Caroline Turner didn’t plan on becoming the type of boss that other designers whisper about in their DMs but it turns out that building a team that loves working together, setting real boundaries with clients, and going viral on TikTok can do that.
After starting her firm, Caroline Turner Interiors, in Chicago nearly six years ago, Turner didn’t waste time figuring out what kind of business owner she wanted to be. “I’m the principal designer, but I’m not doing everything,” she says. “We split projects so each junior has ownership, and I can actually focus on the big picture. It changed my life.”
The business now runs with a core team of four and a few strategic freelancers, an intentionally small and mighty crew. One of Turner’s earliest hires, a virtual assistant who started at 10 hours a week, now runs her entire back-end operation from Los Angeles. “She’s my muscle,” says Turner. “She handles the tough stuff and plays bad cop when we need it. I tell her every day I’d be dead in a ditch without her and I mean that literally.”
That kind of candor shows up across the board, especially in how Turner manages her team. Transparency is a throughline—her employees know the numbers, the stakes, and the realities of running a design business. “When I get rich, you get rich,” she tells them. “We’ve ridden the waves together. They’ve seen me dip into savings to make payroll. I never had to make them care, they just did.”
Even as the firm scales, Turner holds tight to systems that preserve sanity. A $150,000 project minimum helps filter in the right clients, and an ever-growing waitlist creates a built-in buffer. “It’s like dating,” she says. “If you say you’re not available right now, suddenly everyone wants you.”
She credits much of that demand to TikTok, where she shares everything from project reveals to behind-the-scenes business insights. It’s a far cry from relying on referrals, something she’s moved away from, noting that referred clients often come with mismatched expectations. “When they find us on social, they’re investing in our voice, our process. They want us.”
That confidence in process includes knowing when to walk away. In one case, a client waited eight months for Turner’s team, only to balk when construction bids came in. “I caught it early,” she says. “I was able to say, ‘I’ve loved working with you, but we can’t keep going with this scope.’ A year ago, I wouldn’t have had that boundary.”
As for the future, Turner is exploring more hospitality work, a callback to her time with Kelly Wearstler, and continuing her podcast, Confessions of an Interior Designer, where she dishes on the real, unglamorous parts of design life. She’s also not afraid to critique the industry from within: “Not everyone calling themselves a designer is a designer,” she says. “There’s a difference between decorating and interior architecture, and knowing your limits doesn’t make you less professional.”
At the heart of it all? A belief that designers don’t have to burn out to build a business. “We’re artists,” she says. “We create spaces that people live in. It’s not just about making it pretty. It’s about making it real.”
If you’re ready for honest talk about team dynamics, pricing boundaries, and why some clients need to be let go with love, this episode is a must-listen. Don’t miss more hot designer gossip on Caroline’s podcast, Confessions of an Interior Designer.
Want more from Caroline? Check out her Website, follow along on Instagram, or tune into her Podcast.
🎧 Find the full conversation on the Hot Young Designers Club Podcast, wherever you get your shows.
