8 Interior Design Consulting Business Success Stories [2024]
If you have a passion for interior design and want to turn it into a successful business, starting an interior design consulting company may be the perfect opportunity. As an interior design consultant, you will help clients create beautiful and functional spaces within their homes or commercial buildings.
To start an interior design consulting business, you must have a strong understanding of design principles and the ability to visualize and communicate your ideas to clients. You should also have a portfolio of past design projects to showcase your skills and style. In addition to your design skills, you will also need business skills such as marketing, budgeting, and project management to run your business successfully.
Some of the services you may offer as an interior design consultant include space planning, furniture selection, color consultation, and accessorizing. You may also work with contractors and other professionals to ensure that your design plans are properly implemented.
To succeed in the interior design consulting industry, staying up-to-date on the latest design trends and continually expanding your knowledge and skills is important. Building a strong network of professionals and establishing a reputation as a reliable and trustworthy designer will also help you attract new clients and grow your business.
In this list, you'll find real-world interior design consulting business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a interior design consulting business that makes money.
1. diSalvo Interiors ($1.32M/year)
In 1996, a mother and daughter team started a boutique design firm with just $50,000 in personal funds. Despite lacking a solid business plan, their passion for antiques and design drove them to success, and they now boast over $1 million in annual revenue and a portfolio of impressive projects.
How much money it makes: $1.32M/year
How many people on the team: 5
Mother and daughter duo turn passion for antiques and design into a boutique design firm with over $1 million in annual revenue and hundreds of trophy projects, showcasing the importance of grit, determination, and passion in building a successful business.
2. Stacked ($720K/year)
Druce, one of the co-founders of Stacked, initially started the business as a platform to cut out the middleman in the real estate industry. However, they realized that the market wasn't ready for their product and shifted their focus to creating comprehensive and objective condo reviews, which set them apart from the competition. Their strategy of doubling down on content, including long-tail keywords, has resulted in immediate growth for the business.
How much money it makes: $720K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
How many people on the team: 10
A real estate media company in Singapore skyrocketed its monthly revenue to $60k by providing in-depth condo reviews and leveraging high-quality multimedia content, gaining 700k page views, 43k Instagram followers, and 17k YouTube subscribers.
3. Seriously Happy Homes ($480K/year)
Rebecca West, founder of Seriously Happy Homes, came up with the idea for her interior design business after going through a divorce and transforming her own home. She realized the power of interior design to create a fresh start and wanted to give others access to the tools and information they needed to transform their spaces. Through starting small, taking before and after pictures of her projects, and building relationships with vendors and contractors, she grew her business and now offers comprehensive design services that bring in an average revenue of $40k per month.
How much money it makes: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 2
Seriously Happy Homes, an interior design firm based in Seattle, uses their efficient design process to keep momentum in their projects, with average monthly revenue of $40k, without targeting the ultra-rich, and is shifting gears to focus on their virtual Design Helplines service and business coaching for interior designers.
4. The Haiku Guys & Gals ($420K/year)
After realizing how much joy their Free Haiku service brought to strangers, the co-founders of Haiku Guys & Gals made it their mission to bring haiku to everyone. With an estimated 60,000 haikus written, over 600 events served, and over $600,000 generated in income for the poets working with them, the business has seen impressive growth and success. Their monthly revenue averages around $35,000/month, attracting and retaining customers through word-of-mouth and brand awareness.
How much money it makes: $420K/year
How many people on the team: 2
Haiku Guys & Gals is an entertainment service that writes personalized free haiku for guests at events; since launching in 2013, they've written over 60,000 haikus at over 600 events for a total income of over $600,000.
5. House of Kook ($180K/year)
Amy McKenzie and Kirsten Dodds, founders of House of Kook, came up with the idea for their furniture and interior design business after becoming bored with the offerings in the industry. They wanted to shake up the interior aesthetic and create unique and interesting spaces and furniture. They launched their business in August 2021, and within a year, completed over 10 successful projects and launched their first furniture range.
How much money it makes: $180K/year
How much did it cost to start: $12K
How many people on the team: 0
House of Kook is a South African furniture and interior design studio founded in 2021 that have completed over 10 successful projects and launched their first furniture range, all in just over a year, through word of mouth and social media marketing.
6. The Design Database ($60K/year)
Courtlyn Jones, the CEO and founder of The Design Database, came up with the idea for her business after quitting her job at a design company and realizing she wanted to do more than freelance design. She wanted to create a platform that would support and connect freelancers in the creative industry, allowing them to choose their own projects and keep 100% of their earnings. Through marketing efforts on social media and strategic spending on ads, Jones was able to attract over 800 subscribers in less than 45 days.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 2
The Design Database is an online platform and community for creatives that connects them with clients who are looking to hire now, providing tools and resources for them to successfully build their careers, and has gained over 200 creatives and 25 companies since its launch in late July, as well as receiving grant funding from the HerRise Pitch Competition by HerSuiteSpot and raising over $10,000 on Kickstarter.
7. Go! Organizer ($24K/year)
Dani Prado, an interior designer and professional organizer, came up with the idea for her business Go! Organizer when she realized the impact that an organized and aesthetically pleasing environment can have on people's lives. In 2020, when the Covid pandemic hit and she couldn't work in clients' homes anymore, she pivoted to offer online services and launched her business on the Fiverr platform, expanding her reach and transforming homes and lives around the world. Since then, she has been able to generate an average monthly revenue of $2K-$3K and has even started another company, Dani Prado CEO, to help new entrepreneurs structure their businesses.
How much money it makes: $24K/year
How many people on the team: 1
Dani Prado started Go! Organizer in 2015, offering personal and home organization services, but expanded to an online platform on Fiverr due to the COVID lockdown, which allowed her to serve clients worldwide and triple her average monthly revenue.
8. ALDECOR ($24K/year)
ALDECOR founder Khames started the business after struggling to compete with high-ranked interior design blogs. He recognized a lack of trustworthy information in Arabian interior design resources, leading him to create ALDECOR as a trusted source in the Arab world. With a focus on SEO and social media, ALDECOR now attracts over 40,000 visitors per month without any paid campaigns and plans to become the main source of interior design information in the 22 Arab countries.
How much money it makes: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 3
ALDECOR is the most popular Arabian interior design platform, gaining over 40,000 visitors every month and generating profits of around 24,000 USD per year, with a strong focus on SEO as their main strategy for attracting customers and retaining them, and plans to create thousands of new articles about interior design across 22 Arab nations.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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