Life & Work with Valerie Buchanan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Buchanan.

Hi Valerie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I’ve been passionate about Interior Design for as long as I can remember. From watching the shows on HGTV to incessantly rearranging the furniture in my bedroom and, when that got boring – in my parent’s home (to their delight, ha-ha!). When it came time to pick a career path, I had grown up being taught that anything in the creative industry would be better suited as a hobby, and I couldn’t make a living as an artist or designer. I took a gap year, which turned into 4 gap years. I was 20 years old, and long story short, getting out of a terrible relationship and simultaneously being evicted from my apartment. My parents invited me to come back home until I got on my feet again, and I thought, ok, now is the time for me to go back to school – what am I going to do? I was 1 “next” button away from applying to a nursing program when I said screw it, scrapped my application, and used to an Interior Design course. While in school, they instilled in us how competitive the industry was – as is any other creative pursuit. I wanted to graduate and have an edge against my classmates when entering the workforce. So I started offering design consultations and services for free to gain experience, build my portfolio of a true body of work and get a hands-on feel for what it was like to work in the real world, outside of the classroom. Slowly but surely, my name got around, and I started landing paying clients – while I was still in school. When I graduated in 2014, I began applying for work and continued working flee lance. In 2017, when I launched my first company with my then-business partner, I finally decided to quit my full-time job and commit to my business. It wouldn’t grow if I sat behind a desk working for someone else. We grew so, so fast after that. We easily turned around something like 20-40 or more projects a year. Flash forward to April 2021; we had just rented and moved into our first office space. I was planning my wedding and had finally climatized to our workload and found a balance between life and running a business – when I was diagnosed with Stage 4, Triple Negative Breast Cancer. At the same time, my partner was experiencing health issues, so we decided to part ways and closed the company. In one fell swoop, my life seemingly crashed and burned before my eyes. However, the very same circumstances that brought me to my knees were the catalyst to making my experience and appreciation of life at a capacity I could have never imagined. Since my diagnosis, I launched my new company, designed a furniture line I’m releasing next year, continued working on incredible projects with wonderful clients, got married, and went on an amazing honeymoon in France for 2 weeks. And I’m in the process of getting ready to launch a non-profit to raise money for Breast Cancer research. And – I’m currently cancer free.

You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Not. Starting a business with no experience or guidance has its road bumps. Still, every uncomfortable place I’ve found myself in has been an opportunity to learn and grow. So despite the setbacks or hard days, I’m grateful to now have the experience. Because hard times are an ever-constant part of our day-to-day lives, and so each tribulation I encounter, I feel better equipped to handle it than I did the last time. And there’s a sense of self-confidence and power in that.

We all recently had to learn how to navigate a global pandemic. I live in Canada, a province where our restrictions were incredibly severe for the better part of 2 years. Our industry was deemed non-essential and shut down for some time. Meanwhile, I had clients who needed more basic amenities at home, like a kitchen or bathroom. Another client had sold their home, and their new build was shut down, so they scrambled to find a place to live. Following that, the industry has greatly suffered due to shortages of materials that we are still greatly impacted by and experience to this day.

Navigating life and a new normal after a cancer diagnosis was a whole other beast. I went from being “go-go-go” and always putting my business first to needing to learn to slow down and put myself and my health first, and if I didn’t do it on my own, my body certainly put me in check. I was very fortunate to have been able to go through treatments with very few side effects, so I continued working full-time all throughout, except for a few hospital stints.

Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an Interior Designer. I specialize in high-end, contemporary residential design, but if a project has a good budget or vibe – I’ll take it on! My work style, design style, and experience set me apart. My work style is laid back and easygoing. I don’t like to force my ideas down my client’s throats, and I prepare a series of workshops or outings with them in the initial stages because I want to see what they gravitate to – even if they don’t realize it. And then, I use that intake and translate it to my design proposals for their project. My design style is on the playful side. I like to use lots of color or bold elements. Your home should be a reflection of you, and I believe our spaces have the potential to shape our lives and so it’s important to create a space or a home that you feel inspired by. In terms of experience, I have a background in custom cabinetry. One of my first jobs outside of freelance work was designing shop drawings for cabinets and construction purposes. I design a lot of built-ins in my projects. Part of the reason we were so successful initially was that I had submitted plans to a cabinet shop for quotes. And the owner was so amazed at the quality and detail of the drawings that they just started referring me to any clients that had approached them that didn’t have a designer. In some “dire’ situations, I had also been contracted to re-draw other designers’ plans so that they were to code or more realistic, for lack of a better word, construction-wise.

I’m most proud of myself for following my heart. I’m one of those people who, when someone tells them they can’t do something or won’t accomplish something, like to do it twice and take pictures, haha, so knowing that at the forefront of when I started on this career path, people. My own family would constantly like to remind me this will probably never go anywhere. Only a low percent of designers make it, “are you going to keep your real job, though” seeing where I am today entirely and utterly fuels me to keep going, keep learning and keep growing.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Trust your instincts, and take risks – even if you fall flat on your face, it’s a good learning experience. Never say no to trying something new.

Pricing:

• Every project is different. In lieu of pricing (because its going to cost what it costs) I’d like to share something I always tell my clients. Your investment in your home is incredibly personal. You’re not going to miss the extra money when you’re enjoying your home sans problems and flaws. But you are going to regret saving that couple hundred or thousand dollars when you’re paying twice the price to replace something shortly down the line. At the end of the day costly mistakes as a result of trying to cut corners hurt more than money well spent.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.valeriebuchananinteriors.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valbuchananinteriors/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valeriebuchananinteriors

Image Credits
Christopher Scheepers Photography