Shelby Novak of Novak Design Co.

I have always had a love for “the pretty things” in life. I originally started out in cosmetics, make-up artistry SPFX, then switched over to luxury fashion and eventually realized that interior design was my true passion. It’s funny because the passion was always there but I had never considered it as a career until the building I was living in was being renovated and I had opinions about every change I came across. So I enrolled in schooling, quit my job in fashion and started working in a furniture showroom.

I do both in-home and online design and will continue to run my business this way. But one thing that made online design so appealing was not needing to be in a specific location.

My boyfriend is Irish and while he currently lives here in Canada with me, he often misses his family and friends back home. I wanted the freedom for us to spend half the year in Ireland and half the year in Canada. But, in order to do this I would need the ability to work remotely or from where ever I am. As well, a lot of my family is out in Newfoundland & Nova Scotia so it’s nice to be able to accommodate their projects from where I live in Toronto.

I love working with clients that have a budget. I pride myself in pinching pennies and having a target number to work within. My favourite style is glam which feels the exact opposite of budget friendly so it’s fun to show people how possible it is on a budget.

One of the most unique things about my services is that I encourage people to contact me directly for custom packages. It’s not left as a last resort if the standard packages don’t fit your needs. To date I have worked on and am working on some incredibly complex spaces with clients who terminated contracts with other designers before finding me. The first thing that sets my process apart is my deep seeded knowledge of discovering client needs.

I have worked for both fashion brands Coach and Burberry. Both of which have continuous and extensive training for exactly that. While the questions you ask might be different between fashion and interior design, this has proven to be an immensely transferable skill.

Right off the bat, my online design questionnaire is 4 pages long and broken down into 5 categories – the in-home one is a tad longer. Sometimes clients are a little shocked by this, especially if they have been receiving questionnaires from a few designers. But, once I get this questionnaire back I have a firm understanding the space, the clients needs, their preferences, their lifestyle, their expectations and so on. It’s really the first step in my incredibly thorough customer journey. This helps me streamline the process and sets the project up for success right from the get-go.