When I launched my interior design business I had no design degree, no idea how to run a business, and—thanks to a recent divorce—absolutely nothing to lose.

I went on to build a well-respected residential interior design brand, turn a team of fresh-out-of-school designers into interiors experts, and grow to nearly half a million dollars a year—all through a flat-fee, design-only model that no one else thought would work.

Spoiler: It worked.

And the clarity, structure, and client trust that made it work can make your firm run better, too.

I'm Rebecca West

I’m a business coach for residential interior designers, author of Happy Starts at Home, and creator of the DECIDE Method, a framework that helps designers and design-build teams guide clients through better, faster, calmer decisions.

I provide practical business coaching, client-experience strategies, and decision-making training for interior designers who are ready to lead better projects.

Before I became a coach, speaker, and trainer, I spent 17 years building and running Seriously Happy Homes, a flat-fee, design-only residential interior design firm in Seattle. We served homeowners with real lives, real budgets, and real decisions to make, from thoughtful bathroom updates to full-home projects and high-end condo renovations.

I learned that, as interior designers, we are trusted with some of the most emotional, expensive, and personal decisions people will ever make about their homes. Our job is to help them spend wisely and intentionally, whether that means $50K for a bathroom refresh or $5 million for a new build.

I help designers and design-build teams create clearer services, stronger client communication, better onboarding, and more confident decision-making processes so projects can move forward with less confusion, less second-guessing, and a lot less business stress.

I Built the Kind of Business I Now Help Designers Build

Back in 2007, I had no formal design training, and my only small-business experience was a tiny housecleaning “business” I started in college. Calling it a business may be generous, but it paid the bills.

What I did have was a deep belief that our homes shape our happiness, and that great design should be practical, personal, and worth the investment.

At Seriously Happy Homes, I built a business around clear services, flat-fee pricing, design-only work, strong client communication, and practical, psychology-driven design. We never tried to convince clients to spend more. Our job was to help them understand where their money mattered most.

Sometimes that meant helping a client make every dollar count. Sometimes it meant helping a client feel confident spending a lot of money because the goals, priorities, and decisions were clear.

The business flourished because clients understood what we did, trusted how we worked, knew what to expect, and followed our process because they knew it worked.

Now I help other designers build that same kind of clarity into their own businesses.

The Real Work Is Not Getting Hired. It’s Getting Trusted.

Most designers don’t struggle because they lack talent.

They struggle because clients do not understand what they do, how the process works, what decisions they need to make, or why trusting the designer actually matters.

That confusion shows up everywhere: vague inquiries, awkward consults, scope creep, slow approvals, decision fatigue, budget panic, boundary issues, and projects that require the designer to be endlessly patient, flexible, and available.

We can't build strong, sustainable businesses on adrenaline and hope.

My work helps designers build the communication, structure, and client experience they need before the project gets messy. That includes clearer messaging, better service menus, stronger onboarding, consult scripts, decision tools, expectation-setting documents, and client education that makes it easier for clients to follow the process.

Because when clients understand how to work with you, they are more likely to trust you.

And when they trust you, everything gets easier.

Why I Created the DECIDE Method

For years, one of my greatest strengths as a designer was helping clients make decisions.

Contractors noticed it too. One painting contractor told me he referred clients to me over other designers because when my clients came to him, they were happier and more confident in their color choices. They were not confused or still wondering if they should paint the entire house “just one shade warmer.”

That skill served my clients and my business well. But when it was time to train my own team, I ran into a problem: I knew how to guide decisions, but I did not yet know how to teach that skill to someone else.

So I looked for training.

I found sales training. I found closing techniques. I found advice about overcoming objections. But I could not find the kind of decision-guiding framework interior designers actually need: one that helps clients move through a long, emotional, expensive project with more clarity, trust, and momentum.

So I created it.

The DECIDE Method helps designers understand why clients stall, spiral, second-guess, ask the wrong people for opinions, or freeze right when the project needs to move forward. It gives designers and design-build teams a practical way to guide decisions with more structure, empathy, and leadership, instead of relying on instinct, patience, or hope.

What I Teach

Through private coaching, group programs, speaking, and corporate training, I help interior designers and design-build teams improve the parts of the business that clients actually experience.

That includes how to communicate what makes you different, attract better-fit clients, explain your process before clients get confused, set expectations without sounding scary, create onboarding materials that build trust, guide client decisions, reduce scope creep and delays, and build a business that feels clearer, calmer, and more profitable.

My signature programs, Nail Your Niche and Lead to Launch, help designers clarify their marketing, services, onboarding, and client communication. My DECIDE Method training helps designers and teams guide clients through high-stakes decisions with more confidence and less chaos.

Because the goal is not just a prettier business. The goal is a business clients can understand, trust, and confidently invest in.

A Practical Coach With a Very Human Point of View

Interior design is personal, emotional, creative work. It is also about money.

It is about how we help clients spend their money wisely, how we communicate the value of our expertise, and how we build businesses that pay us well for the judgment, leadership, and care we bring to the table.

Interior design became the industry that unlocked financial confidence and freedom for me. Not because I chased the biggest projects or became the fanciest person in the room, but because I learned how to build a clear business around real value.

I want that for every designer, design business owner, and design-build firm I can help.

I am strategic, direct, and deeply practical, but I am not here to turn designers into corporate robots with beige feelings. Your business should support your talent, your values, your clients, and your actual life. It should help the right people understand why you are the right designer for them, teach clients how to work with you, and make it easier for them to trust your guidance.

You bring the talent.

I help you build the business structure, messaging, and client experience that helps people trust it, pay for it, and benefit from it.

My Background at a Glance

Before founding Seriously Happy Coaching & Consulting, I built and ran Seriously Happy Homes from 2007 to 2023. The firm served Seattle-area homeowners with design-only, flat-fee services and grew into a $425K/year business with a team of designers and admin support.

I’m the author of Happy Starts at Home, published by CICO Books, and have been featured in media including Live Happy, Success Magazine, Bustle, Seattle Refined, and New Day Northwest. I’ve taught and spoken for organizations including NKBA, ASID, IDS, SCORE, VFTI, and KBIS, with webinars that rank among the top-performing programs for organizations including NKBA and SCORE.

My human background includes Peace Corps service in Nicaragua, degrees in Community & Environmental Planning and Geology, interior design training through Limperts Academy of Design in London, a former life as a ballroom dance instructor, and a deep commitment to helping people create homes and businesses that support the lives they actually want.

I now live on the French Riviera, where I coach designers, teach teams, write, speak, and continue my lifelong mission to make the hard stuff clearer, calmer, and a lot more human.

Ready to Build a Business Clients Can Trust?

Whether you are an interior designer who needs clearer messaging, a stronger onboarding process, better boundaries, or a more confident way to guide client decisions, I can help.

And if you are looking for a speaker or trainer to help your design or design-build team improve client communication, decision-making, and project flow, I would love to talk.

Let’s build a business that is easier for clients to trust, easier for you to run, and worthy of the money people invest in it.

Looking for coaching? Start with the quiz or explore coaching options.

Looking for a speaker or trainer? Let’s talk about your event, team, or audience.