A design dream, a steep learning curve, and one very cheerful rebellion
Years ago, I went to interior design school and quickly realized something: I wanted to design homes for normal, everyday people. Not just people with enormous budgets, endless square footage, and a mysterious ability to keep cream-colored sofas spotless. I wanted to help real people—with real lives, real messes, and real bank accounts—create homes that feel beautiful, comfortable, and completely their own.
At the time, we still had children at home, so starting my own business simply wasn’t in the cards. The dream was tucked away for later—somewhere between family life, work, and the laundry basket that apparently refilled itself. Now, though, the timing finally feels right. After plenty of soul-searching, planning, and conversations that began with “What if we actually did this?”, Room Refresh Rebels was born.
Choosing the name took a while. Naming a business, as it turns out, is rather like naming a child—except every promising option already seems to belong to a candle company. But this venture felt like a rebellion against the idea that interior design must be intimidating, exclusive, or wildly expensive. Room Refresh Rebels felt fun, welcoming, and exactly right.
Since then, we have set up the LLC and thrown ourselves into building the website—which has been a bit of a bear, largely because neither of us had ever built one before. The last two months have been a very steep learning curve. Some days we have felt like capable business owners; on others, we have stared at a screen wondering whether a plug-in was a technical tool or something we needed to buy at the hardware store.
Then there was social media. Instagram, TikTok, X, and the rest were a total mystery to us. The irony is not lost on me: we used to beg our children to put their phones down and stop swiping, and now I find myself wishing I had taken notes. AI has helped us learn the basics of posting and navigating this brave new world. Are we doing it perfectly? Almost certainly not. Are we learning? Absolutely. Are we occasionally proud of ourselves for adding a hashtag? Also yes.
For all the excitement, there is fear too. We both work remotely, and one of the biggest leaps will be knowing when—or whether—to leave our full-time jobs and give Room Refresh Rebels our full attention. When we published our first blog post and saw that actual people had read it, the reality suddenly landed: this is happening. I’m still not sure what frightens me more—falling flat on our faces or succeeding beyond our expectations. We have never had a huge amount of money in the bank, so even the idea of genuine financial success feels oddly intimidating. Silly? Perhaps. Honest? Completely.
But underneath the nerves is a very strong belief in what we are building. I want to help people feel the way we feel when we walk through our own front door: that little exhale, that sense of peace, that unmistakable feeling of home. Our house looks like us, works for us, and welcomes the people we love. One friend once told me she wanted to live there because she felt happy the moment she came in. Honestly, there could not have been a better compliment.
We have always loved an adventure. We have collected wonderful experiences, weathered our share of adversity, and learned that difficult chapters do not get to write the ending. My hope is that Room Refresh Rebels will become our grandest adventure yet—not only a business, but a joyful way to help people love where they live.
We also dream of creating a nonprofit arm one day, so we can refresh spaces for people who truly have no budget at all. There is a children’s home near us that we would love to transform into an even warmer, happier place for the children who live there. That part of the dream will come in time—but it is already close to our hearts.
We are preparing to launch roomrefreshrebels.com at the end of August, when we will officially be live and ready to take bookings. If your home feels tired, awkward, unfinished, or simply not quite like you, we would be delighted to help—without demanding a lottery win or a house that looks as though nobody actually lives in it.
Room Refresh Rebels is for real people, real homes, and real budgets. We are thrilled, nervous, hopeful, and ready. So here’s to bold ideas, cozy rooms, fresh starts, and proving that beautiful design belongs to everyone. We hope you will come along for the adventure—and perhaps let us help you start a little room rebellion of your own.
We are preparing to launch roomrefreshrebels.com at the end of August, when we will officially be live and ready to take bookings. If your home feels tired, awkward, unfinished, or simply not quite like you, we would be delighted to help—without demanding a lottery win or a house that looks as though nobody actually lives in it.
Room Refresh Rebels is for real people, real homes, and real budgets. We are thrilled, nervous, hopeful, and ready. So here’s to bold ideas, cozy rooms, fresh starts, and proving that beautiful design belongs to everyone. We hope you will come along for the adventure—and perhaps let us help you start a little room rebellion of your own.
The Rebellion Is About to Begin
