Interior design is more than just aesthetics—it’s about creating spaces that reflect personality, functionality, and timeless style. Rebecca Winter, the founder of Rebecca Winter Design Studio in Surrey, UK, shares her story of turning a passion for interiors into a successful career after taking our interior design course. Rebecca is a great example of how you can become a successful interior designer without attending university. From her early days as a home renovator to managing a team of seven in her charming studio, Rebecca’s journey showcases the power of pursuing one’s dreams.
Image Source: Interior by Graduated #IDIstudent
Rebecca Winter from @rebeccawinterdesign.
Photography by @jacobtheopower.
I’m Rebecca from Rebecca Winter Design Studio, and I’m very grateful to have an adorable design studio in Surrey, UK with a team of seven! With three maine coons, my personal passions are renovating my own home and traveling.
I initially wanted to be a vet, with my love for animals and taking care of them. In my teenage years, I enjoyed all things design-related and discovered that I really wanted to run my own business – one day.
When I bought my first property at 21, I spent evenings and weekends renovating it to my tastes and to modernize it. It was only a few years later that I got a Saturday role with an estate agency, and later ended up staging their properties before viewings, leading me to find a passion for interiors. Then finding the Interior Design Institute in my early 20s, I undertook the course to develop my knowledge of interiors as a hobby for my own home, not realising I would then turn this into a career!
Image Source:
Interior by Graduated #IDIstudent
Rebecca Winter from @rebeccawinterdesign.
Photography by @jacobtheopower.
Nowadays, it’s so varied; as an interior designer working for a studio, your day would consist of measuring spaces, picking finishes and furniture for a space and pulling together a full design to present to a client. Running a business and being a designer is very different; my day can be solely design-focused, or it can involve managing projects, managing my team, dealing with utilities and payroll, quoting, meeting new clients, updating our website, and everything in between! I love how varied my role is, and I love that I still get to get involved with designing interiors too.
At the core, my style is to create anything that is timeless and doesn’t date quickly. Homes should reflect the personality of the people who live in it, and so I feel although there are key staple design styles, every single client’s design style will be a blend of a particular style or two, and then with their own stamp on it.
Seeing beautiful properties, manor houses, and showrooms give an abundance of inspiration. RH Interiors in particular, is one of my favorite places to visit!
We tend to stay clear of trends as they can often come in and out of fashion quite quickly. Some elements of trends can carry through into our designs, for example, in cushions and lighter furnishings that can easily be changed, but I believe the best designs are centered around a solid foundation of timeless design for the long-term investment and longevity of a design.
Definitely, a timeless feel applies to all of our projects, and we love to integrate brass and warm tones throughout. We steer clear of clinical, cold spaces in residential properties especially.
Image Source: Interior
by Graduated #IDIstudent
Rebecca Winter from @rebeccawinterdesign.
Photography by @jacobtheopower.
I’d love to incorporate some of the RH and Andrew Martin pieces within my home. The quality and design of their furnishings are incredible!
I’d love to grow the studio to a good-sized team, to take on projects that really give us the creative realm to showcase our skills. Personally, I’ve always wanted to design and build my own house from the ground up – that’s a later goal!
Our ethos is to invest in our clients’ homes as we would our own – putting the right value into the right spaces, ensuring longevity, resale value and the ideal solution for our clients.
We have a gorgeous studio in the Surrey Hills, which was once a bakery. With the original in-wall oven still in situ, a quirky staircase and not a straight wall in sight, it’s a stunning space that brings out the best collaboration between our team.
It’s sometimes tough to find this; some days are easier to balance than others. I often work on the weekends, but I ensure I keep this to a timed amount, and I usually have at least two hours every evening where I don’t check my phone. It can always feel like you’re switched on otherwise, especially when you’re managing projects and trades. Both clients and trades are often really responsive in the evenings and at weekends, so it’s sometimes hard to switch off outside of my work hours.
Seeing the team grow into designing some incredible projects and designs.
Instagram is an amazing source of support, inspiration, and guidance for me and other designers alike. Engaging with others in the same boat as me, both earlier on and later in their journeys, has been so helpful in gaining a network of like-minded designers.
Growing the team from me to seven of us, and opening a studio in the space of 6 months!
Image Source: Interior by Graduated #IDIstudent
Rebecca Winter from @rebeccawinterdesign. Photography by Stuart Bailey.
Panelling 😊
Greige.
“You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
Start With Why (book), Architectural Digest (magazine), Dream Home Makeover (show).
@amberinteriors, @millieturnerdesigns, @celineinteriordesign.
Atkin & Thyme, SketchUp and Programa.
Anthony Burrill (artist) and Sophie Paterson (designer).
Considered, thoughtful, timeless.
Image
Source: Interior by Graduated #IDIstudent
Rebecca Winter from @rebeccawinterdesign.
Photography by @jacobtheopower.
IDI offered an accessible, flexible course that allowed me to invest reasonably into trying the course and gauging my genuine interest in the industry long-term. At the time, I never imagined it would turn into a full-time career, I was actually looking to learn more about design in order to design my first property to renovate it and gain resale value. The flexibility was key for me, as it allowed me to study at my own pace and around my demanding, full-time job (in a very different industry!).
Picking finishes and creating a full finish schedule was a great experience, to ensure I was capturing everything I needed to as part of my design.
What you put in, you get out of the process. So, do your research, go over and above, and really think outside the box with the design you put forward as part of your brief. It will only benefit you in the long run!
With a team of seven, we are working on projects from single-room designs to full house build and renovations. One very exciting project is a sustainable barn conversion in the Kent countryside, overlooking nothing but hills and sheep!
Instagram is our most engaged platform. We love seeing other designers get into the industry and bring new ideas! Connect with us 😊 I also shared a video of my interior design journey, here.
Image Source: "Interior by Graduated #IDIstudent Rebecca Winter from @rebeccawinterdesign.
Rebecca’s journey is a testament to how passion and education can transform lives. The Interior Design Institute played a pivotal role in her success, offering the flexibility and resources she needed to pursue her dream while balancing a full-time job.
If Rebecca’s story has inspired you, why not take the first step toward your dream career? Sign up for our online interior design course today and join a community of creative minds shaping the future of design.
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