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

Alright, Miranda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

Since the beginning, I’ve always loved interior design and decorating; I grew up in a family with a very creative father who designed and built almost every home we lived in. We used to watch HDTV and dream of having our own flipping/renovating show. As a kid, I would spend all my allowance money on new decor items for my bedrooms and couldn’t wait to have my own home to decorate. Fast forward, I went to college for medicine, then got into sales shortly after I got my degree (realizing medicine wasn’t the route for me). After being in sales for almost three years, I started to feel a stirring in my heart that there was something greater for me, something I was created to do. While I was good at sales and loved being in an amazing sales office with some of my best friends, I couldn’t shake this overwhelming feeling, so I started to think about the things that came naturally to me. An eye for design was truly something I believed I was good at, and started exploring what it looked like to have a design business. The odds were stacked against me as many people said I had to have a degree or years of experience to get hired anywhere. As I applied and looked at jobs all over San Diego, I started to feel discouraged, but then my sweet friend Susan said to me at church one day “Why don’t you just help your friends and family transition their places from houses to homes? Just start with the basics and see where it takes you.” That was all I needed. I jumped in the car with my husband and said, “I’m starting a business tomorrow.” Being the amazing man he is, he said great let’s do it! We started building it the next day, and I had my first five clients in the first month! I’m currently operating out of Boise Idaho, in the middle of a rebrand and completing my first remodel in this area!

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?

Something I provide for my clients is a creative eye to make small, simple spaces feel luxurious and cozy, and large luxurious spaces feel cohesive and comfortable. I also have a unique way of making a customer’s vision of their home become realized. Most people have an idea of what they want their home to feel like, but they need someone like me to guide them through it, make the vision become clear, and help them locate and purchase the items they need. A lot of people also may know what items they want but don’t have any idea where to find them. I am also excellent at finding my customers expensive items at a discounted price. Anyone can walk into a big box store and pick out the matching set that’s on the floor, but to level up the space and make it feel elegant, you need different colors, textures, patterns, and wood tones to really elevate a space and not have it all be in unison. Picking a matching furniture set is boring and can be accomplished by anyone, working with a designer will accomplish harmony and uniqueness in the home. I would also say that I am very good at working with almost any style someone might have, I don’t adhere to just one style. If they show me inspirational photos, I can find what they need and make their home feel exactly how they want it, not how I want it. One of the things I’m proud of is that I’ve never had a dissatisfied client, every one of them was in love with their home after we transformed it. Not to say I haven’t had any hiccups or made any mistakes, but when I do, I’m very good at resolving and taking care of them with integrity. I believe any business owner that operates this way will be successful.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me honestly comes from relationship building. I’m very good at making friends and creating business partnerships with the locals around me. It’s the reason I had five clients in the first month of starting the business without any experience or portfolio. I also get referrals, when you do a very good job in someone’s home, they’re going to have people over and those people are going to notice the transformation and ask how they accomplished it. I built a website and Instagram presence and have gained a couple of clients from there as well. All glory to God!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part for me is seeing someone’s face after the transformation of their home. There is nothing better than helping someone accomplish a goal they couldn’t have done on their own. I believe we are created to serve others and I always feel my best when I’m serving multiple people on transforming their homes. Your home is the place where you spend a good bulk of your time, especially with how many people work from home these days. If your home doesn’t feel peaceful and it feels chaotic, it will be hard to focus on work, your family, your kids, etc. I am in the business of helping create a safe, comfortable place for people where they can be the best version of themselves in and out of the home.

Contact Info:

• Website: elevated-home.com
• Instagram: @elevated_home_design
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elevatedhomedesign