FEATURES

Exploring Life & Business with Darla Harmon of Red Couch Interiors Staging & Design

by VoyageSanAntonio | November 21, 2022 | Local Stories 

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Darla Harmon.

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                  Hi Darla, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today.

So, before we get into specifics, let’s briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.

I have always enjoyed interior design; even as a child, I would play house in my basement, and whatever I could find to make a living room, I would rearrange it to make it feel cozy. My goal was to make it look like a living room. At that time, I didn’t know what I was doing or that it was called “interior design.”

Then as I got into my teens, my mom took me to an interior designer to make over my room. I remember thinking about how fun is to create a special space for someone; picking out colors, fabrics, and furnishings to make someone happy sounded like a great job! I then got into the retail world, managing stores like Lerner’s and Kid’s R Us, but I never thought of interior design again until we fast forward about 25 years. During these 25 years, my friends always asked me to help decorate their homes, and of course, I would do it and have a great time. Now my children are all heading off to college; some have graduated and done their own thing. What about me? It’s my turn! So at 50, I enroll in an online interior design school, The Interior Design Institution, out of San Francisco! I so enjoyed it! Soon after graduating, I started my own small business, Red Couch Interiors Staging and Design.

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We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Any start-up/small business has a challenging road. There are always bumps, even when you think you have arrived. The key is to learn from what has not been smooth, keep an open mind about the changes you might have to make, and learn to re-invent yourself but stay true to your passions. Yes, I have had to do all these! Interior design is unnecessary. It’s a want, and because of this and especially in this day of financial difficulties, it is hard to find jobs. This is one reason stages do my prices. The client can pick how much they want to spend. I want everyone to have an opportunity to work with an interior designer if they wish to! In the beginning, some of the struggles were helping people understand that interior design is not just placing some fake plants in a corner. It’s creative. It’s listening, finding the exact piece, whether it’s art, furniture, or wall color. It understands the layout of the space, where the light comes in, it’s much more than people think, and it comes at a cost. I read this quote a while back.

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