『Stuff Interior Designers Need To Know: Insider Industry Advice for Residential Interior Designers』のカバーアート

Stuff Interior Designers Need To Know: Insider Industry Advice for Residential Interior Designers

Stuff Interior Designers Need To Know: Insider Industry Advice for Residential Interior Designers

著者： Rebecca West Interior Design Marketing Strategist & Client Communication​ ​Coach
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Looking for real-talk wisdom that'll help you steer your residential interior design biz to sweet, sweet success?

Welcome to "Stuff Interior Designers Need To Know" – the podcast where seasoned interior-designer-turned-marketing-and-communication-strategist Rebecca West of Seriously Happy Coaching & Consulting serves up perfect pours of business and industry advice for residential interior designers who want to help their clients get seriously happy at home.

No topic's off-limits and the advice is wide-ranging, covering everything from how to create an interior design website to what interior designers need to know about bookkeeping. No matter the topic, every episode is meant to help both new and experienced residential interior designers succeed in business.

So put down that paint fan and let’s dive in for some no-nonsense, totally actionable advice that'll help your design biz thrive and keep your sanity intact.

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Hosted by business coach Rebecca West, an interior designer with nearly two decades of experience running her residential interior design firm Seriously Happy Homes. She’s obsessed with costume parties, cat videos, and - oh yah - raising the standards for professional interior design services.

© 2026 Stuff Interior Designers Need To Know: Insider Industry Advice for Residential Interior Designers アート マネジメント・リーダーシップ リーダーシップ 個人的成功 経済学 自己啓発
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  • Ep. 16: Want to Use More Antiques in Your Designs? Here’s What You Need to Know with Debbie Mathews LeRoy

    Ep. 16: Want to Use More Antiques in Your Designs? Here’s What You Need to Know with Debbie Mathews LeRoy
    2026/09/19

    I hear you love antiques. The depth! The character! The history! Maybe you’d even like to use MORE of them in your design work?

    Let's ask some practical questions!

    • How do you know whether something is actually worth what they’re asking?
    • What happens when the perfect antique fireplace arrives... and nobody wants to install it?
    • How do shipping, repairs, upholstery, tariffs, and all the other costs affect what you charge your client?
    • And... What if there are bugs? 😳

    In this episode, I talked with Debbie Mathews LeRoy of Debbie Mathews Antiques & Designs in Nashville, Tennessee. Debbie has been buying and selling antiques for more than three decades, and she believes every room needs at least one antique.

    I came to this conversation from the opposite direction: after nearly 20 years as an interior designer, I had sourced exactly ZERO antiques for my clients. 😂

    I had questions!

    Rebecca asks Debbie:

    1. What should designers actually look for when it comes to bugs, past damage, and active infestations?
    2. What changes when you’re incorporating antique doors, fireplaces, windows, or other architectural pieces into a project?
    3. How do you find craftspeople who actually know how to repair, restore, rewire, or install antiques?
    4. How do you know what an antique should cost — especially when you’re shopping overseas or buying from photos?
    5. What does the REAL cost of an antique look like once you add shipping, restoration, upholstery, tariffs, and other expenses?
    6. How does Debbie price antiques and make sure there’s enough margin in each piece?
    7. What kinds of antiques are safest for a designer who wants to start small and learn without taking on a ton of risk?
    8. How does she prepare clients for the imperfections, patina, and final commitment that come with buying something old and one-of-a-kind?
    9. What should you photograph, measure, and document before an antique ever gets shipped?
    10. And what is it REALLY like shopping the antique markets of Europe at 5:00 in the morning with a headlamp while other buyers are literally running through the gates? 😂

    The biggest takeaway? Antiques require more homework than ordering something new from a catalog. But they’re also not nearly as fragile — or as scary — as you might think.

    If you want to use more of them in your work, Debbie gives you a really practical place to start. Enjoy!

    ABOUT DEBBIE MATHEWS LEROY

    Debbie Mathews LeRoy is the owner and principal designer of Debbie Mathews Antiques & Designs in Nashville, Tennessee. She has been buying and selling antiques for more than three decades and is known for her philosophy that every room needs at least one antique.

    Her Nashville showroom combines her interior design work with a curated collection of antique furniture, lighting, art, and accessories sourced both in the U.S. and abroad.

    Find Debbie:

    Website: https://www.debbiemathews.com/

    Shop: https://www.shopdebbiemathews.com/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbiemathewshome/

    --

    Looking for Rebecca's Interior Design Business Coaching & Courses?
    https://seriouslyhappy.com

    Wanna be Interior Design & Expat Insta-Friends?!
    https://www.instagram.com/beseriouslyhappy/

    Follow Rebecca's Moving-To-France, Living-In-Paris Expat Adventures:
    https://bonjhola.buzzsprout.com/

    And here's where to find Rebecca's book on Interior Design Psychology:
    Happy Starts at Home
    https://www.amazon.com/
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    49 分
  • Ep. 15: What’s It Really Like to Open an Interior Design Showroom? With Maison Mischief Co-Founder Katie Gutierrez

    Ep. 15: What’s It Really Like to Open an Interior Design Showroom? With Maison Mischief Co-Founder Katie Gutierrez
    2026/08/08
    What does it really take to open an interior design showroom?You may be picturing beautiful windows, fabulous objects, and customers wandering in to admire your impeccable taste.Now add the commercial lease, insurance, accessibility, security cameras, wholesale minimums, damaged shipments, tariffs, returns, music licensing, broken merchandise—and the occasional day when not one person walks through the door.In this episode of Stuff Interior Designers Need To Know, Rebecca sits down with Katie Gutierrez, co-founder of Errez Design and the recently opened Maison Mischief in Coral Gables, Florida, for a remarkably transparent look at the money, logistics, uncertainty, and joy involved in opening an interior design and home-goods showroom.Katie took Maison Mischief from “maybe it’s finally time” to open doors in only six months—but that speed was supported by 17 years of business experience, a season of strong projects, a willingness to reinvest in growth, and what Katie freely admits is a particularly high tolerance for risk. Rebecca asks: When did Katie first dream of opening a showroom—and why did it take nearly 17 years to make it happen? How did she go from spotting an available storefront to holding the keys only a few weeks later? What surprised her most about negotiating and signing a commercial lease? What unexpected requirements came with opening a public-facing space, including signage, music licensing, insurance, accessibility, security, and breakage? How does she choose vendors while balancing profit margins, wholesale minimums, available storage, and completely unpredictable customer demand? How are freight, tariffs, e-commerce, damaged shipments, and return policies affecting the business? How does Maison Mischief support—and complicate—Katie and Ruben’s established interior design firm? What has been the scariest part of opening a showroom? What has been the hardest? And what has brought the most joy? How did Katie develop Errez Design’s signature approach, Biographical Design? What would she say to interior designers who know they are watering down their point of view in an attempt to be more marketable? Katie shares the kind of realities nobody pictures while daydreaming about opening a shop: discovering that a commercial tenant may be responsible for nearly everything “from the ground to the clouds,” realizing that one $150 online sale could require placing a $1,000 wholesale reorder, and experiencing days when nobody enters the store followed by a day when one designer buys $7,000 in accessories. But this conversation is not simply a warning about leases, inventory, and broken candle lids.Katie also explains how Maison Mischief has given her greater creative freedom, created opportunities for press and community engagement, and allowed her to put Errez Design’s distinctive maximalist point of view fully into the world. The result is an honest, funny, passionate conversation about the difference between having a beautiful dream and building a business capable of supporting it—and why the qualities that make your work different may be the very qualities that make people care.If you have ever dreamed of opening a showroom, wondered whether you have the courage to make a bigger move in your business, or secretly suspected that you are sanding off the most interesting parts of your brand, this episode is for you.Enjoy!--About KatieKatie Gutierrez is the co-founder of Errez Design and Maison Mischief and the creator of Biographical Design™, an approach that uses clients’ histories, experiences, and identities to create deeply personal interiors.Katie and her husband and business partner, Ruben Gutierrez, founded Errez Design in Miami in 2009. Their residential and commercial work is known for its bold use of color, meaningful storytelling, and belief that every client’s home should reflect the life of the person living there—not simply the prevailing design trends. Their work has been featured in publications including Architectural Digest, Veranda, and House Beautiful. With Maison Mischief, Katie and Ruben have translated that philosophy into a retail experience filled with furniture, lighting, art, and expressive objects chosen for their character, craftsmanship, and ability to make everyday life more memorable. Connect with Katie, Maison Mischief, and Errez DesignMaison Mischief: https://maisonmischief.com Maison Mischief on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisonmischief/ Errez Design: https://www.errezdesign.com Errez Design on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/errezdesign/--Looking for Rebecca's Interior Design Business Coaching & Courses?https://seriouslyhappy.comWanna be Interior Design & Expat Insta-Friends?!https://www.instagram.com/beseriouslyhappy/Follow Rebecca's Moving-To-France, Living-In-Paris Expat Adventures:https://bonjhola.buzzsprout.com/And here's where to find Rebecca's book on Interior Design ...
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    46 分
  • Ep. 14: Everything’s Backordered — Now What? Handling Backorders & Lead-Time Chaos with Interior Designer Maggie Griffin

    Ep. 14: Everything’s Backordered — Now What? Handling Backorders & Lead-Time Chaos with Interior Designer Maggie Griffin
    2026/06/28

    What do you do when the sofa is delayed, the fabric is backordered, the tariff surcharge shows up after the order is placed, and your client is staring at you like you personally disrupted the supply chain?

    In this episode of Stuff Interior Designers Need To Know, Rebecca sits down with Maggie Griffin, founder and principal designer of Maggie Griffin Design in Gainesville, Georgia, to talk about one of the least glamorous — but most business-critical — parts of running a residential interior design firm: backorders, lead times, substitutions, and client expectations.

    With 18 years in business, Maggie has learned how to source smarter, lean on trade reps, communicate delays professionally, and decide when it’s worth waiting for the perfect showstopper versus when it’s time to reselect and move on with your life.

    Rebecca asks:

    1. How does Maggie source to reduce the risk of backorders?
    2. How does she anticipate lead-time issues before they derail a project?
    3. When should a designer accept a delay, and when should they proactively reselect?
    4. How does Maggie deliver bad news to clients without creating unnecessary panic?
    5. How can designers use reps, receivers, and local resources to manage logistics more professionally?
    6. What should newer designers know about building real-world sourcing and product knowledge?
    7. How do tariffs, gas surcharges, and changing costs affect the way Maggie communicates with clients?
    8. How can setting expectations early help designers protect trust, timelines, and the client relationship?

    If you’ve ever had to tell a client, “So… funny story… that thing we loved is now unavailable,” this conversation is for you.

    Maggie reminds us that backorders may be part of the design industry now, but chaos does not have to be part of your client experience. With the right process, the right questions, and the courage to communicate clearly, designers can handle delays like professionals instead of hiding under the desk with a no-longer-available fabric memo.

    Enjoy!

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    About Maggie:

    Maggie Griffin is the founder and principal designer of Maggie Griffin Design, a high-end residential interior design firm based in Gainesville, Georgia.

    Maggie discovered her love for interior design early, often visiting Atlanta showhouses with her mother and grandmothers. She went on to study Furnishings & Interiors at the University of Georgia, with time abroad in Florence studying the History of Fabrics and Retail Design. She also double-majored in psychology, which has proven especially helpful in a client-centered industry full of big decisions, big emotions, and lots of different personalities.

    Since founding her firm in 2008, Maggie has become known for her distinctive Southern design style, blending playful patterns, colorful fabrics, comfortable upholstery, and a pinch of chinoiserie. Her work reflects her belief in “using your best stuff every day” and creating homes that feel classic, stylish, comfortable, and deeply personal.

    To connect with Maggie and Maggie Griffin Design:

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maggiegriffindesign/
    Website: https://maggiegriffindesign.com/

    --

    Looking for Rebecca's Interior Design Business Coaching & Courses?
    https://seriouslyhappy.com

    Wanna be Interior Design & Expat Insta-Friends?!
    https://www.instagram.com/beseriouslyhappy/

    Follow Rebecca's Moving-To-France, Living-In-Paris Expat Adventures:
    https://bonjhola.buzzsprout.com/

    And here's where to find Rebecca's book on Interior Design Psychology:
    Happy Starts at Home
    https://www.amazon.com/
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    42 分
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