Check out Julie’s Interview with Business of Home’s Editor in Chief, Kaitlin Petersen
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.
