My Story
My Beginning
I grew up in Rock Hill, SC, which is a small town about 30 minutes from Charlotte. Being over a decade younger that my brothers, many times I felt like an only child. Although I played with my neighborhood friends, I didn’t mind playing alone. Many days were spent playing with my Barbie and Ken dolls. This is when my love for interior design really was birthed. I had doll furniture, including the Barbie Dream Kitchen, set up in the bottom of my bedroom closet. I set the furnishings up like a home with each space (the living room, kitchen, bedroom – you get the idea!) designed perfectly for my Barbie and Ken dolls to have their dream home.
Educational Background
I’ve always been theatrical, musically inclined, and enjoyed the arts. Singing in a high school rock band as the lead female vocalist, singing soprano in high school choir, performing in the piano festivals, having lead parts in our high school plays were some highlights from my school days.
My college education led me to receive a BA in Education. I taught elementary school with an emphasis on kindergarten, first and second grades. I would frequently rearrange my classroom, and my colleagues would ask me to rearrange their classrooms as well. Once again, my passion for interior design was rising to the surface.
Family
After some years of teaching, I met and married my husband, and we had one child – a son who was born with a congenital heart defect that required three heart surgeries to sustain his life. My faith in God was definitely stretched during these trying years as we cared for our son.
I became a stay-at-home mom and eventually homeschooled our son through the 9th grade.
My Design & Staging Career
After our son went to college, I knew I wanted to do something related to creating beautiful spaces in homes. My friends and family would say things like, “Virginia, you’re so good at this. You have an eye for furniture placement.”
I had rearranged, repurposed and decorated others’ homes just for fun, and I loved it! I recognized that it was time to make this a new career venture. I stumbled across home staging, which later became a stepping stone to interior design.
I received my training as a Professional Home Stager and became certified as an Accredited Staging Professional® in March 2012. Immediately following this, I opened my first business, Do Stage LLC.
Later, I earned my Masters certification as an Accredited Staging Professional Master® in April 2016. Life was busy with this new business endeavor.
I’m An Author
I became an author during this time in Barb Schwarz’s book, Staging the World. What an honor it was to be selected as one of the authors in this book! In 1972 Barb Schwarz coined the term “staging” and created the home staging concept.
Featured in a Magazine
I was also featured in Vision Magazine, showing what can be done in a home when the homeowners’ furnishings are still there. I was beginning to recognize that I had the innate ability to create a lovely space while using existing furnishings and accessories. I was actually completing a design plan. Once again, the seed was growing with the desire toward interior design.
Surrounding myself with Inspirational People
I’ve had several opportunities during my career as a home stylist to attend conferences where I was able to hear and meet great speakers. All of them were ‘down to earth’ and yet well known celebrities. Fond memories, I’d say!
My Big Change
We had long-planned to update spaces in our own home. The kitchen became our focus and the renovation process allowed me the opportunity to use my skills as a designer. The general contractor relied on me to make the design choices – flooring, hardware, cabinets, appliances, countertops, tile backsplash, paint color, trim and lighting.
Because of our renovation, which included new flooring in the entire first level of our home, we had to move upstairs for the entire duration of our kitchen renovation - which was over 8 months long. This experience has been very beneficial for me as I help my clients. I have obtained a much better understanding and knowledge of what the homeowner truly experiences with a design project in their home, and I’m able to empathize with them when the process takes awhile. Great design takes time!
Our kitchen remodel after 8 months of hard work.
We did some sophisticated camping: We set up our “kitchen” (coffee pot, microwave, crockpot, etc.) upstairs in our guest bedroom! The refrigerator remained on the first level in our adjoining dining room.
I realized that I really enjoyed this process and decided to focus my business primarily on interior design. I swiftly rebranded Do Stage into Dwell Style Interiors.
Since that rebrand, I’ve written an eBook for home owners on The 5 C’s of Interior Design and taken several online courses to further streamline my business. I am an active member of the Interior Design Society, the Window Coverings Association of America, the National Kitchen and Bath Association, and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry Greater Charlotte. I’m also eager to keep learning the latest information by attending design seminars and High Point market.
I’m also offering design tips in my Tuesday Tips Facebook Live videos every week. These short videos give homeowners so much valuable information about designing, decorating, and styling their homes. You can watch these videos on my business Facebook page as well as the reels on my Instagram profile.
Parting Thoughts
On a more personal note, the year 2020 was a very surreal time for my husband and me. Our 30 year old son passed away on December 6, 2020. We are grateful to be ‘GiGi’ and ‘G-Pa’ to a beautiful, sassy, and smart granddaughter. We’re thankful for Facetime to get to see both our granddaughter and her mommy as much as possible. I know where our son is, and I know we will see him again. It’s the time between now and then that is hardest. Until then, he would want me to live my life and fulfill my dreams - so here I am.
That’s my story.
Happiness and blessings to you as you get excited about creating beautiful spaces in your home. I’d be honored to be a part of that process.
Sincerely,