We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Rice recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I feel that sharing my work on social media and taking the jump into creating my business, was a huge risk for me. I was already working as a Registered Nurse at a local hospital and had just delivered my 2nd daughter 4 weeks prior. I had a lot going on already, but I knew with the feedback I had received on my personal DIY projects, that maybe I could make this work. Being an interior designer has been a life-long dream for me, so this risk seemed even bigger than becoming a nurse or a mom. I absolutely did not and do not want to fail. It still continues to be a huge risk, but I have wonderful clients that have continued to come back and be incredibly happy with their homes and the work I have done.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As a little girl, I found myself wanting to recreate spaces in my parent’s house and constantly decorate my room and switch up the layout. I would spend hours in the garage with my dad while he built everything for his own home all by himself. I contemplated going to college for interior design, but after a family death, I chose to stay close to home and go to nursing school. I am proud to be a nurse and help patients during difficult times in their lives. In 2015, I was pregnant with my first daughter and started to design her nursery; this brought back all the happiness that designing and decorating had given me in the past. On maternity leave, I started DIYing things around my house and switching up the decor. Every once in a while, I would share a project on social media and receive a lot of great feedback, which would push me to do more around my house. My dad started helping me with the woodworking side of my ideas, which turned into me starting to use those tools on my own and doing big projects on my own. After 2 years of doing projects for myself and continually receiving great feedback on social media, I decided to create my own business; Grace Interiors, LLC. I was again on maternity leave with my 2nd daughter; apparently something about maternity leave makes me take huge risks in my life. Clients ebb and flow through the years, but I have helped design some beautiful spaces.

Every client has a different taste or a different aesthetic, which I feel sets me apart. I have my own personal aesthetic, however I feel I am able to really adapt to the process and put myself in their home and come out the other end with ideas for how they would like their home to look. I have done such a variety of things, from dark moody colors to neutral airy colors. Bold accent walls to simple accent walls that add some texture to the room. Bold extravagant mudroom units to simple cohesive units.

I offer 3 services:

E-design is great if you need help choosing a paint color, a more functional layout in your space, you are a DIYer but need help with the idea side of things, you want small changes that will give you bang for your buck. We will have an initial consult to go over things and then I will send you a concept board with my ideas for your space.

Room Design is great if you are ready for help, but want multiple options, you want links and sources for items, you want a full room update, you need help pulling everything together. We will have an initial consult to go over things and then I will send a concept board with a source list of options within your budget – you can get up to 3 changes or revisions if something doesn’t fit your thoughts.

Custom Build is great if you want me to create something for you; mudroom unit, pantry shelving, closet shelving, accent walls, board and batten, etc. We will have an initial consult to go over things and then I will send a rough rendering for my ideas, an estimate sent before starting, buy all the supplies and build/paint the project in your home.

I hope this process brings my client as much joy as it does to me. I love getting to create a space that my clients are happy to spend time in.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for me has been word of mouth and clients sharing my work on social media. I share a lot of my work on social media as well, which has helped people who follow me see my work, which has lead to word of mouth. 99% of my clients are friends with someone else I have done work for. It is always fun to hear that someone is referring me, makes me know that they enjoy my work and are happy with the work I may have done in their home.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I continue to work as a registered nurse, but if you didn’t know, nurses usually work anywhere from 24-32 hours a week. This allowed for me to have time during my week to work on client projects, however 2 years ago, I started a new nursing job that has me working 40 hours a week. This left little time for client projects and time with my young family. I was able to change my hours recently to allow for 1 day off a week which has been dedicated to my clients. This allows me to still spend time with my husband and two young daughters. Before this change, I was spending evenings and weekends on client projects, which was leading to a lot of burn-out and stress that didn’t need to be there. I will continue to work hard to make interior design my main job, but until then we will continue to grind, just in a healthier way!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.graceinteriorsmn.com
• Instagram: @grace.interiors