Vanderwal Design

We hired an attorney to take up our cause.  The interior decorator's attorney replied that our monies couldn't be recovered because Vanderwal Design/Durango Interiors was "judgment proof" in that they were "unable" to reimburse us and had no monies/properties of value that could be liquidated to satisfy our claim.  While the interior decorator's attorney was correct in this regard, we were able to secure a judgment in our favor against the decorator, retrieve a small amount of monies and the right to make this post.
While we would never advise anyone not to do business with another company or individual, what we do advise is that everyone do their homework before hiring a contractor.  A hard-earned bonus and monies from our savings account fell for the smooth talk of a  salesperson disguised as a "degreed" interior decorator with more than "30 years" of experience.  We should have required a work book of designs to review, performed standard contractor verifications and taken the time to validate references.
Our lesson is learned and it is our hope that we can help to prevent readers of this post from learning a similar lesson in this same way.  Research goes a long way and we have now done our part, (securing a judgment in our favor), to make sure that you can recover information about this designer/company should you contemplate a similar project.  Research any contractor before hiring and writing a check.  If their professional pride is impacted, or they're insulted, as a result of the verification process, then you've got the wrong contractor.