Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellie Stein.
Hi Ellie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Before I even went to college, I knew that interior design was the path I wanted to take. I interned for an amazing interior designer that I grew up next to in Birmingham, AL, in high school, and I never looked back. I went to Auburn University, and my major was basically decided for me at that point… Interior Design wasn’t even a question. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit, proved by a few off-topic endeavors, so starting my own design firm was always a vision of mine as well. Studying under Auburn’s nationally ranked design program allowed me to see all possible avenues of the design world and after my hospitality design studio class, I decided I HAD to pursue this route. My goal was to learn as much as possible, as fast as possible, and what better place to do this than New York City? There were few firms that I idolized after my hospitality design studio and got the opportunity to work for one of them right after I graduated. I tell people that this experience was like drinking water out of a fire hose… I learned SO much and got to be mentored by the most incredible and kind design team at Meyer Davis, where I saw everything from the architectural detailing of a private golf club in Florida, to creating custom furniture drawings for a luxury resort in Cabo, to even the top of the luxury residential world in the city. I likely would have stayed there my entire career, but my husband got a job that took us across the nation to San Francisco. I was pursued by my first client right as I was moving to SF and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but I knew I would work myself dead to make it happen…. so in July of 2023, Stein Studio was born. Through the move and my first few months in SF, I worked 10-12 hour days while I kept my full-time job for as long as I could and worked on my own client projects after hours. Once I had my first project install, I knew I had to take the leap and officially threw everything I had into Stein Studio full time. From there, I have been “building the plane as I fly it”, constantly giving everything I have to refine processes and prioritize my client’s experience with our firm, in order to create something people want to come back to again and again. After relocating our firm to Nashville and starting our studio journey over again, we are proud to be growing roots in Nashville. Today, our studio specializes in historical renovations and boutique commercial projects and we have about 8 projects at a time in various scales that are scattered across the Southeast.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I wish I could say it has been a smooth road!
One of the biggest struggles I faced was the moment when I decided that I was going to make my own design firm my full-time job. Taking that leap required a complete belief in what I was building, which I absolutely had, but it also required some sort of combination of sheer will to just make it work, as well as a slight fear of the unknown.
A struggle that I am facing today is growing our team. My team is currently 3 people: myself and two part-time employees. I am currently working on bringing on my first full-time hire, and I am constantly being reminded that this feels like the same leap I took when I started my firm. I want my team to be able to believe in what I am building, and I want them to feel like they are building a career here and not just working for a paycheck. I also want to ensure that when I take someone’s career into my own company’s hands, I can really cultivate the experience in a way that gives back to both my employees and my clients in the best way possible.
I think if it was easy, everyone would do it!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Stein Studio is a full-service, architecturally focused interior design firm based in Nashville, specializing in residential historical renovations and boutique commercial interiors. We guide projects from the earliest architectural decisions through finish selections, custom furnishings, construction coordination, furniture execution, and final installation. Our work ranges from new construction and full-scale renovations to thoughtfully layered furnishings, with projects throughout the Southeast.
We are known for creating interiors that feel warm, collected, and deeply personal while being grounded in functionality. Our goal is to always achieve a marriage of Southern warmth, modern discipline, and timeless design. Rather than imposing our own signature look, we begin with the architecture and the people who will inhabit the space and use these driving factors to guide the design. Every project is developed around its own story, which creates unique interiors that feel meaningful, functional, and appropriate to their setting.
Stein Studio is set apart by our specialization in design integration. This is essentially the thread of carrying a strong creative vision all the way from the initial concept and vision to the hard deliverables of project completion. We firmly believe that an idea is only successful when it survives the many decisions involved in construction and becomes a functionally beautiful and finished space. Our studio combines architectural detailing, careful documentation, project coordination, and highly considered material and furnishing selections within one seamless process. This continuity protects our clients’ investment and allows them to enjoy the experience without having to manage every detail themselves.
We are especially proud to have built a brand around permanence and timelessness, especially in a world that can be so driven by trends. Our work is intended to become more meaningful with time: spaces meant to be kept, materials chosen to age beautifully, and rooms capable of holding a family’s or organization’s story for decades. We are also so proud to have earned the trust our clients place in us. Clarity, dedication, and ownership are central to our service, and we want every client to feel that they have a true advocate guiding the project from beginning to end.
We currently offer full-service design as our main service offering, which is a fully managed process where our clients share their goals and vision. From there, they only have to make key decisions, while our design team handles the many details required to bring the vision to life. This process is ideal for clients who want a cohesive, professionally executed result without managing the process themselves.
We also offer a “Design on Demand” service, which is a remote design service that allows clients to lead their own project with the expert advice of a designer to help guide their process and ensure they are making the right decisions the first time. This may address space planning, paint and finish selections, furnishings, lighting, styling, product sourcing, renovation decisions, or an overall design direction. This service is best suited to clients who are comfortable managing purchasing, contractors, scheduling, and implementation themselves but value expert direction along the way.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I think luck is always a part of anyone’s success, but I like to attribute it to God’s favor instead of pure luck! There are so many relationships, path crossings, and pure coincidences that have happened as I have been building Stein Studio and I know that I could NOT be anywhere close to where I am without those things happening! Without it, I really do not think I would have a business anymore.
Pricing:
- Our Full Service Design is roughly $40-130 per sqft (low-high range) for furnishings
- Our Full Service Design is roughly $15-45 per sqft (low-high range) for design fees
- Our Design on Demand service is roughly $5,000 per full room (scope dependant)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stein-studio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stein_studio_/
