This is an interview on the Good Neighbor Podcast. Bringing Together Local Businesses & Neighbors of Rochester & Shelby, MI/Greater Detroit! Kori a residential interior designer specializing in modern, glam and eclectic spaces for empty nesters. She offers full-service design in Oakland and Macomb counties, and also offer virtual design services for those who want to execute the design on their own. The virtual design package is perfect for those who live out of my service area, or who have second homes or rental properties elsewhere.
Kori loves designing with bold colors and pops of bling, and her favorite design styles are midcentury modern and Hollywood glam. She works with clients that want their designer to take the wheel in creating a space they feel energized in, and excited to share with their friends and family. These clients feel their rooms look tired and uninspiring, and they are busy professionals who don’t have the time or vision to reimagine and execute a new space.
She is transitioning into the empty-nester stage of life herself, having one son entering his senior year of high school and another son who is a sophomore in college. Kori can relate to those who are entering this next phase of life and want a home that reflects their new lifestyle and tastes. She serves those that long to reconnect with friends, discover new hobbies and even reinvent themselves as individuals and as a couple.
Link to Podcast on Good Neighbor's website: https://gnprochester.com/b/ep61-horizon-interior-design
Transcript of the amazing interview:
Kori: This is the good neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lisa Swift knee.
Lisa: Hi everyone. And welcome to episode number 61 of the good neighbor podcast today. We have with us good neighbor, Kori Steigerwald, and she is with horizon interior design. Kori, how are you doing today?
Lisa: So let's start off by telling our listeners about your business. What do you do?
Kori: Yes, so I am a residential interior designer based out of Rochester, and I specialize in modern glam with an eclectic twist. For empty nesters, so I like to use a lot of bold colors, patterns, and textures in my designs. And like to highlight clients treasures, so old and new. My favorite rooms to design are living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms. Okay.
Lisa: Tell our listeners about your journey. How did you get started in the business?
Kori: Actually this is my second career. So I was a physical therapist for about 20 years. Loved it. And then wanted a change. And in trying to figure out what I wanted to do next, I'd do a lot of soul searching on what's really I was passionate about and excited about. And honestly, it was everything, decorating and home renovations.
My husband and I used to do a lot of our own. Renovations to our home and in the process of redecorating and putting all the pieces back together, I realized how much I enjoyed that and I had a lot of friends reach out to me asking for help with their projects. I became addicted to HGTV and realized, wow, this is something that I enjoy doing even as a little girl.
As a little girl, I remember. Just for fun parents have to ask me at all. I would move everything around in my room, redecorate it, and then go on to another room in the house and just move everything around and redecorate it. And it was just super enjoyable for me. So when I put all that together, along with physical therapy, I really enjoyed working one on one with patients and evaluating that relationship where they get to know and trust you as a clinician.
So I got to take that piece of PT that I enjoyed along with my passion for everything design and went back to school, got my design degree and opened my business seven years ago.
Lisa: Wow. That is really good. I bet your mom was really happy that you were designing her house for her.
Kori: Oh yeah. They love it. They got a kick out of it.
Lisa: So can you tell us any myths or misconceptions that you hear about in your industry?
Kori: Yeah, probably the most common one is people think it's it's a luxury service. It's too expensive. I can't afford it. And in reality, having a designer help you with your home renovations really can actually save you money in the long run because you're going to avoid a lot of the costly mistakes that homeowners do when trying to renovate or redecorate their homes.
Also, a lot of the products that I use and source for clients are from what we call trade only sources, meaning I have an account directly with the manufacturers to get things like furnishings. And a lot of that ends up being less than retail for clients. So you're saving some money on purchasing through a designer, but you're also avoiding a lot of costly mistakes.
And another misconception is that we are decorators. So an interior decorator is someone that is basically self taught. They don't go into school to learn how to do it, whereas a designer has a formal education. In many states, it's a licensed profession. It's not in Michigan. But there are associates, bachelors, masters, even doctorate degrees in design.
So interior designers it's way beyond just decorating. It's also understanding building codes, architecture being able to read blueprints and work with builders on homes. So it's a lot more involved than that.
Lisa: Wow. That's amazing. I did not know that. So yeah, I learned something new. When you are working on your business, what do you like to do for fun?
Kori: Oh if you ask anyone that knows me at all, they'll all say the same thing that I love to dance. Dancing is my other passion. Any form of dance. I've taken lots of different classes on dance. I love going You name it, hip hop, ballroom, salsa, anything. But also I have two boys that are 17 and 19 years old.
And as a family, my husband and my boys and I, we love to go golfing. We like to go boating, biking, hiking, really enjoying all that Rochester has to offer in terms of the trails and parks and everything. So yeah, we like to, we're a pretty active family and my boys have been in athletics their whole lives, so half my life has probably been spent on some sort of ball diamond or football field. I love it.
Lisa: That's great. I think any mom with children can say the same, so can you describe for us one hardship or life challenge that you rose above and can now say because of that challenge that you're better for it and are stronger?
Kori: Yeah, so I think myself and many people can relate to this was what happened with COVID. And it was really interesting to see how that affected my industry in particular. I know my contractors and anybody else that works in home remodeling, builders, designers, our industry actually went through the roof. It was super busy. I went from working, I would consider a full week to 70, 80 hours a week in a relatively short time.
So shutdown was in March by July. I was really cranking and it was exciting, but it was also pretty challenging to tackle that yourself. So I quickly had to pivot. And figure a way to best meet my client's needs and stay on top of projects. So I ended up hiring a designer, an administrator and really refined a lot of the process that we use.
And we came out a stronger company. I'm better able to meet my client's needs and learned a lot from having coworkers. I know I learned a lot from them different ways to address needs of clients and projects. So so in COVID, COVID was really rough for a lot of industries and for ours it was just really it was a challenge, but I'm happy it happened. I think we're a stronger company for it.
Lisa: Yes. Many people were redecorating during that time.
Kori: Absolutely. Yep. They couldn't travel. So they were home and staring at the same four walls and also working from home too. So a lot of people wanted to invest in their homes.
Lisa: What's one thing you wish our listeners knew about your business?
Kori: I think part of the misconception out there about designers is that they are maybe standoffish or maybe a little stuffy or snooty. And I'm very much not like that. I like having fun. I'm approachable. I'm very much want to make this a fun process for my clients. I love to make people laugh and keep things light and just. Again, just really enjoyable for my clients.
Lisa: How can our listeners learn more? They're intrigued now. How do they contact you to have you do a consultation?
Kori: I'd love for them to check out my website. So horizoninteriordesign.com and on there, you can read more about me learn more about the design process itself. I see a lot of different projects in my portfolio tab.
And there's a contact me tab where you can book a discovery call so you can schedule discovery call it's 20 minutes long where I learn more about your project and your needs and see if we're a good fit and they can also give me a call to you at (248) 805-1980.
Lisa: Perfect. Corey, thank you so much for being a guest today on our Good Neighbor podcast.
Kori: Thank you so much for having me, Lisa.
Lisa: Thanks for listening to The Good Neighbor Podcast, Rochester. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show.
Website: gmprochester.com | Phone: (248) 988-9640 | Email: booking@gnprochester.com
If you need help…
Please contact your friendly and experienced Interior Designer – ME! Kori Steigerwald – at (248-805-1980). Happy arranging everyone!
❝I'm the Queen of combining bold colors, pops of bling and vintage treasures, allowing you to reinvent and reconnect with your home. Layering textures and stylish patterns that inspire and excite. With nods to modern and glam, to create unique designs that are perfect for my clients.❞
Ready to improve the flow, feeling, and functionality of your space?
Space planning is crucial for designing the best home possible. If you're not able to make the most of your home because it doesn't look, feel, or function how you want it to, it might be time to call in a professional interior designer to help.
At Horizon Interior Design, we can make you excited to come home again, knowing your space is perfectly crafted to suit your life and make it better.
Horizon Interior Design
Website: www.horizoninteriordesign.com
Phone: 248-805-1980
Address: Rochester, MI 48306 or Southeast Michigan Area
Facebook: www.facebook.com/horizoninteriordesign
Instagram: www.instagram.com/horizoninteriordesign
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