Lessons from a former lawyer turned into an award winning interior designer

Hi! My name is Gini, and I am the founder and owner of interiorbygini. An international interior design studio based in Vienna (Austria), and Munich (Germany). By now, I have become an internationally recognized interior designer with clients across the globe, including countries such as Spain, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, the UK, and the US.

Furthermore, my designs have received multiple awards by now, including the Best of Interior Award 2024 (the most renowned interior design award in Germany), 2x INT Award (longlist, Los Angeles based interior design award), and I have recently been included in the selection for this year’s IIDA Award (Italy International Design Award). My designs have also been shared by platforms such as ELLE Decoration, Harper’s Bazaar, Homes & Gardens, and many others.

Working as an interior designer is my absolute dream job and I love all the creativity and challenges coming with it. However, one of the most questions I get asked about is how I even became an interior designer. A job, that seemingly is quite desired by many, yet a little bit difficult to find a pre-defined path for.

How I started

To be honest, I have barely met interior designers that have actually studied anything into that direction. Of course, there are a few people who studied subjects such as architecture, however, I will cite one person in this business, who I very much appreciate and look up to. He once told me: “You can’t study taste. You either have it, or you don’t. Same goes for the eye.”

I’m not gonna lie… this sentence is stuck with me ever since and is something that truly built up my inner confidence. Interior design is very often related to taste and personal preference, as well as creativity. It is nothing like mathematics, where there is only one correct outcome. Interior design is different, and I think anyone working in creative fields knows what I’m talking about.

I feel like society is hyper focused on getting degrees. Very often, you are only labeled capable if you have a degree in something. And while I totally understand a degree is necessary in many parts, some jobs do not necessarily require one. However, after studying Sociology & Law (Bachelor’s degree), and HR and Law (Master’s degree), I knew I had a good knowledge in these fields. Scientific knowledge. But in interior design it was more led by feelings and “just-knowing”. Of course, I can explain most of the things I like in interior design, but very often they come from a feeling from within, making it difficult to validate your potential and knowledge. The awards my designs won have changed my confidence, luckily, but you don’t need an award to know your talent. I really want anyone wanting to start know that!!

Being aware of my surrounding from very early on

Since I was a child, I’ve been extremely interested in interior design, and design in general, actually! I can still remember precise furnitures in hotels I visited as a kid. I can sometimes even remember the names of certain rooms in hotels which followed a design style, and I am now able to also connect the furniture pieces I remember to the actual brands I obviously didn’t know back then. I have also always enjoyed decorating my room. I loved moving furniture, and I loved paying attention to details and decor items.

I still remember being at TK Maxx when I was still in school, browsing through all the home collections without having an apartment (or money, lol) to buy things for. Funnily, two things I got from my mum back then are still in my apartment up until this day. I also remember visiting friends houses and admiring the interior designs. Surprisingly, I still have a very good recall of the rooms and decor elements, which I could easily draw for you in detail.

While this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case for everyone, I think it already shows that I genuinely paid a lot of attention to the spaces I was in. Being aware of your surrounding and spaces is something I highly recommend to practice in order to get a good feeling for interior design! In my case, I guess I was lucky and had it from the beginning on, without actually knowing I did.

Just get started and show your talent

Everyone has to start somewhere. And unless you are extremely wealthy and have the opportunity to design large houses with an endless budget from the beginning on, I recommend you start in the places you can. I, for example, started in my own apartment. Shared the designs, had people see them and book me, as well as I helped friends with their spaces to build up my portfolio. Gradually, I became better, developed my style, got very familiar with measurements, knew more brands, and had my eyes extremely trained for interior design.

One of the biggest things you need to do is build up is your portfolio. Because if people don’t get to see your talent, how would they want to book you? Social media is a great tool for that! Use it!! Show different designs of yours, the details, and why people should book you instead of others.

Another thing I recommend doing, particularly when building up your portfolio, is to learn how to take proper photos of your works! Good photos make a massive difference and show the high-quality of your designs. Make sure to have good ones, as this can be a show-stopper. If you want and have enough time, it can also be great to do internships or smaller jobs in interior design or architecture firms, which will provide you with valuable knowledge and insights into this world. I’ve also soaked up all of the different interior design magazines I could, trying to identify different styles and to get a feeling for other designs, too. This was something I found very helpful, as you get interesting insights and also a lot of new ideas.

Be brave

You need to start somewhere, so be brave, believe in yourself, and get yourself out there. Don’t be shy! Even though the journey will be long and can be difficult, staying consistent and fighting for what you love can get you anywhere. I truly hope your dreams will come to life too!!!

Looking to start a brand too? I have written a blogpost on that too, which you can read here.

Need help getting started? You can join my online course for interior styling and learn my tipps & tricks, as well as step-by-step stylings to implement in your own home. I can’t wait to see you there! Join here.