As a girl, CCS Design Studio owner Cynthia Smith seemed fated for a career in interior design. She would cut out pictures of furniture from a JC Penny catalogue and put them in place of the clothes from her dresser drawers and design the space like an apartment.

Later, as an adult, Smith would frequently rearrange the furniture in her home.

"My husband would come home and say, ‘What happened?' " Smith said.

Despite her predestined path, Smith pursued a degree in kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and became a physical education teacher. She taught for three years in the Chicago Public School system until tragedy struck her life. Smith's 14-year-old son died of liver cancer.

"I took some time off and did some soul searching," Smith said. "Then I decided to do what I always wanted to."

Smith enrolled in Chicago's International Academy of Design & Technology where she earned a degree in interior design. Smith began working out of her home as a designer during her studies at the academy.

Smith created CCS Design Studio in January, which she operated out of her home. In order to attract more clients in the commercial field, Smith moved her company to a spacious office in South Holland. Her grand opening was June 7.

"I like to do residential, but I also like to do commercial," Smith said. "South Holland has been very supportive. I'm very excited about this."

Smith's new space opened doors to more of that commercial opportunity, which she's able to subcontract out in order to "knock down walls and do floors and windows."

"Then I'm the one coming in to top it all off," she said.

Whether it's a commercial project or somebody's bachelor pad, Smith works with her clients every step of the way.

"It's so much fun," she said. "I like to see the before and after."