From Fashion to Forever Homes: How I Built Ben the Hoose Interiors

Who: Abigail Fleming, Ben the Hoose Interiors
What: Residential and commercial interior design services
Format: Service & expertise · England, English
Started: July 2021
Audience: Around 734 Instagram followers and roughly 80 website visitors a month
Payers: 50 clients onboarded since 2021
Promotion budget: More than $100/month
Income: Main income
Status: Active and growing
Channels: Text social media

What worked: No single channel doing everything – Facebook groups bring in enquiries, Instagram builds trust, Houzz reaches people already close to buying, and her own website closes the booking
The result: 50 clients onboarded since 2021, now her main income
The catch: Printed advertising and exhibiting at trade shows brought in almost no direct enquiries – though one trade show did lead, indirectly, to a real client

I began my interior design business following a relocation to my home county of Cumbria. Before moving back, I had spent many years living and working in London as a fashion designer, building a career that I genuinely loved. Fashion had given me the opportunity to be creative every day, to work with colour, pattern, texture and materials, and to understand how design can influence how we feel. It was a brilliant career, and one I never expected to leave.

But having children changed my priorities. The idea of bringing up young children in London felt daunting, and we found ourselves longing for a slower, more outdoorsy way of life. So we made the decision to leave London behind and move our young family back to Cumbria, where I had grown up.

It was a huge lifestyle change, but it also gave me the opportunity to think about what I wanted the next chapter of my career to look like. I knew I wanted to remain in the creative world, but I wanted to build something of my own that could work alongside family life. Interiors felt like a natural next step. Although it was a completely different industry, so much of what I had learned through fashion was transferable: understanding colour, developing concepts, combining pattern and texture, sourcing products and, perhaps most importantly, designing with people in mind.

Once I decided interiors was the career path I wanted to pursue, I set myself the challenge of retraining. I immersed myself in online interior design courses, learning everything I could about the industry while drawing on the design experience I already had.

That process eventually became Ben the Hoose Interiors. What started as a career change became an opportunity to create a business that felt much more personal to me, combining my love of colour and design with my connection to Cumbria and the way we live in our homes.

I didn't set out to create interiors that simply look good. I wanted to create homes that feel good to live in: colourful, characterful, comfortable and individual to the people who live there. In many ways, I haven't really left fashion behind at all. I've simply taken everything I loved about being a designer and found a new canvas for it.

My first paying client came from Facebook, following a post and project I completed for a friend. From there I built a website, joined Houzz (advertising and promotion service as well as back office CRM) and attended every networking event I could find! As the nature of my product is projects which last up to 4-24 months, I have only worked with around 50 clients to date.

My website is the best audience driver. Most clients who have found my website and contacted me have gone on to book a consultation and design service.

Over the years, I've experimented with a number of different ways of getting my business in front of potential clients, and I've learnt that the channels that work best for me aren't necessarily the ones that look the most impressive from a marketing perspective.

Facebook has consistently been my strongest channel for attracting the right customers. In particular, local Facebook groups have been incredibly valuable. Sharing useful, genuinely helpful content rather than simply promoting my services has helped me get in front of homeowners who are actively thinking about renovating. It has been one of the most reliable sources of enquiries and has brought in clients who are a good fit for the business.

Instagram has played a different role. While it hasn't necessarily generated the same volume of direct enquiries as Facebook, it has been hugely important for building the Ben the Hoose brand. It gives potential clients somewhere to see my work, understand my design style and get a feel for who I am before they make contact. I see Instagram much more as a credibility and brand-building tool than a direct sales channel.

Building relationships within the industry has also shifted the needle. Developing connections with local businesses, tradespeople and other professionals has resulted in more people recommending my services to their own clients and contacts. These referrals are particularly valuable because they tend to introduce me to people who are already actively looking for design help rather than simply browsing for inspiration.

Joining Houzz was another positive move. It put my business directly in front of people who were already searching for interior designers and actively considering a project. That distinction was important because the audience was much closer to making a buying decision. Houzz has also helped me present the business more professionally and, through its back-office system, has improved the organisation and client experience around projects.

One collaboration that worked particularly well was with Charnley's, a local home and garden centre. The idea was to put myself directly in front of homeowners who were already investing time and money into their homes. We collaborated on activities that allowed me to demonstrate my expertise and introduce my design services to their customer base. This generated a number of enquiries and consultations and proved that putting myself physically in front of an audience of active home renovators could work very well.

However, that collaboration has now largely run its course. It was successful for a period, but I don't think every successful marketing activity needs to be repeated indefinitely. Once the audience has been reached and the opportunity has naturally plateaued, I'd rather move on and look for the next relevant audience.

One thing I've learnt is that being visible isn't the same as generating business. Instagram may give me visibility, Facebook may generate enquiries, Houzz may put me in front of active buyers, and industry relationships may generate warm referrals. Each channel has a different job, and understanding that has helped me become much more strategic about where I spend my time.

I'm also increasingly interested in how people discover businesses through search and AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. This is an area I'm still developing rather than one I'd claim is already a major acquisition channel, but I think it will become increasingly important for a specialist local business like mine.

Not everything I've tried has brought in new clients, and some of my biggest marketing lessons have come from the things that didn't work.

Local printed advertising was one of the first things I tried. I advertised in a local printed catalogue, hoping it would put my business in front of homeowners in my area. Unfortunately, it generated very little interest and didn't result in any meaningful new enquiries. It looked like a good opportunity on paper, but the return simply wasn't there, so I decided not to continue investing in it.

I've also exhibited at trade events, which again didn't directly generate the new clients I was hoping for. There was a significant investment of both time and money involved in exhibiting, and while it was useful for visibility and meeting people, it didn't translate into a worthwhile number of enquiries or projects.

Interestingly, though, the trade event did lead to one of my better projects in a completely unexpected way.

While exhibiting, I met a gentleman who was looking for prizes to auction at a charity gala for the North West Air Ambulance. I offered a free interior design consultation as a prize, not expecting anything beyond supporting the charity. The person who won the consultation went on to become a client, and it developed into a really good project.

So, technically, the trade event itself wasn't successful at generating clients but it created a connection that eventually led to one. It was a good reminder that you can't always judge the value of a marketing activity purely by what happens immediately afterwards.

The biggest lesson I've taken from these experiences is that reach doesn't necessarily equal results. A large audience, a glossy printed publication or a busy trade show can feel like good marketing, but if the people you're reaching aren't actively looking for the service you offer, it can be difficult to turn that visibility into business.

I'm now much more selective about where I invest my marketing budget and time. I'm looking for opportunities that put me in front of the right people – ideally homeowners who are already thinking about renovating, investing in their home or looking for professional help – rather than simply trying to get my name in front of as many people as possible.

At the same time, I've learnt not to dismiss an opportunity just because the outcome isn't immediately obvious. Sometimes the most valuable connection can come from somewhere you weren't expecting.

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For Ben the Hoose Interiors, I don't think there has been one defining moment where everything suddenly changed. The business has grown gradually, through a combination of being adaptable, learning as I've gone and being willing to listen to advice from other business owners.

For a long time, I was very focused on the creative side of the business – designing beautiful homes and delivering a great service to my clients. As the business grew, I realised that being a good interior designer and running a successful interior design business are two very different things.

The real turning point came at the beginning of this year when I applied for business growth support through the Business Growth Hub at the Chamber of Commerce. It was the first time I had worked closely with a professional business development manager, rather than trying to figure everything out myself or relying on informal advice from other business owners.

It completely changed the way I looked at my business.

I learnt the importance of tracking and properly assessing my marketing activity, rather than simply doing things because I felt I should be. I started paying much more attention to cash-flow forecasting and understanding what was actually happening financially within the business. We looked at my sales funnel and how potential clients move from discovering Ben the Hoose to actually booking my services.

But perhaps the biggest lesson was around confidence.

I realised that I needed to step into the role of CEO of my business, not just be the designer who happens to own the business. That meant becoming more commercially minded, making decisions based on data as well as creativity, and being much more intentional about where I wanted the business to go.

That experience gave me the confidence to recognise that this is an area I want to continue developing. I have since found an interior-design specialist business coach to continue working on the commercial side of the business alongside the creative side.

So, for me, the turning point hasn't been one big client, one viral post or one huge jump in turnover. It has been a gradual shift in mindset: from building a business around my design skills to becoming the person who is deliberately building the business itself.

I think that shift is going to be one of the most important things for the next stage of Ben the Hoose Interiors.

The people I'm building Ben the Hoose Interiors for are homeowners who are creating their forever home. A home they intend to stay in and that needs to work for the next chapter of their lives.

They are often people who have invested heavily in their property and care deeply about how it looks and feels, but they can feel overwhelmed by the number of decisions involved in renovating or redesigning a home. They may have saved hundreds of images on Pinterest, bought paint samples and collected ideas, but still struggle to pull everything together into a cohesive scheme.

More importantly, they want their home to feel personal. They don't want a generic, beige, ‘Instagram-perfect’ interior. They want their home to reflect their personality, their memories and the way they actually live.

This is where colour has become such an important part of my approach. I believe that colour is deeply personal, but many people have lost confidence in using it. They worry about getting it wrong, choosing colours that won't work together or making an expensive mistake.

At Ben the Hoose Interiors, I help clients discover their colour personality and use that as a starting point for creating a home that feels authentic to them. Rather than imposing a particular style or following whatever happens to be trending, I want clients to understand what colours, combinations and environments make them feel good.

So ultimately, my audience isn't simply people who need help decorating their homes. It's people who want their home to feel like them but need the confidence, expertise and reassurance to make that happen.

Understanding this audience has influenced almost every aspect of how I've grown the business. The channels that have worked best tend to be the ones where I can speak directly to homeowners who are already thinking about their homes and are looking for guidance. It also explains why building trust has been so important. I'm not just selling a finished room; I'm helping someone make decisions about a home they may live in for many years to come.

Looking ahead over the next year, I think the biggest opportunity for Ben the Hoose Interiors is to lean even further into what already makes the business different rather than trying to follow every new marketing trend.

There is a noticeable shift happening in interiors towards personality, individuality and creating homes that feel personal rather than perfect. Pinterest's 2026 trend data is showing a move away from perfectionism and towards self-expression, with people increasingly using colour, vintage pieces and character to make their homes feel like their own.

That feels very aligned with my business and my belief that your home should reflect who you are. I think this gives me an opportunity to make my colour personality proposition much more prominent. Rather than simply talking about interior design, I want to own the idea of helping people understand their relationship with colour and become confident using it in their homes.

I also think personal, human content will become increasingly important. AI is making it easier for businesses to produce polished content, so I think the value of showing the person behind the business will increase. Instagram is still an important channel for me, but I want to use it less as a perfect portfolio and more as a way of showing my expertise, personality, projects and the thinking behind my designs. Current UK Instagram research is also pointing towards more authentic, creator-led content and treating Instagram increasingly as a search platform.

Facebook will remain important for me, particularly local groups, because that is where I have already seen the strongest evidence of the right customers finding me. I don't want to abandon something that works simply because another platform is perceived to be more fashionable.

I also see Pinterest, Google and AI search as areas with potential for growth. People planning a major renovation spend a long time researching before they contact a designer, so I want Ben the Hoose to be discoverable during that research phase, not just when someone has already decided they need an interior designer.

AI search is particularly interesting to me. As more people use ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI tools to ask questions and find recommendations, I want to make sure the business is represented accurately and can be discovered through those channels as well as traditional Google search. Generative AI usage is already becoming mainstream in the UK, with Deloitte reporting that 63% of UK consumers had used a generative AI application by May 2026.

I also think referrals and strategic local partnerships will become more important, rather than less. My ideal client is making a significant investment in their home, so being recommended by someone they already trust – a builder, architect, kitchen company, estate agent, homewares business or other professional – is incredibly valuable. I want to build a stronger referral ecosystem around the business rather than relying entirely on social media.

What I don't think will work as well for me is trying to be everywhere. I've learnt that chasing reach for the sake of reach isn't necessarily going to bring me the right clients. I would rather have a smaller, highly engaged audience of homeowners who genuinely value colour, design and professional expertise than a large audience that never converts.

Ultimately, I see the next year being about moving from visibility to authority. I want Ben the Hoose Interiors to become known for something very specific: helping people create colourful, characterful forever homes that feel completely personal to them, with colour confidence at the heart of the process.

That feels like a much stronger growth strategy than simply trying to follow whatever the next marketing trend happens to be.

I swapped London fashion for Cumbria, catwalks for colour palettes and a career in fashion design for the challenge of building my own interior design business. But the biggest lesson has been that I never really left design behind – I simply found a new canvas.

Website: benthehooseinteriors
Instagram: benthehooseinteriors
Facebook: benthehooseinteriors

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