Photography: Molly Rose
Valerie Saunders started Sérendipité Designs in 2009 after working in homebuilding. Valerie jokes that she actually started her design career when she was 5 years old, building forts in her childhood bedroom and always wanting to create a beautiful space that represented her. She officially decided she wanted to become an interior designer when she graduated high school and attended Brooks College. Valerie initially thought she would get into commercial design but because of her family’s background in the flooring industry, she fell into the flooring side of things first. That eventually lead her to work for home builders before she started Sérendipité Designs. When the design center she was working for ended up closing, she felt like she had no choice but to start her own business. Valerie shares with us more about starting her own business and offers the best advice. We also talked with Valerie about her design process and how she implements what she has learned over the years as a designer into that process.
Starting a business can be a very daunting process but when Valerie took that leap and founded Sérendipité, it ended up being far greater than she could have ever imagined.
Valerie: “Serendipity was always my favorite word from a young age. I felt like when I really wanted something to be one way, something else would happen that ended up being so much better than I could have ever hoped for. I would have never started Sérendipité on my own, but I was pushed into it and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me (other than being a mom of course). In general, serendipity just keeps finding me and it has guided me as a person and led me to where I am today. I didn’t want it to be so kitschy with a “y” and I love everything that feels french so having the accent just made it feel like this little french flair that I love.”
Photography: Molly Rose
Sérendipité Designs is a full-service interior design company, specializing in residential homes. Valerie and her team work on multiple projects that range from large-scale remodels to rebuilds and anything in between.
Valerie: “I made a decision early on in my career that I would always be open to anyone that wanted to make their space a more beautiful place to live. So I really do all sorts of design and I don’t limit myself to the biggest projects. I want to diversify because everyone deserves to live in a beautiful place. It’s fun to do the little projects too because it is more of instant gratification. Right now we are working on a little girl’s room and it is bringing us all a lot of joy. It’s a small project but it’s really rewarding.
We also call ourselves lifestyle concierges. Planning for special moments like a dinner party, graduation, or engagement is like planning for a reveal in a different capacity. We have developed relationships with a lot of our clients and they’ll ask us to come back for an event to decorate, set the table, order the flowers, and coordinate everything. It's not really that different than what we are doing but it's just so much more intimate. That's really special too.”
Photography: Mellon Studio
What sets Valerie apart as a designer is her ability to adapt to her client's personal needs. Valerie is able to work with a wide assortment of styles. She considers each client's lifestyle and meets them where they are at in their home building/design journey. We loved Valerie’s answer when we asked her what her style is.
Valerie: “My style is the client's style. I think that makes me successful in our business because I am not a one-note interior designer. Because of my background in home building, I’ve worked with clients that are buying a home for the first time, clients that are retiring, and everything in between. Each brought a different energy. It really helped me understand each client, where they are in their life, what their lifestyle is like, and what is important to them. Some people may say my style is classic and traditional and I do love traditional things, but it's really not about me. It's about the customer and meeting their needs and creating a space that looks like them. That is my overall goal.”
Photography: Molly Rose
Photography: Molly Rose
Valerie’s design process begins with creating a connection and relationship with her client. This is an important step seeing that designing someone’s home can be such an intimate process. Valerie has a warm and charismatic spirit that undoubtedly contributes to her success. Her ability to create a comfortable space for her clients to make decisions and work together is key.
Valerie: “About 5 years ago I decided I am going to be more strategic in how I make a connection with my customer. I always invite them into my office. I talk with them and see what their needs are and see if they are ok with our process. I ask them not to bring their plans or any photos of what they want. I want to sit down, have a cup of coffee, get to know each other, and see if it’s a good fit. I call it a love fest - if you love me and I love you - we're probably going to be able to make good decisions together.”
“Beautiful things inspire me. It's hard to know when that light will turn on but when it does you have to capitalize on it.”
After discussing the client’s needs and getting a feel for the project, choosing furniture is another important step in the design process. Valerie walks us through what she looks for in furniture pieces and what is important to her when designing.
Valerie: “We always start at House of Morrison. For me, it comes down to the client, how they are using it and if they are wanting to make an investment in custom furniture. Maybe they go custom on a sofa but retail on occasional pieces. That's how I start, then, talking about the scale of the room is really important. Next, I look at materials and if they want indoor/outdoor fabrics. That's what I look for when I am starting to talk about furniture with a client. I think having a few key pieces is important and then feathering in other things.
Something that I love about your furniture is that you are local. I love that Denise is an interior designer so she is looking at it from a different perspective. She's not just building furniture, she is thinking about what she would put in her client's home. It gives me a lot of confidence when I'm specifying your products because I know she's already thought through every detail.”
Photography: Molly Rose
Photography: Molly Rose
Valerie: “One piece that I always go back to and use in multiple projects is the Saunders Console (coming soon). I always finish the back of my sofa with this console because it's so simple, the quality is substantial, there are so many options for finishes, it's pretty affordable in comparison to anything else, and you can pair it with any stool underneath. People love it, so that's my favorite and The Capitola Ottoman. It is an iconic piece and I didn't see anything like it until you came out with it.”
We were eager to hear more about Valerie’s approach to design and other advice she has to offer. It is helpful to know when designing, building, or redecorating a space, where to invest your money. Valerie gives insight to where she typically spends more and why.
Valerie: “I always start every design with lighting. Most of my inspiration comes from lighting. One pendant can set the tone for the whole house and be such a statement. So, don’t skimp on lighting, you’ll never change it. Most likely you will not change a ceiling light - I’ve had the same ceiling light for like 10 years and always say I'm going to change it but I never do. Timeless, good quality, interesting lighting I’d say is an important investment to make.
I love tile. I am a little bit of a tile junky, There are a lot of people out there that are trying to copy other tiles, like anything else, but there are just some things that can’t be duplicated so I just say go for the good tile. You’re never going to change your tile either - when was the last time you changed your tile backsplash?”
Photography: Molly Rose
Photography: Molly Rose
Valerie gave the best advice on lighting and tile and it doesn’t stop there. She also shared with us great advice about creating a new business and starting out as a designer. When Valerie started 13 years ago, there weren’t as many resources as there are today. Valerie really immersed herself in the design community and looked to other designers for wisdom and knowledge.
Valerie: “Now there are a lot of sources for interior designers. In 2009, back when I was starting out, I would listen to anyone that would talk to me. I remember going to the Pacific Design Center and listening to certain designers or anyone that would share their wisdom and knowledge with me - I took anything I could.
I’ve never taken a business class. Everything I have learned is through experiences and through the art/design community. It's not always something that I’m excited to share but I think it's honest that I’ve learned everything I have up to this point from life experiences. I never thought I would start my own business. I think people are pushed out of their comfort zones for a reason. I remember I called one of my best friends when I lost my job back in 2009 and she was like “thank god, now you can do what you want to do.”
Photography: Mellon Studio
Photography: Mellon Studio
Valerie: “Go to as many lectures as you can, listen to podcasts, talk to people you look up to, and ask questions. You can take their knowledge and implement it into your story. By learning from other people’s experiences, you don’t have to learn all those tough lessons on your own. Had I known certain things earlier maybe I wouldn't have fallen so many times starting my own business. Don't be afraid to ask questions or reach out to someone you think has got it all together because chances are they didn't always.”
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