just get started
I was thinking this week about what I’d do if I were a new designer starting from scratch. No clients, no portfolio, just passion and a desire to make beautiful spaces. It’s daunting. But here’s the thing: the best way to start is to start. Get your hands dirty, make something, and tell the world about it.
Here’s how I’d kick things off:
start at home and document everything
Pick a room in your home—any room. A bathroom, a kitchen, even a corner of your living room. Redo it. You don’t need a big budget; paint, new hardware, shelving, and lighting can go a long way. For example, if it’s a kitchen, paint the cabinets, swap counters and knobs, add a new light fixture, and install shelving. Make it yours, make it exceptional, and document every step.
This isn’t just about the transformation—it’s about telling a story. Share your inspiration (maybe a celebrity’s bathroom or a mood board), your thought process, your screw-ups.
Be authentic. If you picked the wrong paint color or a shelf fell, show it. Social Media is just reality TV with millions of channels in a shorter format.
Post a series of short videos: the concept, the process, the mistakes, and a snappy before-and-after reel. Aim for four or five pieces of content from one project. Not only will you end up with a killer kitchen, but you’ll also learn how to shoot, edit, and make things look good on camera.
Pro tip: Lighting and framing shots is everything. A lot of the DIY crowd doesn't get this.
If your space is dim, grab some soft box lights to make your shots pop. A poorly lit video is like a bland room—it just doesn’t sing. Ask me how I know.
curate with an opinion
While you’re building your portfolio, curate stuff you love. Scroll Instagram, Pinterest, read real physical design books, and share what catches your eye.
But here’s the key: don’t just say, “This is pretty.”
Say why it works—or why it doesn’t.
Many accounts post beautiful rooms, but few share a real perspective. Be the one who says, “This sconce reminds me of a hospital, but in a good way” or “This bathroom shares a similar aesthetic to Kith's new line of outerwear."
You could critique famous design projects.
Opinions stand out. They’re scary to share—nobody wants to offend—but they’re what makes your voice unique.
Just having an opinion will help you differentiate. We don't need another aesthetics account.
learn from someone else
If you want more immediate business experience, intern for an interior designer or home builder/renovator who’s doing well but isn’t big on social media.
Offer to run their social. You’ll see how they source clients, manage projects, and make decisions. You understand the progression and sequencing of the construction process. Find someone who has built a small or medium-sized business, learn how they did that, then layer social media on top. This will work.
If you can go into an existing business and help grow it, you have put yourself in an excellent position.
That said, know yourself or get to know yourself. Are you a solo worker or a team player?
I learned early on that I needed to be the boss; I had a brutal time as an employee.
Figure out what environment makes you thrive, and optimize for that.
If you’re a team person, an internship might be perfect. If you’re like me, your home project and social media hustle might be enough to start.
find your obsession
What’s the one design thing you can’t stop talking about? For me, early on, it was light fixtures. Everything I saw in spec homes was terrible. I easily found beautiful stuff online. Clear arbitrage.
Sonder Living
For you, it might be tablescapes, garden design, tile, furniture, upholstery etc.
Lean into that obsession. It’s where you’ll shine because you care more than the average person. What is the thing you care about 100x more than your avaerage Joe?
Share it in your content, whether it’s a video about picking the perfect vase or a post about why vintage brass is underrated.
Your passion is your edge.
be patient and persistent
Nothing happens overnight.
When I started on Twitter, I was posting to crickets for months. I lurked for a while, posted for a while, and eventually found the intersection of what I was interested in & what people liked.
Here's a couple things to remember:
1) Nobody cares. What a relief! Everyone cares more about themselves than you. So post away, experiment, don't worry about looking stupid. The cold, hard truth is that if I disappeared, everyone would forget I existed within a month or two. Don't be self-conscious.
2) My friend Colin Landforce told me, "Success happens at peak cringe." I couldn't agree more. Be all in. Is it nerve-racking to post every day starting out? To tweet to approximately zero people? Absolutely! But again, nobody cares - they are more interested in their next snack than your next piece of content so fire away. You must go out of your way to get people to notice.
3) You don’t need to know everything; you need to know more than the people you teach. You don't need to be a pro, you need to be a step ahead.
If you don't know enough to teach, read books and write about what you learn. The OG Liberal Arts way still works quite well in 2025.
4) Find a person and format to model. Who is somebody who makes content that you like? Does not have to be design content. It could be about fishing, but with great style. Pretend you are them and talk about your thing instead.
This helps with overthinking. Find a voice you want to emulate - eventually, yours will emerge. Find formats that work - "Do this, not this" "Why everything looks terrible" etc., and get comfortable with doing them repeatedly.
This is how you become known for a certain style and ultimately develop one that is authentic to you.
5) Commit to a rhythm, whether one video a week or a daily post. The odds of something good happening go way up if you don’t quit.
You got this - it's going to be ok! Might even work.
something I saw this week
Villa Medici hosts an annual pavilion contest where architects build a temporary structure out of wood. I like that they are just competing on form, not material. It's a great way to think, especially if you are in the experiential hospitality space or building a destination home. Is the actual structure stripped of all decor interesting?
