We were lucky to catch up with Courtney Harris recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Courtney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

CSH Interiors Design started as something that felt less like a random business idea and more like the natural evolution of who I had always been.
I’ve always been an artist first. Before interiors, my background was in fashion design, fine arts, styling, and visual storytelling. I studied everything from fashion construction to painting, photography, ceramics, and graphic design, so I was always training my eye — even before I fully understood how all of those disciplines would come together later. I knew I had a gift for seeing things before they existed, for understanding proportion, color, texture, lifestyle, and how people emotionally connect to the spaces around them.
The idea really started to become real when I noticed that people were constantly asking me for help with their homes. It would start casually — a paint color, a closet, furniture placement, a room that “just didn’t feel right.” But once I got involved, I naturally began looking at the bigger picture: how they lived, what wasn’t functioning, what needed to be elevated, and how the home could actually support their daily life. That’s when I realized I wasn’t just decorating. I was solving problems through design.
The next step was figuring out how to turn that natural ability into a real service-based business. I had to learn the backend of entrepreneurship — pricing, contracts, consultations, vendor relationships, project management, client communication, scheduling, sourcing, invoices, and how to present my work in a way that clients could understand and trust. I also had to learn how to explain the value of design beyond pretty pictures, because so much of what I do happens before anything beautiful is ever installed.
In the beginning, I took on projects wherever I could. I worked on closets, paint selections, cabinetry refreshes, staging, residential spaces, and full-room concepts. Each project taught me something different. One client taught me how important communication is. Another taught me the importance of scope clarity. Another showed me how much people need a designer who can advocate for them when construction, vendors, budgets, and timelines get overwhelming.
Over time, CSH Interiors Design became more defined. I started building relationships with vendors, trade partners, contractors, architects, and engineers. I created systems for consultations, intake forms, project phases, and presentation materials. I learned how to move a client from an idea to a real design plan, and then from a design plan into execution. That process helped me understand that my business was never just about making homes look good — it was about creating structure, clarity, and confidence for people making major investments in their spaces.
A big part of launching was also trusting myself. I had to stop waiting for permission to be taken seriously. As a Black woman in the design and construction space, I realized I was entering rooms where people weren’t always used to seeing someone like me leading the vision. But instead of shrinking from that, I let it become part of my purpose. I wanted CSH Interiors Design to represent expertise, elegance, and authority — but also warmth, education, and transparency.
The business grew one project, one client, and one lesson at a time. What started as an idea became a real design firm because I kept taking the next step: learning the industry, refining my process, building my portfolio, documenting my work, and creating a client experience that felt both elevated and intentional.
Today, CSH Interiors Design is a Houston-based interior design studio focused on full-service residential interiors, custom homes, renovations, and curated design solutions. But the foundation is still the same as it was in the beginning: I believe design should be beautiful, functional, deeply personal, and rooted in the way people actually live. That belief is what moved me from the idea phase into execution — and it’s still what drives the brand today.

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 background and context?

At my core, I am an artist, a designer, and a curator of how people experience home.

My name is Courtney Harris, and I am the Founder and Principal Designer of CSH Interiors Design, a Houston-based interior design studio specializing in elevated residential interiors, custom homes, renovations, space planning, and curated design solutions. My work is rooted in the belief that a home should not only be beautiful, but deeply functional, emotionally supportive, and reflective of the people who live there.

My path into interior design was very organic. I did not wake up one day and randomly decide to become a designer — I feel like design has always been the language I understood best. My background began in fashion design and fine arts, where I studied color, proportion, textiles, construction, composition, and visual storytelling. I spent years developing my eye through fashion, styling, painting, photography, ceramics, graphic design, and other creative disciplines. Over time, I realized that all of those worlds were connected. Whether I was designing a garment, styling a look, selecting a color palette, or reimagining a room, I was always studying how beauty, structure, and emotion work together.

That foundation eventually led me into interiors.

What I love about interior design is that it allows me to combine artistry with problem-solving. It is not just about selecting pretty furniture or making a space look good for a photo. True design requires understanding how people live. It requires asking questions, listening closely, observing routines, identifying pain points, and then creating a solution that feels both beautiful and practical.

When I walk into a client’s home, I am not just looking at the walls, finishes, or furniture. I am paying attention to how the family moves through the space, where things naturally collect, what feels unfinished, what feels stressful, what is underused, and what needs to be elevated. A lot of my clients come to me because they know something is not working, but they do not always know how to explain it. My job is to translate that confusion into a clear design direction.

CSH Interiors Design offers a range of services, including full-service interior design, custom home design support, renovation selections, finish selections, cabinetry and storage solutions, furniture sourcing, space planning, styling, staging, paint consultations, and project coordination. I also work alongside trusted trade partners, vendors, contractors, architects, and engineers depending on the scope of the project. My goal is to help clients move from an idea or inspiration image into a real, executable plan.

The problems I solve are both aesthetic and functional. Many clients are overwhelmed by decisions. They are unsure what to choose, what to prioritize, what is worth investing in, or how to make all the pieces of a project work together. Others are building or renovating and need help making selections that feel cohesive from room to room. Some are living in spaces that look nice on the surface but do not truly support their lifestyle. I help bring clarity, direction, and intention to that process.

What sets me apart is my ability to see the bigger picture. I do not design in fragments. I think about the architecture, the lifestyle, the flow, the finishes, the storage, the lighting, the mood, the daily routines, and the long-term function of the home. I always say that I am not just selling interior design services — I am selling my process. My process is thoughtful, layered, intuitive, and very personal. I want every client to feel like their home was designed with their actual life in mind, not just copied from a trend or showroom.

I also believe my background in fashion gives me a very distinct perspective. Fashion taught me how to understand silhouette, texture, balance, drama, restraint, and personal identity. Interiors are very similar. A room, like a wardrobe, should tell a story. It should feel intentional. It should reflect who you are, how you live, and how you want to feel.

As a Black woman in the interior design and construction space, I am also very aware of the importance of visibility. There are not many women who look like me being shown as leaders in this industry, especially in conversations around interior architecture, construction, renovations, and custom homes. I take that seriously. I want people to see that luxury, intelligence, creativity, and leadership can look like me. I want young women, especially young Black women, to know that they belong in these rooms too.

One of the things I am most proud of is that I built my business by trusting my gift and refining it into a real process. CSH Interiors Design did not happen overnight. It grew through experience, client work, lessons, challenges, vendor relationships, and a lot of faith. Every project has taught me something, and every client has helped me become more clear about the kind of designer and business owner I want to be.

I am also proud that my work goes beyond aesthetics. I care deeply about educating people. I want clients and followers to understand the “why” behind design decisions — why space planning matters, why lighting matters, why materials matter, why construction details matter, why functionality should come before aesthetics, and why investing in the right process saves time, money, and frustration in the long run.

What I want potential clients, followers, and readers to know is that CSH Interiors Design is not about creating spaces that simply look expensive or trendy. It is about creating homes that are elevated, intentional, functional, and deeply personal. I want my clients to feel seen, supported, and guided through the process. I want them to feel like their home finally makes sense.

At the heart of my brand is the belief that design is not surface-level. It is emotional. It is practical. It is personal. It affects how you wake up, how you rest, how you gather, how you work, how you host, and how you experience your everyday life.

That is what I create through CSH Interiors Design — carefully curated spaces that support real people, real lifestyles, and real beauty.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was the idea that I had to undercharge in order to prove myself.

In the beginning of building CSH Interiors Design, I was so focused on gaining experience, building a strong portfolio, and getting my name out there that I accepted projects for far less than what the work actually required. At the time, I told myself it was part of the process. I thought, “Let me just do the work, get the photos, build the credibility, and the money will come later.”

But what I learned very quickly is that undercharging does not make the work smaller. The project still requires the same level of creativity, communication, problem-solving, sourcing, coordination, decision-making, and emotional labor. The only difference is that when you undercharge, you are often left carrying the weight of a full-service experience without the resources, respect, or boundaries needed to support it.

That season taught me a lot. It taught me that not every opportunity is aligned, and not every client is meant for your business. It also taught me that when you discount your value too much, people can begin to treat the work like it is less valuable, even when you are giving them your full talent and attention.

I had to unlearn the belief that being affordable made me more desirable. What I actually needed was to be clear, professional, and properly valued. My pricing had to reflect the level of thought, expertise, time, and responsibility that goes into each project.

Now, I understand that charging my worth is not about ego. It is about sustainability. It allows me to serve my clients better, protect my creativity, pay for the right resources, partner with quality vendors, and create a process that feels elevated from beginning to end.

That experience changed the way I run my business. Today, I am much more intentional about pricing, scope, boundaries, and client alignment. I no longer look at pricing as just a number. I see it as part of the structure that allows a project to be successful.

The lesson was simple but powerful: exposure does not pay for execution. At some point, you have to honor the value of your own work, or you will build a business that looks successful from the outside but feels unsustainable behind the scenes.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of the biggest pivots in my business happened almost by accident.

When I first started, a lot of my work was centered around closets, storage, organization, decor, and interior styling. I have always been very passionate about how a home functions, so even when a client hired me for something that seemed simple — like a closet, garage, pantry, living room, or storage solution — I naturally started looking at the full picture. I wanted to understand how they lived, what was frustrating them, what they were constantly moving around, and what parts of the home were not supporting their lifestyle.

Very quickly, I started to realize that the “small” design problem was usually connected to something much bigger.

For example, a closet design might be affected by lighting, electrical, flooring, millwork, door placement, or the way the room was originally laid out. A garage storage project might be affected by construction details, plumbing, outlets, or how the family actually needed to use that space every day. I would come in to solve one thing, but then I would see all the other areas where my clients were spending money unnecessarily or making decisions without someone truly advocating for the way they lived.

That is when I naturally started becoming more involved with the construction side of projects.

I found myself communicating with contractors, installers, electricians, painters, cabinet makers, flooring specialists, and other trades because their work directly impacted the design solutions I was creating. I was not trying to become the person in the middle, but I realized I could save my clients time, money, and confusion by helping everyone understand the vision clearly. I could speak to the client in a way that felt approachable, and I could speak to the vendors in a way that helped them execute the work properly.

Over time, the trades started noticing that too. I would constantly get compliments on how I communicated, how I understood the client’s needs, how I sketched out ideas, how I organized the moving pieces, and how I helped make the project smoother for everyone involved. Eventually, some of those same vendors and contractors started hiring me to go on consultations for them. They wanted me to be the front-facing person who could meet with the client, understand the vision, translate the design needs, create the sketch or concept, and then hand that information back to the contractor so the work could be executed.

That was a major turning point for me.

I realized I was no longer just providing independent interior design services. I had unintentionally created a bridge between the client, the design vision, and the trades needed to bring that vision to life. The demand was bigger than decor. It was bigger than closets. It was bigger than styling. Clients needed someone who could help them understand how their home should actually function before everyone started building, installing, or making expensive decisions.

A lot of the homes I was being called into were new construction homes, sometimes even considered custom homes, but they still did not truly work for the client. People would buy these beautiful brand-new homes from well-known builders, and then almost immediately have to change the closets, garages, rooms, storage, layouts, or finishes because the home did not support their real lifestyle. That was eye-opening for me. I realized that if I could solve these problems after the fact, I could also help prevent them before they happened.

That is what pushed me to pivot and expand CSH Interiors Design.

Instead of operating only as an independent interior designer, I had to start building a larger system around the level of work my clients were actually asking for. I began thinking more seriously about full-service design, construction coordination, trade partnerships, custom homes, renovations, and the importance of having the right team in place. I had to create a process that could support not only the pretty parts of design, but also the planning, functionality, communication, and execution behind it.

That pivot taught me that sometimes your business grows before you are fully ready for it, and you have to decide whether you are going to stay comfortable or expand into the role you are being called to fill.

For me, the expansion into construction and larger-scale design was not something I forced. It came from listening to my clients, paying attention to the gaps in the industry, and recognizing that my gift was not just making spaces beautiful. My gift was understanding how homes need to work for the people living in them and helping everyone involved get on the same page.

Looking back, that pivot changed everything. It helped me see that CSH Interiors Design was not meant to be limited to decor or surface-level interiors. It was meant to be a full design firm that helps clients create homes that are beautiful, functional, intentional, and truly aligned with their lives from the inside out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cshinteriorsdesign.com
• Instagram: @courtneydesignshouston
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneysharris
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJxGlejh6SrJfGDeIlyOXQ