17 September 2021

How Did You Get Started As An Interior Designer?

I’ve always had a love for decorating my own home and helping my friends and family make their own spaces feel beautiful. I’m a strong believer that thoughtful, aesthetically pleasing environments can completely impact one’s mindset to make them feel more relaxed, focused, and grounded. Once I realized that I could make interior design my career, the gears started turning and I got right to work. I started going to night school at the Interior Design Institute and began working on a business plan to launch my own design firm. I found that creating a road map for my business, investing in SEO, professionally photographing my projects, and utilizing social media platforms to the fullest is what helped me get to where I am today. To learn more about my journey and tips for getting started in the interior design industry, read our past blog post here: Ask A Designer | My Tips + Advice For Getting Started In The Interior Design Industry.

Master Bedroom

Photography by Ryann Ford

Is Your Job Like Soooo Fun?

Don’t get me wrong, I LOOOOVEE my job and getting to thoughtfully create beautiful spaces for our clients. But, this career isn’t all just styling shelves and picking out paint colors. Working as an interior designer is all about non-stop communication with clients and vendors, handling delays and damaged items, trying to meet deadlines while still focusing on every single little detail, running around the city to site visits and showrooms…I could go on. This job is extremely fast-paced and many times requires you to work beyond standard hours. Nonetheless, getting to be creative, work with amazing people, and see the joy on our client’s faces when they see their new space makes all of the hard work entirely worth it. To sum it up; yes, my job is a blast, but a lot of work is done behind the scenes that people don’t usually consider. 

Bandd Reganterrace 9

Photography by Molly Culver

Drippingspringshouse 3

Photography by Molly Culver

Who are your typical clients? What are they like?

While the scope of work for our projects can range from new builds, to remodels, and furnishings, our clients are usually pretty similar. We generally work with young families who are looking to finally invest in creating their ‘forever home’. They have children and/or pets, so we often work with them on creating custom pieces that accommodate their needs. Such as using performance fabrics on their sofas and chairs so that they are stain resistant, and using the right paint finishes that won’t show dirt as easily. Hosting tends to be another priority for our clients, so incorporating additional seating and entertainment amenities are almost always something that we collaborate on. 

Baand Leander 10

Photography by Molly Culver

Where do you like to buy things from? Where’s the best place to buy a sofa, art, accessories, curtain, wallpaper, you name it?

We primarily use Trade vendors when selecting pieces because it cuts out the middleman (retail shops) so that we know we are getting the best price and quality. Some of our favorite places to source from are exclusive to designers, so we’re able to find unique pieces for our clients that they haven’t already seen in a Crate & Barrel catalogue or in their friend’s home. That’s not to say that there aren’t some amazing retail shops that we love to source from as well! You can find out some of our favorite retail shops to source from on our recent blog post: Designer’s Go-To Shops For All Things Home Decor

Baand Castleridge 13

Photography by Molly Culver

What is your favorite white paint color? Gray paint color?

Bandd Whitemarsh 46

Photography by Molly Culver

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