Sep 14
Stephanie Caldero is a self-made, self-taught interior designer who owns a boutique design firm in Charlotte, North Carolina. Stephanie has always loved interior design starting when she was a child circling items in catalogs and learning from her seamstress grandmother. For years she designed for friends and family on the side while she worked various marketing jobs, until 2021 when she finally turned her side hustle into her main hustle and never looked back.
Stephanie knew she had to turn interior design into a career when she realized it was the one thing she could always get lost in for hours, a decision that was only bolstered by her ADHD diagnosis. Stephanie now understands that this level of passion for her work isn’t just important, but crucial in order for her to find sustainable success in a fulfilling career.
Stephanie’s story shows us how much easier things can be when we build our careers around our natural motivators and flow states. I hope our conversation inspires you to start thinking about ways to incorporate your own natural motivators into everyday life.
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"I think a lot of ADHD and neurodiverse people would also agree that if it's something that you truly love, you can totally immerse yourself in it."
- Stephanie Calderon
"I do think that our environments very much affect our psyche, our own brains and how we function. And so being able to do that in my own home, I found it was just as much fun to do it for others because I don't think people realize how much their home affects them until they have a home they're in love with. So I love to bring that to other people."
- Stephanie Calderon
"I think for a while there I was beating myself up over not remembering things or just feeling like I was a little bit different. I'm very big on keeping lists. I know that if things are out of sight, they're out of mind. I set reminders. I am very strict and always have an up-to-date calendar, especially when it comes to work."
- Stephanie Calderon
- Stephanie recounts feeling inadequate in school due to struggles with subjects like math and science, leading to feelings of frustration and low self-esteem.
- Stephanie shared her experience in college, mentioning she took a more practical approach by majoring in communications and public relations, which she found more creative than other classes.
- Stephanie uses a combination of digital and paper calendars to stay organized and on top of her tasks and appointments.
[18:59 - 32:14] Interior design process and organization
- Stephanie discusses her struggles with time management, including being late or rushing to meetings due to a lack of understanding of time.
- Stephanie shares her experience of adding curtains to her home for the first time after years of using blinds, finding it to be the "icing on the cake" and a way to make her home feel cozy and intentional.
- Stephanie and her team prioritize working with vendors who provide educational resources and insights to improve their design process and client interactions.
- Stephanie started helping friends and family with home design, which grew into a full-time business through word of mouth and Instagram.
- Stephanie redesigns a domestic violence shelter for men and women with a team of experts.
- Stephanie is passionate about remaking spaces at a local children's shelter and has been designing four common areas with the help of a national association of the remodeling industry and generous donors.
Website: www.stephaniecalderoninteriors.com
Instagram: @StephanieCalderonInteriors
