David has always been interested in history. His maternal great great grandfather Joseph de Bettencourt came to California shortly after the Civil War to work on the western portion of the trans-continental railroad. The Bettencourts were early settlers of Livermore, California. A portion of the original ranch is still in the family.
David has a BA in Interior Design from San Jose State University and has been in the field since 1967. After a few years as a buyer, and retail floor designer for furniture stores, he moved to Seattle in 1977. After a stint as retail floor designer for all the Doces and all the Ken Schoenfelt chains, David opened his design business in 1980. He moved his business to Olympia in 1989.
Besides designing many west coast and Olympia houses and businesses, David has worked in the Senior Living field since 1990. Today he acts as consultant to Koelsch Senior Living Communities building new communities in the west and into Illinois.
David became involved with the Bigelow House Museum when it was being restored in the early 90’s. His main contribution was meticulously uncovering the layers of wall coverings in the different rooms and choosing authentic reproductions for the restoration. He helped with all aspects of the interior. It has been an ongoing project since then, and just this year another room was papered in a Carpenter Gothic pattern circa 1845.
David has been an honorary board member of the Bigelow House Museum since 1995 and recently also a board member of the merged OHS&BHM. He is also on the board of a couple other organizations as well as on the Olympia Design Review Board.
David and his wife are fortunate owners of two historic properties, the Reed Block (1891) which Ruthann’s Drees occupies, and of the Egbert-Ingham House (1914).