We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Caudle, RID a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren , thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I have been very fortunate with a wide variety of opportunities during my career path as an Interior Designer. I have been able to experience all most all aspects of the design field in various forms. I worked as custom window treatment supplier, as a cabinetry and tile manufacturer sale rep, a kitchen and bath designer, an in-house designer with custom home builders, and at Interior Design firms. Working for all the various manufacturers and vendors allowed me to see the behind the scenes of the manufacturing process. Being able to see what goes into how things are actually made and produced gave me a much greater insight into how and what can actually be built and designed. This background knowledge is invaluable for being able to give my clients realistic expectations and accurate guidance. I can dream up beautiful spaces but I also know the proper ways to execute it. That experience was invaluable and not something you can learn from a book. I am now trying to be a good mentor and pass along all my knowledge to my assistants and team, so they can benefit and not spend as many years learning it on their own. That is the best piece of advice, find good mentors and people that have been there and done that to teach you the ins and out. But also learn from as many different people as you can because everyone has different experiences and perspectives.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I always had a love for art and being creative. I took as many art classes as I could in school and have always gravitated towards artistic hobbies like photography, dance and painting. I started leaning towards the Interior Design field in high school and redecorated my room more times than I can count. I went directly into the field after high school while I was going to college. I started by selling custom window coverings and then moved into designing and selling custom cabinetry for kitchens and bathrooms. The creativity I was able to achieve in transforming a kitchen or bathroom really sparked my love for interior design and I knew I wanted to be able to help clients create the space of their dreams. I had the opportunity to work for custom home builders as their on staff designer which really gave me the freedom to create amazing spaces and gained amazing real world experience with the tricker aspects of home remodeling. I also worked for tile and cabinetry manufacturers which again provided a plethora of knowledge that you don’t get from just specifying those surfaces. I worked as an Interior Designer on my own for awhile, but I really love the team atmosphere at Charbonneau Interiors. We have an amazing team that works really well together to help bring the creative vision to life. Our clients are amazing and everyday is a new exciting project.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

We get most of our clients from referrals and word of mouth. Our clients love to show off the amazing spaces we have created for them. However, social media is also a growing lead source.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Everyday is an opportunity to create something beautiful or to turn a boring, ugly space into a space that our client loves. I love the challenge of taking a space that the client is unhappy with and turning it into a space better than they could have dreamed of. The most rewarding feedback is when clients say they love their new space so much they never want to move.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.charbonneauinteriors.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charbonneauinteriors/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charbonneauinteriors/

Image Credits
French Blue Photography