012: From Homeless to Home - ASID San Diego x Humble Design with Shannon Rice

In this episode of Interior Design San Diego, host Rachel Larraine Crawford sits down with hospitality designer, educator, and ASID leader Shannon Rice to explore how design can literally change the trajectory of a family’s life.

Shannon shares her journey from 20-year-old receptionist at a flooring company to hospitality-focused designer, business owner, long-time instructor at Design Institute, and past president of ASID San Diego. From there, the conversation dives into the heart work: Humble Design—a nonprofit that fully furnishes homes for individuals and families emerging from homelessness.

You’ll hear how ASID San Diego partnered with Humble Design, why thoughtfully designed spaces help break the cycle of homelessness, and the many tangible ways designers, students, and industry partners can get involved.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Shannon’s winding path into interior design, from cocktail waitress and receptionist to hospitality designer and firm owner
• What it’s really like to work in hospitality, franchise hotels, and property improvement plans (PIPs)
• How teaching at Design Institute fuels Shannon’s love of mentoring emerging designers
• Shannon’s ASID journey—from student member to president, and now Humble Design liaison
• The origin story of Humble Design and why furnished homes dramatically reduce the rate of families returning to homelessness
• Rachel’s personal connection to housing insecurity and why this work feels so tender and urgent
• What happens on a Day of Joy install—from warehouse prep to the “welcome home” reveal
• The emotional impact of kids seeing their very first bed and a space made just for them
• How ASID designers can leverage projects to support Humble through furniture donations and more
• Volunteer warehouse days, student involvement, and upcoming donation drives in San Diego and North County
• Simple ways to support Humble at ASID’s annual holiday party and beyond

Key Takeaways

• Design truly impacts lives. A thoughtfully furnished home isn’t just “pretty”—it can be the difference between a family maintaining housing or slipping back into homelessness.
• Humble Design is changing the cycle. Families who receive Humble’s services almost never return to homelessness, in part because they finally have a space that feels safe, dignified, and worth fighting for.
• Community over competition in action. ASID San Diego’s partnership with Humble shows what happens when designers, students, and industry partners rally around a shared cause.
• Designers have unique leverage. We’re already inside clients’ homes and job sites—redirecting gently-used furnishings to Humble is a powerful, practical way to give back.
• There’s a place for everyone. From warehouse volunteering and student internships to donation drives and fundraisers, there are meaningful roles for designers at every stage of their career.

How Designers & Students Can Get Involved

• Redirect client furnishings to Humble instead of sending them to landfill
• ASID designers can request free pick-ups for qualifying donations via Humble’s website
• Join quarterly warehouse volunteer days through ASID San Diego sign-ups
• Support Day of Joy installs and annual fundraisers (like the bathroom refresh package)
• Students can seek out Humble-adjacent internships or volunteer hours through SDSU, DI, Mesa, Palomar & more
• Bring a gift card (Target, Walmart, TJ Maxx, etc.) to the ASID holiday party to help cover critical “one-off” items like cribs and baby...