Desiree Washington

Owner, Founder, Interior Designer

www.designsbydesinteriors.com

Less than a year

Mansfield, MA. I used to live there and currently live in Attleboro where I went to High School.

We are a one stop shop family run and operated interior design studio in southern, MA that specializes in elegant multi-functional interiors for busy families and professionals. We handle everything in house from E-design, space and furniture planning, lighting design, shopping and staging. I started the company from a need to have flexibility working from home as my son was a newborn and my husband worked 3rd shift at a hospital in RI. I started my business as a side hustle for 2 months before the pandemic. My former company re-structured the same week as my son's 1st birthday and my 30th (we're 6 days apart). I decided to pursue my business full time since then and continued to grow hiring my family a year later expanding my services to accommodate.

Success is when you reach attainable goals that allow you to be prosperous in your purpose and endeavors. When I see and hear how much our jobs have transformed our clients' lives, I am confident my work is done. Our designs involved a lot of personal development on the way so clients quickly, see that their interiors influence their behaviors. Everything truly begins at home.

I've had some pretty powerful moments, but one of my favorites was a texted I recieved from a client. Her reveal brung tears to her eyes and after soaking in the moment, she just felt so much joy. It gave me confidence in myself because it became a ripple effect in how I showed up. It helped give me more tough skin and to keep designing outside the box. From there, I was able to keep my family on board and take on more difficult projects. Being able to have my family be a part of these wins makes is all so worth it.

Personally, it was setting healthy boundaries between me, my clients, and family. It's something I am still working on everyday, but the more I honor those boundaries, the more I know I protect myself and wellbeing.

I've become a stronger person in all areas of my life, but the most important one has been my spiritual journey. I'm a very spiritual person and truly believe that God put everything in place for a reason. The days when I didn't know what to do, I leaned in on my faith and it's strengthened all of my relationships. More importantly, I was healed from some wounds around entrepreneurship that I didn't realize I had.

It's been life changing for my business because I not only gained so many amazing new clients from the group, but having the support from so many other women who understand the ups and downs that comes to running a women owned business (especially as a mom) has helped me through some tough times. Knowing I am not alone in this journey is a relief and gives me the push to keep going.

Recently, I won a global small business competition with Vistaprint, 99Designs and TikTok. I won a monetary prize as well as all new branding materials. I had to create story telling videos to document my journey and it's led to nationwide recognition. Winning the contest also helped me to gain leverage in the market and pushed us to launch our ew website (coming the end of August).

I (Des) am the woman behind Designs By Des Interiors. I am an African American (with Cape Verdean and Native decent) who is a mama of a 3 year old and wife to the love of her dreams. I love to run track and field and since having my baby, have been working to get into my training routine. I also love to draw/sketch and travel. I spent time abroad on a Mission Trip to Peru that influenced my semester in China for 3 months when I was in school for architecture at RPI.

My major in Architecture and minor in Psychology allows me to see the world very differently. It influenced me to work in lighting design for 7 years and enhance spaces in ways most do not. Also, me being a minority mama who grew up under a Navy dad (military family) has given me experiences at a young age and helped pave the way to opportunities in community service and outreach that influences my perspective daily.

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