How I Became a Colorado Interior Designer (and Therapist!)
One may say that coffee and chatting with strangers decided my fate! I’ve always been drawn to interior design, art, and anything creative. But there was always a question that loomed over me—how would I make the career shift from Social Worker to Interior Designer?
“Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.”
Finding the Similarities Between Psychology and Design
Having gone to school for psychology and social work, I knew that I wanted to incorporate all that I’d learned up until this point into this new career move. And that’s when I realized that psychology and design are connected! Design psychology is all about getting to know someone and the different aspects that makeup who they are. That way, you can understand what influences their style, how they want to structure their space, and how they ultimately want to feel in their home. Equipped with the knowledge that I could get to this deeper design level with my background and experience, it was time for the next step. Research!
The detective in me knew that I needed to find out all that I could about this industry and Colorado interior designers. And what better way to learn the pros and cons and the ins and outs of a business than to interview the people who are in it every day—right?
After researching and emailing different Colorado interior designers to see if they were interested in meeting up with an aspiring interior designer over coffee, I waited. To my excitement, all four designers messaged me back and said yes without hesitation!
Connecting with Colorado Interior Designers Over Coffee
I knew I wanted to treat each designer to coffee and had lots of questions to ask. My conversations went something like this:
How did you get into the profession of being an interior designer?
What were your schooling, degrees, and certificates (if any)?
What were the biggest lessons you have learned along the way?
Do you have any advice for me as someone considering this career?
These conversations ultimately determined my fate. And with everything I gathered from these incredible interior designers, I learned that social work and interior design really do go hand-in-hand. So I decided to make the leap and leave my full-time job with a consistent paycheck to enroll in online schooling at the New York Institute of Art and Design (NYIAD).
While I was in school, I interned at a high-end Colorado interior design studio in Niwot, CO, under many seasoned designers. It was there that I received the hands-on experience I needed to feel confident in my skills as a designer. After trusting the process and graduating with my certification, I started working for Crossville Studios, a Boulder-based boutique tile and stone design center, and it’s there that the idea for Home Craft Design was born.
Crafting My Role as an Interior Design Therapist
Getting to be creative and work with clients on a personal level now, within their homes, is where the magic happens, and it’s the place I want to be! I’m so grateful to those four strangers turned friends and colleagues who took the time to believe in me because they changed the trajectory of my career forever. These days I get to create rooms and homes that feel welcoming, inspiring, and what clients have imagined for themselves and more.
I want everyone I work with to know that working with an interior designer can feel like going to your favorite hairdresser, where you can feel comfortable enough being yourself and sharing what’s on you’re mind, knowing that you’re taken care of and are in great hands.
