How did you get started in this industry?

Advantage Interior Design was established in 2017 as a result of demand from clients of our long-standing Property Styling business (established in 2005) who realised just how great their homes could look with professional design and styling. In under four years our team has grown from one to six.

What’s your favourite thing about your job? 

We love creating beautiful and liveable homes, each tailored to our clients’ style and lifestyle. Taking different rooms and creating a cohesive design that connects each space and creates a lovely flow throughout the home is important. Seeing the end result is really satisfying as well as witnessing the client’s reaction to their newly designed home. 

How did you hear about Houzz Pro?

Houzz is well known in the design industry as it is such a great directory for clients looking to hire experienced professionals. We were paired with a great account manager who has kept us up to date with the new platforms Houzz has introduced. Houzz has been a great way for us to showcase our work and Houzz Pro is an effective software tool which allows us to track and log our incoming enquiries.  

How long have you been a member? 

We've been a Houzz member since 2017.

What do you want people to know about your business? 

We offer a range of interior design and decoration services tailored to our clients’ style, lifestyle and budget. Whether our clients have upscaled, downsized or would like to give their homes a facelift or a complete overhaul, Advantage Interior Design can assist. 

What have been your most successful methods for marketing your business?

Google and Houzz - a lot of the clients who make contact with us have seen us on Houzz first and then browse our website before making that first phone call or online enquiry.

Tell us about one of your favourite projects on your Houzz profile and why you love it.

There are too many to choose! If we had to select our favourite, it would be a project that included a mix of renovation work and full furnishings and styling. Sydney CBD was one of those projects where the client left everything in our hands, we completely transformed the apartment by replacing the flooring, repainting, refurbishing their kitchen and adjusting the internal layout, which was then completed with all new furniture and furnishings throughout. It was a great blank canvas to work with. See the amazing transformation here.

What’s your favourite feature about Houzz Pro?

The ability to track and log calls, move clients into different phases of the process and the Ivy software being recently introduced. We are a large team and Houzz gives us the ability to track projects and enquiries so each staff member can gauge which stage each client is in, at any time. 

What positive changes have you seen as a result of using the Houzz Pro features?

Having access to everything we need at the touch of a button has allowed us to run our business more efficiently. 

What’s the best piece of advice you could give to someone signing up to Houzz?

Paying that little bit extra to upgrade to Houzz Pro makes a huge difference, having that support from an account manager and access to the different software and tools has been extremely helpful in organising, running and marketing our business. 

What do you do to set your business apart from the competition?

Advantage Interior Design offers a complete end-to-end service. Not only do we design, specify and source for all aspects of your renovation, refurbishment or furnishing project, we will project manage contractors, procure and collate all of your items and install each piece in your home. We even remove all the rubbish! All you need to do is sit back and relax while we look after everything for you. 

Quick-fire 5…

Key to success in business is... Adapting and growing as technology, software and marketing tools advance and using them to work for your business. 

Good design is... Good design involves listening and getting to know your client's personality as you want their home to be a reflection of them and what they love. Ensuring you have a clear understanding of their brief is key. A well-designed interior should consist of balance and flow, each space can have its own look and feel however the bigger picture and the home as a whole should always be front of mind.

Our style is… Contemporary, yet timeless. 

Our design hero is... Madeleine Blanchfield from Madeleine Blachfield Architects. Their work is very elegant and timeless. 

Best bit about our job is... Seeing a project through to completion and witnessing the client’s reaction when they come home to their newly designed interior.

Best piece of advice I received is… Be patient and persistent - this specifically relates to interior design as many people have trouble visualising the end result. You need to work with your client to help them try and see the bigger picture, as things happen in stages and can quite often take some time, it is important to keep your client excited and focused on the end result.