One of the HARDEST things about being an interior designer is having to switch between your left brain and your right brain – often in the same hour!! On the one hand, we are CEOs running our own companies, paying attention to profit margins and payrolls. But our ENTIRE businesses depend on...

Ready to get your color fix? While living in India, I quickly learned that the first stop in any city or town that I visited was the flower market, or mandi. The colors, the noise, the smells - and even the masala chai tea - made it an experience for the senses. While in Bangalore, I woke up...

As interior designers, it's important for us to have contractors we trust and love to work with. If we all operate as a team on our projects, we'll be less likely to have costly problems crop up, and much more likely to have a great experience. And we all know there are contractors who...

Recently, Instagram changed its algorithm (again) and everyone was up in arms. After all, we want to see what the people we follow are posting, not random posts that are ads or from people we've never seen before. But if you're a business, it was also devastating because suddenly your followers...

OK I can hear you asking: "Why are you talking about next year when we STILL have 3 months in THIS year??" And that's a fair question!! I like to plan ahead while still keeping my eye on what's happening today. It's how I've run my businesses for over 20 years and it's helped me stay ahead of the...

Creatives like us need to refuel occasionally. We can't constantly work with the business side of our brains and then expect ourselves to craft the most exquisite rooms and spaces without some inspiration! Just won't happen! Travel is THE most important way that I find inspiration for everything...

So many people are predicting that this holiday season is going to be one of the best in years. People want to be with their families, to restart holiday party traditions, and to feel festive for the first time in a long time. And as a designer, you know what THAT means. You're about to...

There are so many tools an interior designer needs. No, I'm not talking about CAD or an electronic tape measure - although those are awesome tools, too! Every designer also needs specific tools to help them run their businesses more smoothly (so we can make more money!) And most of the time, we...

I don't know about you, but it feels like this year is flying by, more than ever before. It's already September, and we're very close to finishing up the third quarter. With a packed fall calendar and the holidays, it can feel like we've run out of time to make a significant impact on our...

We have all - unfortunately - been there. You have a client who is overly demanding, who is REALLY unpleasant to work with, or who may even be disrespectful to you or your staff. You may have even ignored those red flags, because they are ALWAYS there! But now, for your own sanity, you have got...

We are in one of the oddest economic periods I can remember. There's so much talk of recessions and yet so many interior designers are absolutely swamped with work! That can make even the simplest decisions about our businesses sort of hard to navigate, right?? That's especially true when it...

Communication is the one thing that really can make or break your project. If your clients feel left out of the loop, they're going to become frustrated and distrustful! I like to over communicate rather than worrying about flooding my clients with info. The more they feel like they are "in the...