Known for his contemporary interior-design work in such Spokane-area restaurants as Savory and Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar, Joshua Hissong has branched out to start his own firm.

Earlier this year, he opened Hissong Design Group LLC on the fourth floor of the James S. Black Building, at 107 S. Howard. The company currently is located in about 800 square feet of office space there, but Hissong says the company plans to expand in the next couple of months to an 1,800-square-foot space in the Symons Building, at 7 N. Howard.

Hissong says the firm specializes in interiors for residential and commercial buildings, with an emphasis on hospitality design.

Hissong previously worked as an in-house designer at Spokane Restaurant Equipment Inc., where he handled kitchen layout and interior-design work for more than 200 establishments. While there, Hissong says, Spokane Restaurant Equipment clients often asked him to help with overall restaurant designs, and as those requests grew, he decided he wanted to do more of an entire design approach in a business he would start.

The design firm, he adds, can help both restaurant and homeowners incorporate into their interiors appropriate flooring, light fixtures, and colors. He describes his style as "contemporary and clean."

"This way I can do more design work for clients," he says.

In addition to Hissong, the firm employs designer and product researcher Brian Brumfield. It also has two interns who are Washington State University Spokane interior design students, and architect Armando Hurtado works with the group as a consultant on a contract basis.

The firm works on a contract basis with clients, creating two-dimensional drawings at first and then designs in three-dimensional software to add colors, furniture and a computer virtual walk-through tour, Hissong says. He says he also works with clients onsite during construction.

Hissong says the firm is now working on two restaurants in Coeur d'Alene and three new Froyo Earth locations, among other projects.

The firm's services may range from $5,000 to $15,000 for commercial restaurant design work, depending on the scope of work. Residential design work may range from $2,500 for a condo to $10,000 for a large home.