About this episode

Claire Staszak discusses the strategic value of showhouses as a brand-building investment in interior design.

Season 9 of The Interior Collective Podcast is brought to you by Materio. Welcome back to The Interior Collective. I'm your host, Anastasia Casey, and today I am sitting down with Claire Staszak, founder and principal of Centered by Design, a full-service residential interior design studio based in Chicago specializing in the design and restoration of historic homes. Claire came from journalism and marketing before she came to interiors, and that background has shaped everything about how she has built her firm, including how she thinks about showhouses. Most designers treat a showhouse as a client opportunity, but Claire treats it as a brand investment with a measurable return. She has done both local and national showhouses and built a team that helps make it all happen. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Domino, Luxe, and the Chicago Tribune. She has a studio and showroom in East Lakeview, a second design annex on the North Shore, a wallpaper collection with Isidore Leroy, and a debut book slated for Fall 2027. Today we are getting into the real costs of a showhouse, the brand partnerships that make them financially viable, what local versus…

People in this episode

Host: Anastasia Casey

Guest: Claire Staszak

Topics covered

• showhouses
• brand investment
• interior design
• historic homes
• design partnerships

Sponsors

Materio

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Centered by Design, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Domino, Luxe, Chicago Tribune

Places: Chicago, East Lakeview, North Shore

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