Interior Design May Often Be a Solo Profession, but It Doesn’t Have to Be a Lonely One – Why Community Matters More than Ever

When people think about being an interior designer, they often imagine beautiful homes, exciting client meetings, and creative freedom. What they don’t always see is that it can also be an incredibly lonely profession.

For the first five years of my career after I set up my studio, I worked by myself in isolation. Every difficult decision rested on my shoulders. If a project wasn’t going to plan, there wasn’t anyone who truly understood the pressures I was facing. When I doubted myself, I didn’t have a trusted group of peers to sense-check my thinking or remind me that everyone experiences challenging moments.

Looking back, I wish I had realised much earlier just how valuable a strong network of fellow designers could be.

I wasn’t ready to take on the responsibility of having employees, but that didn’t mean that I needed to face the decisions and pressure alone. Having friends or a network of designers who share the same passion for design as well as the same challenges can be invaluable when it comes to creating an enduring career in interior design without creative or entrepreneurial burnout.

Building that network didn’t come naturally to me. I’m naturally quite shy and, particularly in the early years of my career, I often felt like I didn’t belong in the rooms I was walking into. Like so many people, I experienced imposter syndrome and found networking events daunting. It would have been much easier to stay at home.

Instead, I made a conscious decision to keep putting myself outside my comfort zone. I attended industry events, introduced myself to people, followed designers whose work I admired, and slowly began building genuine relationships online. None of it happened overnight, but little by little my confidence grew, and those connections grew into genuine friendships.

Ten years ago, I decided to create a small collective of 10 interior designers. I sent a DM to every designer with whom I felt that I’d connected online, or was interested by, and who I felt I could build a friendship with and offer mutual support. I wasn’t sure if they would think I was weird wanting to invite them for dinner at my home when many of them I’d never met in real life, but each of them instantly recognised how valuable it would be to have a group of fellow designers that we could all lean on. We each took it in turns hosting dinner at our homes and stayed connected through a WhatsApp group. It became an invaluable part of my professional life, and for the other designers, too.

At those dinner parties and via message, we would have the conversations that you can’t have online on social media. We shared our pricing strategy, contracts, staffing issues, supplier concerns, as well as the occasional emotional toll of running a creative business in today’s fast-paced world. Since setting up that group from the original 10, I now count four as not just industry friends but very close friends. We’ve celebrated one another’s successes, visited international trade fairs together, shared recommendations, solved problems together, and supported each other through some incredibly difficult personal and professional moments. Having people who genuinely understand the unique challenges of running a design business is something I never take for granted.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that other designers are your competition. Of course, we all work within the same industry, but there is more than enough opportunity for everyone. Every designer has their own interior design style, their own clients, and their own perspective.

I’ve always believed that a rising tide lifts all ships.

Whether at dinner with my friends or with our online community across our social platforms, I’ve tried to be open in sharing my own experiences whenever I can. Collaboration has brought me far more opportunities than competition ever has.

A supportive network can help in countless ways. Sometimes it’s practical advice about suppliers, staffing, or running a business. Sometimes it’s simply someone saying, ‘I’ve experienced exactly the same thing,’ which can make an overwhelming situation suddenly feel manageable.

If you’re just starting, building that community can feel intimidating, particularly if you’re naturally introverted. So here are some tips on how to get started:

Start online. Follow designers whose work genuinely inspires you. Leave thoughtful comments rather than simply liking their posts. Congratulate people on their achievements. Share your own journey consistently, even if it feels like nobody is paying attention at first. Send the DM or email. I find most people are craving connection and genuine relationships, so even if someone doesn’t reply, it doesn’t matter – the right people will gradually find you.

Attend events if you have the opportunity. You don’t need to know anyone in the room. You only need one good conversation. Be curious and open, and over time, those conversations become relationships.

Don't hide behind perfection. We all have moments where we question ourselves, regardless of how long we’ve been in business. Being authentic creates much stronger connections than trying to appear as though everything is always effortless.

People often ask whether sharing knowledge means giving away your competitive advantage.

For me, the answer is no.

There is a difference between generosity and giving away your entire business model. I don’t believe in gatekeeping knowledge that could genuinely help someone else grow. Sharing lessons you’ve learnt, encouraging others and pointing people in the right direction strengthens the industry as a whole.

At the same time, if it's outside of a trusted circle of friends and someone asks you online, it’s perfectly reasonable to protect the parts of your business that are unique to you. Your intellectual property, your creative process, your commercial strategy and the finer details that have taken years to develop deserve protecting. You can be generous while still maintaining healthy boundaries.

Perhaps the greatest lesson I’ve learnt is that success becomes far more enjoyable when you have people to share it with. Equally, the difficult days become much easier when you’re surrounded by people who understand.

That belief is one of the reasons I recently created Moodboard. I wanted to build the kind of supportive community I wish had existed when I first started my career. With a forum for members to share their projects and ask for advice, a masterclass series featuring leading designers sharing their insights, it’s a place where aspiring and established designers can ask questions, share experiences, learn from one another and realise they don’t have to build a business entirely on their own. Knowing that I’ve helped even just one other designer avoid making an expensive mistake or supported them through a stressful situation is so rewarding. In today’s increasingly online and occasionally superficial world, genuine connection is more important than ever.

Interior design may often be a solo profession, but it doesn’t have to be a lonely one.

Interior designer Sophie Paterson is one of Homes & Gardens' Editors-At-Large for By Design, sharing her thoughts on design.

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