This is the Third of an Eight-Part Feature on the designers’ vision and progress at the DC Design House, which is underway and set to open on April 14th.

For Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey of SCW Interiors in Alexandria, VA, www.scwinteriors.com, being included as one of the designers in the 2012 DC Design House is “the most prestigious invitation for a designer.” But it also means sprinting to the finish line. “Being selected to design for the showhouse is a bit like being crowned homecoming queen then having to run a marathon in your ball gown while collecting items for a scavenger hunt,” Cavin-Winfrey says. It’s also one of the highlights of one’s career, she notes.