350: Belinda Nihill: Building A Full-Service Design Firm by Niching in Nursery Decor

Welcome to the show! We have the pleasure of introducing you to an Australian designer today, Belinda Nihill, the principal of Nest Design Studio. After the birth of her first child, and working as a qualified interior designer for more than fifteen years, Bel started a blog focused on children's spaces. On the show today she explains how her really small, niche blog, Nest, progressed to becoming a really successful boutique design firm with clients in Australia, USA, France, Ireland, Dubai, Canada and many more places around the world. Listen in today to discover how Bel managed to really set herself apart from other Australian designers.

Nest Design Studio was founded in 2010 and is known for its classic and creative style. Recognised both nationally and internationally, Nest has been featured in more than 25 magazines worldwide and has also been profiled on a number of other media outlets. Nest was included in the House and Garden Top Fifty Rooms of 2015 and in 2016 Bel released her first book, Beautiful Babies Rooms. Building on her reputation for being a leader in the children's interior field, and due to demand from her clients, Bel has now extended Nest to include residential and commercial interiors as well. Bel is a member of the Design Institute of Australia. Listen in today to find out more.

Show highlights:

• How Bel's blog was born, soon after the birth of her child.
• How Bel went about creating her blog.
• Bel has completed nearly 500 nursery and children's room projects in the eight years that she's been in business.
• What helped Bel's blog to grow and feed her business.
• What Project Nursery is all about and how it helped Bel to grow her business.
• Finding what you're really passionate about as a way to grow your business.
• It took about six months for Bel's blog to gain some traction.
• Some of the things that really helped Bel grow her blog.
• What prompted Bel to start doing e-designing.
• How Bel worked out how much to charge for e-design.
• What Bel has learned about systems in the eight years since she's been in business.
• What Bel learned from the episode with Chaney Widmer (#327).
• Bel explains how her business has grown.
• The kind of budget that Bel works with for children's rooms.
• What's to be found in Belinda's book.
• Belinda's plans for the future.
• The steps that Belinda is taking towards her future plans.
• How Belinda sources her products.
• Belinda's advice for new designers.
• Some tips for building community on Instagram.
• Some of the challenges Belinda has faced with running her business out of her home.

Other episodes mentioned on the show:

Cheryl Janis #41

Laurel Bern #342

Chaney Widmer #327

Christina Perry #05

Rachel Moriarty #55 #214

To register to become an Article trade member go to Well Designed Article. Well Designed Article

If you would like to be in Luann's mastermind, email her assistant at [e-mail] to set you up for a chat.