Are you a professional interior designer?

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Today is a post about me. I don’t normally share all about me, in fact, normally our blog posts are about my family or some kind of a diy project or makeover. I have received many emails this year from a bunch of you asking “am I a professional interior designer?” “Did I go to school for interior design?” Many of you have inquired about how I started working for HomeGoods and wanted to know if I went to school for interior design. I am kind of flattered that some of you think I may be an interior designer by trade. Truth be told, I have zero interior design training. In fact, I just kind of wing it.

*see this space above here / photo by HomeGoods / Adam Krauth

I graduated from college with a double major and earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Paralegal. I planned on going to law school but after four years of college, I decided that I was going to jump off a building if I had to attend more school.  So I took a break and got a job. My plan was to enroll after my break but needless to say, I liked making money and couldn’t fathom the thought of homework.

So, with my communications degree in hand, I landed a job where I would stay for almost 12 years before becoming a mom. I worked for Toyota and Lexus (the manufacturer side) and traveled between Boston, Torrance California (their headquarters), then New Jersey (Lexus office for New England) and back to Boston in 1998, climbing the Corporate America ladder. It was a great run and I learned a lot about people and building relationships. Honestly, building relationships is the key to any success in a career.

I have always thought, life is a “people business.” If you can’t do people, you are going to struggle. Just my opinion.

So to answer your question, “are you professional interior designer?” That is a big fat no. -ha. I am just a girl, decorating her home and sharing it with all of you. Somehow I found myself with some awesome opportunities because of this blog. Our blog has created a path where I am now decorating friends homes and their friends homes, along with incredible freelance jobs. I always liked decorating when I was a kid. I remember having this cute Raggedy Ann bedspread as a little girl and asking my mom to help me put pretty pillows on my bed. I always liked fashion and clothing and as a kid too and found myself color coordinating and creating fun outfits. I still do that. -ha. More on the fashion side of me to come. In case you haven’t seen yet, we have a new fashion page on the blog and the entire family is participating. It’s going to be four generations of fashion. Kind of fun right? Ok, back to the interior design thing…..

blogger day at HomeGoods

When I bought my first home with my first husband (yes I was previously married) in 1997, right after I got my job out of college, I remember having NO money and wanting to paint all the rooms and make cute seating arrangements with all my hand-me-down furniture. I thought I was such a rockstar. I painted for DAYS. The home was 250 years old and in need of restoration. I will share more on that part of my life (first home and divorce) another day. Anyway, there was a local fabric store near my house and I remember buying fabric to cover old pillows and heading to Walmart to buy fake flowers to create flower arrangements.-ha. I guess I have always had a little interior designer “wanna be” blood in my body, it just didn’t really come out until I started our blog almost 5 years ago. Hopefully that answers your questions and for those of you “wanna be’s ” like me, go for it and just decorate with what you love. Don’t worry about breaking any “designer” rules. What’s the worst thing that can happen? You don’t like what you did and return what you bought. Then start over. You would be amazed at what I have purchased and then returned saying to myself, “what was I thinking? That looks horrible!” -haha.