Julie had the amazing opportunity to sit down with Business Of Home’s Editor in Chief, Kaitlin Petersen, for a feature on our design studio. She gave BOH a little glimpse into her experience starting an interior design studio & how it’s evolved over time. Here are some highlights of their conversation.
What was the moment that made you decide to launch your firm?
I went to school for design and business, then went back for two additional years studying architecture and interior design at UC Berkeley, so I always knew this is what I wanted to do.
After living with so many design resources in San Francisco, my dream was always to have a store to bring in lines that I saw were lacking in Des Moines. When I would travel all over the U.S., I would always carve out time to do some research—I started going to the markets in High Point, Dallas and Vegas. I was making connections, curating what I wanted to have in the store, working within my budget to get all the purchasing done and remodel a storefront.
What else can you tell me about the real estate and design scene in Des Moines?
I feel like working with a designer is becoming a little bit more common and accepted every day. It’s not as scary or as costly as people [used to think]. In Des Moines, there are a couple of design firms and a lot of larger-scale architectural design firms. But there’s a lot of opportunity.
What does success mean to you today?
Success to me means loving what I do and getting to do it every day. And making people’s lives better because of it. When they’re grateful and they just love the new place they live in.
You spend a third of your life, if not more, in your home. And it impacts so much. Decluttering and having a beautiful space, it’s serene and there’s balance. Those things contribute then to the life that that person gets to live every day. So it’s fun to know that it’s such a big impact, and I feel so blessed that I get to do what I do every day and work with the clients that I get to work with. And my team is just so amazing.
