Student Success - Beth Demore-Smith
NYIAD students are out there in droves decorating clients' homes, serving as consultants in department stores, and re-designing everything from metropolitan penthouses to lakeshore cottages. If you've started your own business, if you've been hired by a decorating firm, or if you've achieved success in some other way in the field of interior design, we want to hear from you! Click here to let us know about the waves you're making!
If you missed earlier installments of this series, here's your chance to read more about the accomplishments of NYIAD students. Just visit our NYIAD Student Success page.
“I am living my dream.” That’s a statement not everyone can make, but Beth Demore-Smith says it without hesitation when asked about her studies at the NYIAD Interior Design School and where they’ve led her.
And no wonder: she’s now working as an interior designer and showroom manager for Laurel-Lane Interiors, and loving every minute of it.
“I work with several custom builders, helping their clients design their homes. I assist my client in choosing everything from the brick for the foundation, shutter colors, paint colors, carpeting, to the design of the tile in the bathrooms and kitchens,” Beth said.
And if that isn’t enough, she also works with other designers on staging Parade Homes and model homes, and does outside decorating consultations as well. Working in a full service interior design showroom keeps her hopping, as they sell flooring, tile, accessories, furniture, and window treatments, and she consults on it all.
“My job is so rewarding,” Beth said. “I have the opportunity to help people design their dream homes. I also like helping my clients to realize their design potential.”
Beth gets a lot of great feedback for her work, saying it’s “not uncommon for my clients to hug me when I leave their homes or when we finish designing their new home.”
The intimacy of the work of a designer and decorator particularly appeals to Beth. “I have made many friends through my work,” she said. “I have clients that I’ve worked with for many years. I also like when my builders send me blueprints for a spec home. I basically get to do whatever I want!”
Of course, the field of design is not without its challenges, most of which involve depending on the many sub-contractors a designer works with. “One challenge in my work is waiting for deliveries; we may choose a certain carpet or tile for a job and it can sometimes be backordered or out of stock.”
Beth said that her training at NYIAD is what has allowed her to take off in the design field.
“My studies at NYIAD have helped me in all aspects of my career, from my early days of working on my own to my current position of drawing floorplans, color consultation, etcetera. I've always felt that I've had a natural talent for design, but NYIAD gave me the technical expertise that I needed.”
If there’s any question about how Beth feels about her career, one has to only learn that she recently had a color named after her. “Laurel Lane has her own custom color collection of 29 paint colors with Sherwin Williams. One of our most popular colors is named after me: DEMORE-LL029. If someone had told me when I first started the program that I would be designing million dollar homes and have a paint color named after me, I would have told them they were crazy!”
But that’s exactly where her NYIAD training brought her.
“I absolutely love my job — it is what I was meant to do. I started out on my own and now work with the most amazing women,” she said.
Now that she’s living her own dream, Beth advises others to follow their dreams as well. “I recommend current or future students to follow their dreams and not let anything get in their way. I encourage students to check out our website www.laurellane.com to see what they can accomplish after finishing the program. I am living my dream.”
