Designing a Life, Not Just a Home with Stephanie Martin

About this episode

Stephanie Martin discusses her journey from business school to becoming a successful interior designer in Calgary.

In this episode of Beyond the Design, we sit down with Calgary-based interior designer Stephanie Martin, founder of Stephanie Martin Interior Design, to explore how she built a career around creating deeply personal, timeless homes that truly reflect the people who live in them. From a childhood spent wandering show homes, hunting at garage sales, and redesigning her bedroom every year, Stephanie always had an instinct for spaces—even if she didn’t initially see it as a viable career path. She shares how a detour into business school and a plan to follow her parents into law unexpectedly redirected her toward design when an art history elective lit her up in a way nothing else did. With her family’s encouragement, she switched programs, found her fit in design school, and graduated straight into a brutal recession in Calgary that left almost no traditional jobs available. Instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity, Stephanie created one—pounding the pavement with homemade flyers, door knocking, and offering consultations through a furniture store to slowly build her portfolio, reputation, and confidence. In this conversation, she reflects on those scrappy early days and how…

People in this episode

Host: Cray Bauxmont-Flynn

Guest: Stephanie Martin

Topics covered

• interior design
• career development
• personal spaces
• resilience
• client-centered practice

Keywords

• interior design
• career path
• Calgary
• personal homes
• resilience
• design school

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stephanie Martin Interior Design

Places: Calgary

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