Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Traycie Loving. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Traycie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

This particular project was located in North Richland Hills, Texas. The client was a single mother, and her mother who is dealing with cancer also lived with her. The client came to me after she put an offer in on the house. She was moving from Arizona, bringing no furniture, and the home needed a lot of work. She wanted to know if I could get the interiors done in 30 days, and she wanted everything in on the day after she was closing, so there was a big challenge there. We also had to renovate the guest bathroom, that served as a bathroom for the clients mother, to allow for her walker. I took on the challenge. We changed the lighting, painted, and did new flooring in the home. We also, removed the bathtub and installed a curbless shower in the guest bathroom. The old owners were still in the home when my client contacted me, so I was able to work with the realtor and get into the home to measure the space and take pictures. Once I did that, I came back and had a meeting with the new client, and her only request was that we do the entire house in black and white, but she wanted to have a warm Scandinavian feel. We worked from one room to the next and ordered items that I thought were within her parameters, and she loved every bit of it. We were able to have a turnkey home for her and her family, to include dishes, glasses and utensils in the cabinets, so that when she arrived, everything was complete. I had never done a full home remodel – about 4,300 sq. ft. – where every room was touched.

Traycie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always loved interior design, designing for family and friends. But, I decided that I really wanted to do interior design as a second career at my last duty station when I was assigned a $1 million renovation project of a historical building. I had to make sure that everything that I did with this project maintained the historical integrity of the building. I also had a wounded warrior company attached to my unit and seeing the daily struggles that they have to endure gave me a passion to design for our wounded veterans. As a military veteran, I understand the unique challenges and needs that wounded veterans have with adjusting to their home life, and their environment should have minimal impact on their physical and psychological needs. I believe it is crucial that their personal spaces provide comfort, support, and promote positive emotional energy. Some veterans feel worthless and quality interior design in their home creates a sense of value and worth for them. So when I retired from the military after 21 years, I pursued my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design and opened my business, Loving Design Interiors, LLC in May, 2019.

In the military I was a supply and logistics chief for different units, so the logistics background definitely helps in the interior design profession-I had to make sure all of the units had all of the supplies needed and that they got to all of the trainings that they were required to attend.

Now in interior design, I do residential new builds, existing homes, and home-staging projects. I do pretty much everything in the space and I am not afraid of doing any particular type of project. My typical clients are couples who may have a couple of children. I’ve done some projects that are vacation homes or their first homes.

I have the desire to assist people with the functionality of their personal spaces through interior design.
Our home is our safe haven from the outside world and our surroundings have an enormous impact on the way we behave and feel. When speaking to potential clients or posting to social media, I educate the community on how their personal spaces should provide comfort, support and positive emotional energy. As an interior designer, my purpose is to fulfill their needs and optimize their spaces, which will assist in improving their quality of life.

I have accomplished several milestones in my business, such as appearing on HGTV, A Pro Story on Wayfair Professional, being published locally and receiving a few interior design awards.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I opened my business in May 2019. Right as I was getting a little traction in my business, Covid disrupted everything. I had to get creative with marketing my business and also getting clients while on lockdown. I hired a business coach to better understand my business and brand. I listened to every podcast or webinar that I could to get pointers on having a successful business. I started posting more to social media, because up until this point, my clients were through word of mouth from family, friends and previous clients. Then, right after my first full home remodel in Aug 2021, my husband and two sons contracted Covid at the same time. My husband was hospitalized for 3 weeks. The Dr stated that if we would have waited another day in taking him to the hospital, he may have not made it. I had to put my business on hold. But with much prayer and faith, my family and my business made it through.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

It is very important to keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty in your business. I keep in contact with clients every step of the way in the design process by emails, phone calls and/or text messages, whichever contact is designated by the client. When the client signs the initial contract, I send a gift to them, welcoming them to Loving Design Interiors. Once the design process is completed, I send another gift to thank them for trusting me and giving me their business. I also send a Christmas card/gift for clients and their families.

Contact Info:

• Website: www..lovingdesigninteriors.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovingdesigninteriors.
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovingdesigninteriors
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traycie-loving-535685135/

Image Credits
Kenny Richard Photography