in Nashville and I am the 5th generation in construction in my family, my dad was a builder in Franklin for 30+ years before I took over the trade. However, the plan was never to be in this field. I was on track to go to veterinary school and I was finishing up undergrad when the pandemic started.

At the beginning of Covid, my partner and I purchased our first home together in Germantown – an industrial loft with tall ceilings and exposed brick. During quarantine, I spent my time designing and renovating our new home. My most impactful decision was painting the entire thing black, which was a bold design move at the time. The rest of the interior was moody, masculine, and sexy. Simultaneously, TikTok was on the rise and everyone in my circle was encouraging me to post what I was doing on the app. I resisted as long as I could and eventually posted my first video which accumulated millions of views and gave me a 6 figure following throughout a weekend.

I remember before even getting on TikTok, not knowing what I was doing or what I wanted from this, I was in the question “What do I call this?” A friend of mine encouraged me to name it after myself as most interior designers do. I knew immediately that I did not want that, nor did I want to be the face of a brand/business. Whatever I was doing, I wanted it to speak for itself and have a persona that was independent of me. Black was obviously in the name because this all started based on my black condo and Haus was added to the beginning, intentionally spelled the European way to honor our familial roots in Greece and Germany. My parents’ business was a German name as well, so I saw this as an opportunity to be the living thread that connected my parents’ era of construction to mine.

I was wrapping up undergrad in the first 6 months of starting Haus of Black and chose to shelf my plans for grad school. My POV was that school and the veterinary field would always be there if I chose to come back to it, but the momentum I had behind Haus of Black was not guaranteed to last for long, so I leaned into it fully. About a year and a half in, I absorbed my parents’ construction business. Ever since I have blazed my trail in the luxury design and construction market and become known for my moody and sophisticated designs.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In my first year, I was a yes-man. I took on nearly every project that came across my desk. This exposed me to a variety of different projects and allowed me to explore what worked/didn’t work, what I liked, was good at, who my vendors were, what subs I enjoyed using, etc. It was the most uncomfortable I have ever been but I experienced so much growth from that year and it has led me to where I am now.

There were instances of partnering with businesses that did not have my best interest at heart, promising work that did not go according to plan, spending that went well over anticipated budgets, etc. And while there were many occasions of my back against the wall, they were all valuable learning experiences to improve my workflow.

Since launching during the pandemic, I was faced with shipping delays, price inflation, and a lack of materials and tradesmen. Fortunately, most of the clientele I was working with had grace on the situation because we were in such unprecedented times, and nobody knew what was going on. The key was to be flexible and patient.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The thing I believe sets me apart is that I take my client relationships very seriously because they are very intimate.

The idea of home is so personal and it is different for everyone, so it is important to me to interpret that the best I can in each space. To do so, I often don’t even talk about the project with the client at the first meeting. Instead, I want to know who they are, what they do, what brings them joy, how they use their home, what is important to them, etc. Since we are on jobs for months at a time, we inevitably build a friendship in the process, which makes my design even more special – it ends up being perfectly tailored to the individual using the space.

That is my favorite part about what I do because I have witnessed builders/designers who do not put intention and integrity into their work or do what they think looks best and will earn them the most profit – and it shows. I can carefully craft an atmosphere and have someone walk into my projects and recognize that a lot of time and intention was put into the design.

Networking and finding a mentor can have a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
A large part of my job is relationships with clients, subcontractors, vendors, other designers/builders, etc. There has been so much value in doing so and it has given me more opportunities to grow and made my work life even more enjoyable.

Nashville is such a unique market because even though it’s a rapidly growing city, we have maintained the love-your-neighbor mentality. Everyone in this line of work genuinely wants to help the next person out and there is a large community of creatives all around us. For someone who may be starting, I advise them to find these groups and invest in them – go to the events, show face, and get to know the other players. Put yourself out there and it will benefit everyone involved.

Lately, I have been intentional with showing up to all of my vendor’s events and in turn, hosting my own to celebrate everyone I work with. My goal is to bring everyone together so we can all grow and leave our fingerprint on our city.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hausofblack.co
• Instagram: @hausofblck
• TikTok: @hausofblck

Image Credits
Heather Hughes