Inspiring Conversations with Karen Hattan of Home by Hattan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Hattan.

Hi Karen, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Karen Hattan: Thank you for this opportunity to share! My backstory into Interior Design is not the usual one. I did not grow up around the business, no one in my family worked in design or architecture or even anything artistic or creative, but rather my parents were Social Workers, and their parents before them were farmers and teachers. So my journey took some twists and turns to get here. But being the daughter of Social Workers, and a person of Christian faith, I have always wanted to help people — particularly help people live better lives by learning and growing and improving.

So following along the family path at first, my initial career was a school teacher. I have a degree in Elementary Education and I taught school for 7 years at Crieve Hall Elementary. I loved teaching, and I learned so much from that career. You have to be very organized, patient, intuitive, and resourceful when you teach in public schools! And these traits help me in my career today, as I put together beautiful homes for my clients. Although I loved teaching and I loved the families I worked with, I felt somewhat confined in that job (& underappreciated!). I took a job as a pharmaceutical sales rep, earned “Sales Person of the Year” for my District, then decided to stay home and take care of my growing family. During this time, when my children were very young and I was substitute teaching, I hired a designer to help me change some colors and update my bedroom and kitchen in my own home. She (and others) kept telling me, “Karen, you can so do this yourself!” and “You should do this!” I knew I loved choosing colors, creating rooms, putting things together … so I started taking classes and trainings and got certified as a Home Stager. That quickly led to Home Design, and now I get to do what I love to do: create beautiful and functional homes that improve people’s lives!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
While my journey has been wonderful in so many ways, it has not been without its struggles. As a woman entrepreneur, my biggest challenge has been trying to strike that balance between my personal life and the growth of my business. My business grew so fast (which is terrific!) that I did not have any systems in place to handle it, nor did I have a business plan of any kind. No one in my family growing up had ever run a business before, so this is all very new to me. I am learning as I go, and that process has not been without its mistakes and many looooong hours as I try to take care of everything – the business, my family, my health, my finances, my clients, my employees, my design projects — all the things. Being a successful entrepreneur takes a lot of time, energy, and focus, and I feel like sometimes I sacrifice my family time and even my health to make sure I am “taking care of business.” My family and my friends are very important to me, and trying to find balance and keep my priorities straight is a daily struggle. I now have a business coach, and 2 part-time employees (that are fabulous) to help me along the way!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Home by Hattan is my Interior Design business based in the South Nashville/Brentwood area. I am known for creating homes with livable luxury, homes that are beautiful but also support the lifestyle of the people who live in them. I work with and for my clients to create their gorgeous, personalized space, through a fun and efficient process.

My philosophy is that a home should be beautiful and functional, meaningful to the homeowner, welcoming, and inviting. I love a good mix of timeless and trendy pieces, beloved treasures mixed with new statement-making pieces, and the little special moments, all thoughtfully designed together to provide a cohesive, peaceful home for my clients.

My background in education and my heart for people drive my business. I bring skills learned in the education field to what I do now. I love to teach people about themselves and how things work together. So, whether I am instilling a love of reading in a child or helping an adult discover their style, it’s about taking a personalized approach — I use in-depth discovery tools and compassionate listening to help each client discover what functions best for themselves and their family (including any special needs), what look they want to convey, and what makes them happy — and then I make sure it all looks good together!

I have created a very extensive and efficient multi-step process, to design spaces in the most stylish way possible, and in the most organized and efficient way possible! We are busy people these days and I find this is an important service to offer my busy clients.

Because I like to serve all sorts of people, I offer 3 tiers of service, ranging from Full Service Luxury Interior Design and Renovations to simple One-Time Design Consultations. My most popular service as of late has been “Design in a Day.” This is when I spend a full day with my client, guiding them in their design decisions and getting a lot accomplished! I can design an entire room, with links for the client to purchase all items and a floor plan defining where to put each item, within our 6-hour time period — so clients get a lot of bang for their buck! Some clients choose to use their Design in a Day selecting items for a renovation project, such as counter tops, tile, faucets, lights, flooring, or paint colors. The day belongs to the Client, I am their expert for the day, and at the end of the day, they have their Design!

My ultimate goal is for clients to feel proud and happy when they come home at the end of the day! 

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
It’s easy to work with Home by Hattan, or just follow along for fun and design inspiration! My website is www.HomebyHattan.com and it has lots to offer — free Design Booklets and info sheets to download, information on my services and my portfolio, blog posts with design trends and information, and a button to click that schedules your FREE Discovery Call with me! 

You can follow along on Instagram or Facebook at @HomebyHattan, and you can subscribe to my blog! 

I love meeting new people and working to create beautiful, happy homes throughout Nashville! Follow along and say hi! 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.homebyhattan.com
• Instagram: @homebyhattan
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/homebyhattan
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stQOJlJwOW8&t=53s HomebyHattan

Image Credits
Jodi Totten-Fialkowski