How to Pivot from Full-Service to Remote Interior Design: My Success Story

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On December 20th, 2025, I took out my phone and began writing this blog post during my flight back to Toronto. I had been gone for nearly 10 months. Earlier in the year, I booked a one-way ticket to Croatia and somehow ended up in a cottage in a town I can’t pronounce in Lithuania—all while reinventing my interior design career and pivoting from full-service interior design to designing remotely.

But let’s backtrack: how did I get to this point in my interior design career?

My Backstory

My career path hasn’t been a straight line—neither has my life. If you want to know what first sparked my interest in interior design at an early age, listen to My Story.

However, officially, I started in the industry as a kitchen and bath designer while slowly building my business on the side—and by “business,” I mean I had a website and a name (yes, this same website and this same name). But, not much was happening. Like many new designers and decorators fresh out of college, I didn’t have much real work to show for.

That said, my zeal and passion were there (and might I add—talent). I was working full-time, trying to get the wheels turning in my business, and I also caught the travel bug. Throughout my 20s, I worked and took time off as much as I could to travel.

A few years into working as a kitchen and bath designer, I gained enough experience—and enough of a portfolio—to branch off. This led me to become an independent contractor working as an interior design assistant for local interior designers. At the same time, I began building my own client base and managing all of my projects concurrently.

Working for other designers taught me the ropes of running a full-service business. At that point, I believed that my passion and talent meant I had to run a full-service firm.

The Artist & the Entrepreneur

During this time, I was still traveling frequently and exploring art. I fell madly in love with painting—specifically portraits. I spent half my time designing, half my time painting, and the rest planning trips.

Here’s a selfie with a painting. ^

My business picked up. I was servicing clients in Toronto—doing onsite visits, creating presentations, procuring items, managing trades—doing it all the traditional way. I have always been a one-woman show, which meant wearing many different hats and learning a lot on my own. It wasn’t always a glamorous process (as I’ve shared in previous posts), but I was content. I thought my full-service business would only continue to grow.

And it did. But what I quickly learned was that larger projects often meant more problems, and I wasn’t sure I was ready—or willing—to scale in that way.

I Had a Dream…Then, Tragedy Hit

COVID hit, and obviously my life and business were impacted, as was everyone else’s.

This is when I truly started dreaming about a new lifestyle and a new way to conduct business.

I wanted to stay in the industry, but I needed to scale beyond Toronto—and beyond what I had originally imagined my business could be.

However, during these years, my personal life became a mess. In short: I was battling a chronic illness, I lost a parent, I moved out on my own in downtown Toronto, and I took on a full-time contracted role to make ends meet. Naturally, my business took a backseat. My dreams of scaling paused—but they never disappeared.

I rolled with the punches the best way I could. While working my full-time job, I started putting real effort into my online presence. I completely rebuilt my website, began blogging, and started offering online interior design services. I wanted the freedom to travel, stay in design, and scale beyond my hometown.

However, for a long time…nothing happened.

My blog eventually got noticed by a client or two, which was exciting—especially since I started blogging as a way to market myself—but progress was slow. I felt like I was blogging into the abyss for a long time. Still, I kept going because I didn’t know what else to do at that point. Things were growing, but my dreams started to feel unattainable.

However, I wasn’t ready to give up on Spaces by Dee. I started this business in 2017, and it has always felt like my baby. While I never truly gave up, I struggled to find my place in the interior design world. With each iteration of my business, I still felt stuck in the same place. At times, I even grew comfortable with the stagnation—because every strategy I tried to truly get the wheels turning felt painfully slow, like moving through molasses.

My full-time gig eventually came to a close, as it was only a contracted role with no possibility of extension. Naturally, my only source of income once again became my business.

Finally, I Got Noticed…

About two years into blogging about all things interior design, I started to get noticed. More specifically, a blog I wrote about interior design AI began to gain traction.

Then, things started to happen fast.

The Leap of Faith and the One-Way Ticket

Around the time my blog began gaining traction (and I’m talking about roughly 2,000 monthly views—so nothing major yet), I decided to take a radical leap of faith and bet on myself. I started dreaming about my remote interior design career again. I started to wonder: could I take this traction and keep it going? With eyes on me, could I carve out my own space in the interior design world?

I decided to do something I had been thinking about for years: pack my life into a suitcase and leave Toronto on a one-way ticket.

After all, I had nothing tying me down. My dreams were living elsewhere.

So I did it all at once. I flew to Croatia and began my journey, which I wrote about in these posts here:

Chronicles Of A Traveling Interior Designer: Journal Entry One

The Life Of A Traveling Online Interior Designer

Suddenly, AI companies and interior design brands started reaching out to me, offering affiliate links and promo codes. I remember making my first dollar from blogging and thinking it was the coolest thing—especially since I once believed no one was reading my work.

With the traffic I had gained, people also started booking me for my online interior design services.

So, in the span of just a few months, things finally started to really take off.

It’s funny how life works. Sometimes, it feels like you truly have to take a leap of faith before anything catches.

As I traveled, I continued working on my blog and growing my traffic. I went from 2K views a month to 5K, eventually reaching roughly 15K monthly views by the time I’m writing this. I was able to set up Google Ads, work with tech brands, and collaborate with amazing clients from around the world—including the UK, Canada, the US, and Australia.

My Space in the Interior Design Industry

This changed the way I looked at my business. Suddenly, I became a voice within the AI and software space of interior design. People seemed to genuinely trust my reviews and enjoy my editorial content. My posts on design styles and paint colors also gained traction, and clients steadily booked my online design services.

All of this happened while I was hopping between countries and getting into some shenanigans.

Suddenly, I made it. I achieved what I set out to do—just not in the way I expected. My brand became focused on the tech side of interior design. While I still design spaces, I built my own avenue. I created a business that allows me to work from anywhere, has lower overhead costs, and brings clients to me instead of constantly chasing them.

my advise to designers

Now, I’m not writing this to encourage interior designers to follow my exact blueprint. As you can see, this path came with many twists and turns and is unique to who I am and what I’ve built. My point is to encourage designers to stay open to different possibilities within this field. I knew I wanted to create something that worked for me, but my business had to go through many iterations to finally get there.

8.5 years into business, it finally clicked. I found my space and created my voice in this industry. I still have a long way to go to get my business where I want it to be. However, designing remotely truly works for me, and holding onto my dream paid off in the end. It may feel like luck has turned in my favor—but in reality, there was a lot of work behind this new way of business.

If you want to learn more about how I design interiors remotely around the globe, check out How To Become a (Successful) Online Interior Designer.