Design Curious | Interior Design Career and Business Podcast

Are you working harder, taking on more projects, and increasing your revenue—but still wondering where the profit is going? Many creative entrepreneurs start their interior design business because they love the work, but over time, they find themselves overwhelmed by the administrative side, unpredictable income, and the pressure to constantly create more. In this episode, I’m joined by business s...

Are you struggling to decide where to spend your time, energy, and money as you build your interior design business? I got you! One of the biggest challenges I see aspiring and emerging designers face is knowing when—and how—to invest in themselves and their business. Many creatives hesitate to spend money on education, systems, coaching, legal support, or professional expertise because it feels r...

If you've ever found yourself staring at your bank account hoping the number magically went up overnight, or waiting until December to figure out what — if anything — you get to pay yourself this year, this episode is going to feel like a direct message just for you. So many of the designers I work with are talented, passionate, and completely in the dark about the financial side of their busi...

Have you been dreaming about starting an interior design career, but keep telling yourself you'll start when the time is right ? Maybe you’re balancing a full-time job, raising kids, managing a household, or simply trying to figure out if you’re talented enough to make a creative career shift. I'm here to tell you something important: that perfect season is never coming. And the longer you...

If you’re an aspiring interior designer or you’re still in the early stages of building your business, chances are you’ve asked yourself questions like: Do I really need a professional website yet? Should I invest in custom website design? Or can I just use a template for now? I hear these questions constantly from designers inside my programs, especially when they’re trying to balance launching t...

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I’m not experienced enough to call myself a real interior designer” ? Or maybe you scroll through social media, comparing your work to polished projects, and suddenly feel like you don’t belong in this industry at all. That quiet voice of self-doubt—what we call imposter syndrome—can creep in at any stage of your interior design career, especially when you&...

Have you ever finished a project and thought… “Wait, where did all the money go?” One of the biggest mistakes creatives make is treating money as something that shows up at the end—rather than something that needs structure from the very beginning. And that mindset? It quietly drains your profit, your energy, and your confidence. In this episode, I sit down with Lauren Nist, a bookkeeping and advi...

If you’ve ever felt unsure about what to include in your interior design contract—or worse, you’ve avoided contracts altogether because they feel overwhelming—you’re not alone. I see so many designers relying on verbal agreements or vague expectations, thinking things will “just work out” because the client relationship feels good. But that’s exactly where problems begin. Miscommunication, scope c...

Have you ever designed a space that looked beautiful… but somehow didn’t feel right to live in? As interior designers, we’re trained to focus on the visible—colors, materials, layouts, and architectural elements. But what if the real purpose of design goes deeper than aesthetics? What if the home isn’t the final product—but the medium that shapes human happiness, relationship quality, and overall...

Have you ever felt like your interior design business depends entirely on you—your time, your energy, your creativity? I see many designers start with passion and talent, only to end up overwhelmed, juggling project management, client communication, bookkeeping, procurement, and marketing… all at once. And before long, that dream business starts to feel like a never-ending job. The truth is: burno...

Have you ever lowered your prices just to get a client? Most interior designers assume that being “more affordable” makes it easier to sell. But what if that belief is actually costing you premium clients—and positioning your work as less valuable? In this episode, I sit down with luxury market messaging and pricing strategist Miriam Schulman to unpack a powerful mindset shift that can completely...

If you’ve ever thought, “Maybe I just need more experience… more projects… a better portfolio…” , I want you to pause right there. Because the truth is, most interior designers don’t struggle with client acquisition because they lack talent. They struggle because they lack structure, clarity, and confidence in how they present their value. I’ve seen incredibly talented designers sit on the sidelin...

Have you ever stood in front of dozens of paint swatches wondering why two “neutral” colors look completely different on the wall? Understanding undertones is one of the most challenging aspects of interior design—even for experienced designers. Many homes today are filled with gray furniture, gray walls, and gray finishes, yet they still feel flat, cold, or unfinished. The missing piece? A deeper...

When most people start an interior design business, they assume the hardest part will be creating beautiful spaces. But in reality, the design isn’t the biggest challenge — the business side of interior design is where many new designers struggle. I've seen talented designers make the same mistakes repeatedly when they first start their businesses. These mistakes don’t happen because they lack...

Are you building your interior design business in a bubble? If you’re anything like I was in my early years, you probably assumed the hard part was the design. You thought, “If I can create beautiful spaces, the rest will fall into place.” But what no one tells you is this: guesswork is expensive. Shooting from the hip on markups, contracts, pricing, and processes can cost you years of profitabili...

If you’ve ever said, “I’ll take any client I can get,” you’re not alone. Most interior designers start there — saying yes to every project, every personality, and every request… even when it drains their time, energy, and confidence. But here’s what I want you to know: dream clients don’t just appear because you’re talented. They’re attracted to clarity, confidence, and structure. And without clea...

The moment you file your LLC… the moment you accept your first client payment… the moment you start working with vendors or contractors… You are no longer “just a creative.” You are the CEO of your business. As Danielle Hayden and I discuss in this episode, one of the biggest mistakes interior designers make is thinking they can outsource their financial understanding to bookkeeping services, fina...

Have you ever finished a beautiful project… only to realize you have nothing to show for it? I’ve seen so many talented interior designers pour their heart, time, and creativity into a space — only to walk away without the one thing that helps them book their next client: professional portfolio photos. Without strong website images or scroll-stopping social media visuals, it becomes harder to buil...

Have you ever walked into a space and immediately felt calmer, without knowing why? Or noticed how a room flooded with natural light just feels better to be in? That’s not an accident. It’s your nervous system responding to your environment, and it’s exactly why biophilic design matters more than ever in interior design today. In this episode, I’m sitting down with returning guest and seasoned res...

Most interior designers come into this career because they love design. They love creating beautiful spaces, developing a strong design vision, and dreaming up what’s possible for a home. But what many designers don’t realize—until they’re already in it—is that great design alone is not enough to create successful residential projects or happy clients. I see this all the time with newer designers...

What if the fear holding you back isn’t failure—but the thought of never trying at all? In this episode, I sit down with Elliot James, founder of a multi–award-winning international interior architecture studio, to talk honestly about what it takes to build a creative career that spans countries, cultures, and markets. Elliot didn’t follow a traditional path. He didn’t wait until everything felt “...

Have you ever been standing in front of a client, mid-conversation, and suddenly realized you should know the answer—but you don’t feel confident saying it out loud yet? Maybe it’s a color choice, a furniture size, or how to fix an awkward layout. These moments can shake your confidence as an interior designer, especially when you know you have the creative instinct but haven’t fully honed the pra...

As interior designers, we spend so much time thinking about how a home looks , but what if the real question we should be asking is how a home feels ? If you’ve ever walked into a space that was beautiful on paper but somehow felt off, heavy, or uninspiring, this episode is for you. I sit down with feng shui expert Amanda Gibby Peters to explore how interior designers can intentionally work with e...

If you’ve ever wondered why design school didn’t quite prepare you for the real world of interior design, you’re not imagining it. I hear this all the time—from designers who invested years (and money) into a degree, and from those who skipped school altogether and worry they’re already behind. The truth is, many of the skills required to run a successful interior design business are not taught in...

“A good website really should be qualifying your inquiries and increasing them as well.” Does your website actually do that? Or does it simply exist as a gallery of pretty images while you continue to explain yourself over and over again in emails, DMs, and discovery calls? If you’ve ever hesitated before sending someone your website link, or felt a little cringe when a potential client says they...