The Interior Design Industry is a Scam
They want you to feel like shit about your house
“You know what I used to love but now just looks cheap? Arches”
This reel stopped me cold in my scroll. It went on to say that arches — structural, furniture or otherwise — look “cheap” now because everyone is doing it. A commentator replied to the designer, “Yeah, it’s what people do when they don’t know what else to add to a room. And not in a good way.”
My blood is literally boiling right now because I see this for what it is: a desperate attempt to keep snatching “taste authority” out of our hands and move the goalpost yet again.
The interior design industry thrives on newness, innovation — being tastemakers rather than trend chasers. But oh. my. god. does it piss me the hell off. Sorry, not sorry.
The reality is that most people don’t live this way. My house was built in 1926. She turns 100 this year, and she has had arches the entire time. This reel would have me feeling like I need to blow out this gorgeous architecture because some random designer has deemed it “ubiquitous” (love good vocab though) and “cheap.” Get real.
Interior Design is Not for Everyone
Now, I know that I am not the target audience for a reel like this. The target audience for a statement that elitist is likely an insecure person with money to blow who outsources their opinions rather than formulating their own. And look, I admire designers and I admire the interior design industry. I truly believe it’s an art and a science. I’m not saying designers shouldn’t exist and that their educated opinions aren’t valuable. I support hiring them when the project calls for it!
I’m saying the whole industry is gate-kept on purpose. Big Design thrives on exclusivity. It wants to separate the haves and have-nots, and I am just so sick and tired of that rhetoric.
What comes to my head immediately is the person who’s algorithm is design-tuned because they’re actively working on their space, and that’s how the algo works. They aren’t hiring a designer. They’re looking for inspo, ideas and a way to make their house feel more like themselves. Then they see that.
They see two people who appear to be authorities in the design space waxing on about their fresh opinions about a structural design that’s existed for centuries. But that’s not the first thing they think.
They think, “Oh, wow. I didn’t realize my chairs looked cheap. Well shit, I just got those last year. I wasn’t planning on changing them. Will people think my house looks cheap? I mean, I liked them, but now I don’t know.”
And that’s what gets my blood boiling.
DIY to the Rescue?
Let me take a breath, because all hope is not lost.
We’ve identified the problem with the interior design industry: it’s snobby, gate-keepy and exclusive, generally speaking. So what’s the alternative?
It’s DIY, darling. Of course.
Instead of hiring a designer, congratulations, you get to be your own! You get to scroll through trash takes like the one I just shared, endless Pinterest inspo and post after post of DIY hacks, tips and tricks until you’re blue in the fingers.
But that still doesn’t solve the problem, does it?
Now, instead of someone telling you your arches look cheap, you have to try to figure out what looks good on your own — and most importantly what looks good to you. But how on earth is that possible when the internet is full of mixed messages? How does anyone find creativity, let alone creativity, when they have to figure it all out for themselves?
You feel like you need the “inspo” and aspirational posts, but they just make you feel like shit, and you never actually get anything done. Then you blame yourself for not being creative enough or not being “good at decorating.”
Bootstrappy DIY culture is just as bad as Big Design because instead of feeling like the home you have isn’t good enough, now you’re blaming yourself for not being able to figure out how to get even a fraction of those results.
Either way, you’re stuck, overwhelmed and deflated.
DIT is the New DIY
In a way, I’m glad I came across that infuriating reel because it made me double down on what I already know: you don’t need a full-service designer and you don’t need to DIY alone.
What you actually need is something in between. And this is what I like to call DIT (do it together).
I created the Home Alchemy Method as the bridge between design and DIY. I don’t tell you everything that’s wrong with your house and charge you to fix it. And I don’t dump you off in the paint aisle with a slap on the ass and a “good luck!” either.
What I actually do is act as a style coach, helping you figure out what you like and what’s going to work for the home you have vs the home you want. We work together to cut out inspo noise and decision paralysis so we can get real results in your home.
The Home Alchemy Method gives you all the power and control of DIY while adding in the structure and support of a home stylist, working with you side by side until the room is complete. It’s the best of both worlds.
You get real, tangible support that impacts your home and you get it in a way that meets you where you are and makes sense in your real life and real home.
The Home Alchemy Method is what the interior design space is missing, and doors are going to be opening late Summer/early Fall, 2026. If it sounds interesting to you, I’ll invite you to find out more about it by checking out the website.
And while we wait, I’d love to offer you a free taste of what it’s like to work with me and Alchemy of Home. I’m running free Vibe Check Room Audits (while available) so I can virtually pop in to your space and help you with what’s actually on your mind — not what some random designer says is “wrong.” You can book one of those right here if you don’t want to wait for the Home Alchemy Method launch.
Either way, I hope you know that your home and your taste is good enough. In fact, it’s not just “good enough,” it’s what makes you who you are, and I’d be honored to help you bring it to life in your home.
That’s all for today, but you can subscribe to this blog if you don’t want to miss posts like this one.
Talk to you soon.
