The Business of Beautiful Spaces Podcast for Interior Designers

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In this episode of The Business of Beautiful Spaces, Laura dives into the real-world lessons behind building a profitable, sustainable interior design business—without sacrificing creativity or personal boundaries. Drawing from decades of hands-on experience, she shares candid insights into what designers often get wrong, what actually moves the needle, and how small mindset and strategy shifts can create major business breakthroughs.
Listeners will walk away with practical takeaways around decision-making, client relationships, and running a design firm with confidence and clarity. This episode is a reminder that success isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing the right things intentionally, pricing with purpose, and designing a business that supports the life you want.
Whether you’re early in your design career or scaling an established studio, this conversation offers encouragement, clarity, and actionable wisdom to help you move forward with confidence.
A free way to support our show is by leaving it a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It’s a chance to tell us what you love about the show, and it helps other designers discover it, too.
Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us [email protected] or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces

Laura Thornton is the principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON. Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.

The Business of Beautiful Spaces I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces
Thornton Design I @thorntondesign

Send us a text
In this episode of The Business of Beautiful Spaces, Laura breaks down how interior designers can begin using AI in a practical, ethical and non-intimidating way in 2026. Whether you are AI curious, quietly resistant, or already dabbling, this conversation is designed to help you see AI as a supportive team member rather than a threat to your creativity or value. AI cannot replace your intuition, your eye, or the human connection you build with clients, but it can absolutely remove the repetitive, time consuming work that keeps you out of your creative zone.
Laura walks through simple, starter level ways to introduce AI into your business right now – from drafting client emails and summarizing meetings to supporting social media content, refining website copy, organizing project communication and assisting with early concept exploration. From there, she explores more advanced strategies for designers who are ready to integrate AI deeper into their workflow, including AI assisted design development, procurement support, predictive project planning, business intelligence analytics and client style profiling. Finally, she offers a future focused look at where AI is heading in the design industry, and why designers who learn to partner with it will be able to work with more ease, clarity and profitability.
In this episode, you will learn:
How to think about AI as a tool that supports your business, not a replacement for your talent
Simple, beginner friendly ways to use AI for admin, communication, content and client support
How more advanced AI tools can streamline design development, procurement and project management
Why AI will increasingly become a core business support system while designers remain at the heart of the creative process
A free way to support the show is by leaving a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more designers discover The Business of Beautiful Spaces and step into their role as confident, profitable CEOs.
Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us [email protected] or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces

Laura Thornton is the principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON. Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.

The Business of Beautiful Spaces I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces
Thornton Design I @thorntondesign

Send us a text
Laura breaks down why most designers do not have a pricing problem, they have a scope and structure problem. She walks through practical strategies to increase profitability at your current rates, including tightening and clarifying your scope, reclaiming billable hours you are already working, streamlining your process for efficiency, and shifting from selling hours to selling outcomes and expertise. She also walks you through a powerful breakdown of what your hourly rate actually has to cover and why 200 dollars an hour is not what you think it is once overhead, taxes, and business costs are accounted for.
You will leave this episode with a clearer understanding of how to protect your fees, honour your time, and run your design business like a true CEO, without feeling guilty for charging appropriately or afraid of client pushback.
In this episode, you will learn:
Why “pricing correctly” is not always about raising your rates
How loose scope and fuzzy boundaries quietly erode your profit
Simple ways to clarify what is included, what is not, and when additional fees apply
How to reclaim billable hours you are already working but not charging for
Process shifts that make your existing pricing more profitable
How to position your expertise and the transformation you provide, not just your labour
What your hourly rate really has to cover and why your take-home is a fraction of that number
The most common mindset blocks designers face around pricing and how to reframe them
A free way to support the show is by leaving a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more designers discover The Business of Beautiful Spaces and step into their role as confident, profitable CEOs.
In just one focused hour, we’ll dive into whatever you need most—pricing strategies, client management, attracting high-end clients or building repeat business. You’ll get clarity, strategy, and expert advice based on my 27+ years of running a thriving, seven-figure design firm.
This is your chance to get real answers to the questions you’ve been dying to ask—from someone who’s actually been there.
Book your session as you need it—no strings attached.
Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us [email protected] or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces

Laura Thornton is the principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON. Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.

The Business of Beautiful Spaces I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces
Thornton Design I @thorntondesign

Send us a text
In this fun, high value CEO-style episode, Laura shares her favourite business books, podcasts and AI tools that are shaping her strategy and success in 2025. 
Why business books matter for designers
How the right books can reshape the way you think, market, lead and sell
How to turn book insights into systems you use daily
How AI can help implement the concepts instantly
Book #1: Building a StoryBrand 2.0 by Donald Miller
Why StoryBrand is the clearest messaging framework for 2025
The shift from talking about yourself to spotlighting your client as the hero
How to rewrite your homepage, services page, bio and scripts with StoryBrand
How pairing StoryBrand with AI becomes a messaging powerhouse
Book #2: The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
The power of focus and consistent action
Why the Dream 100 strategy works for designers
Updated insights from Amanda Holmes
How AI can rewrite scripts, create outreach plans and build sales systems
Book #3: Scorecard Marketing
How to use quizzes to attract qualified leads
Why scorecards reveal buying intent and segment your audience
How AI can write your quiz, interpret results and automate follow-up
Laura’s 2026 Reading List
They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan
Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt
The Sales Playbook by Jack Daly
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Laura’s Top Podcasts for 2025
The StoryBrand Podcast
The Game with Alex Hormozi
Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett
Aspire with Emma Grede
Plus bonus entrepreneurial listens for extra motivation.
True Crime Corner
Because designers are allowed a little guilty pleasure too. Laura shares her current binge-worthy listens.
Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us [email protected] or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces

Laura Thornton is the principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON. Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.

The Business of Beautiful Spaces I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces
Thornton Design I @thorntondesign

Send us a text
Laura walks you through a guided audit of your year: your numbers, your systems, your clients, your values, and your big-picture goals for 2026 and beyond. If you have been feeling the impact of tariffs, market shifts, rising costs, or overwhelm, this episode will help you turn reflection into strategy.
Your books and your numbers
Revenue: What came in, from which services, and which projects were truly profitable
Expenses: Where your money actually went and where the bleeds are hiding
How to renegotiate recurring costs and keep more of what you earn
AI in your workflow
Where AI can streamline your admin, content, and communication
How to use AI as a support tool (not a replacement for your design brain)
Ideas for integrating AI in 2025 to reclaim time and energy
Tariffs, volatility and margins
How this year’s tariff rollercoaster impacted pricing, vendors, and timelines
What to build into your proposals and contracts going forward
Why smart designers now plan for uncertainty instead of around it
Your favourite themes from the podcast this year
Pricing, profitability, client experience, boundaries, leadership, and marketing
A reflection on which episodes moved you to action and why that matters
Goals vs. actions
The honest question: did your actions match your goals this year
Behaviour and boundaries that may not align with what you say you want
What needs to change in 2026 for you to achieve different results
Mission, values, ideal client, and BHAGs
Updating your mission so it reflects who you are now
Ensuring your core values are lived, not just written
Reassessing your ideal client as your pricing, brand, and standards evolve
Revisiting your 3 year, 5 year, and 10 year BHAGs
In just one focused hour, we’ll dive into whatever you need most—pricing strategies, client management, attracting high-end clients or building repeat business. You’ll get clarity, strategy, and expert advice based on my 27+ years of running a thriving, seven-figure design firm.
This is your chance to get real answers to the questions you’ve been dying to ask—from someone who’s actually been there.
Book your session as you need it—no strings attached.
Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us [email protected] or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces

Laura Thornton is the principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON. Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.

The Business of Beautiful Spaces I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces
Thornton Design I @thorntondesign