Strategies to Expand a Design Business (Maintaining Your Integrity Intact)

Interview with the Design Diva: Scaling a Multi-City Design Firm with Kate O'Hara

No bullsht advice for go-getting creatives*

June 25, 2025 ✏️ Business Celebration Design Growth

Whether you're a designer, entrepreneur, or simply someone who loves a good design-driven success story, take a seat and buckle up. Because today, we're breaking down the masterclass that is Kate O'Hara, the COO and Creative Powerhouse behind O'Hara Interiors. We've got the inside scoop on scaling a multi-city design firm without sacrificing your creative soul.

We chat about everything from defining your unique design perspective, curating your portfolio with savvy, building a team that thinks together, scaling with systems and soul, time-blocking like a CEO, letting go to level up, and embracing imperfections while staying intentional. It's a no-holds-barred, down-to-earth conversation that'll leave you fired up and ready to take your own design empire to the next level.

But first, some reflection questions to get things rolling:

What unique perspective or throughline ties your body of work together, and would your portfolio reflect that to a new client?
Where in your schedule are you reacting rather than leading? How could intentional time-blocking shift that?
What responsibilities are you still holding onto that might be better delegated to help your team (and business) grow?

So, pour yourself a hard-earned beverage and settle in for a diva-packed, no-filtered dive into the mind of a design powerhouse. Here's the skinny on what we'll cover:

Building a Design Sensation: Kate grew up with design in her blood and inherited a firm from her mom. Learn how she took the reins, added her style, and turned it into a thriving multi-city design dynasty.
Creating Your Brand Identity: Discover how Kate defines her design perspective at the core of the firm and how it anchors her team's work, ensuring a cohesive and impactful portfolio.
Scaling Up, Staying Grounded: Find out how Kate maintains her firm's unique vibe and quality of work as they expand across several cities.
The Art of Delegation: Learn from Kate's experience of empowering team members to take ownership, grow, and contribute to the firm's success.
Getting Sh*t Done: Uncover Kate's time management secrets, including how she prioritizes her agenda and maximizes her creative productivity.

So, are you ready to dive deep into the design world with a badass boss lady who's got the right stuff? Let's do this!

In our industry, growth often comes with compromise: brand dilution, creative burnout, or the struggle to maintain team cohesion. But for Kate O'Hara, it's been something else entirely: a deliberate evolution grounded in legacy, intentionality, and vision. With studios in Minneapolis, Austin, and Dallas, and a newly launched rug line under Faye Belle Rugs, O'Hara Interiors is reshaping what it means to lead a multi-city design practice without losing the creative juice that fueled it in the beginning.

In today's episode of The DesignDash Podcast, Kate sits down with co-hosts Laura Umansky and Melissa Grove to unpack her story behind building a firm that grows in both scale and soul. And, lucky for you, we're breaking down the key insights and insights for your reading pleasure. Here's the gist of the conversation:

The Root of It All: Kate didn't set out to inherit a design firm. Instead, she grew into it, shaped it, and transformed it. Her mom, Martha O'Hara, had built the business with an eye for elegance and warmth, attracting a clientele that valued custom, lived-in luxury. Kate recalls her mother's distinct style: "She's from the South, but she was living in the North. She wanted to bring that sense of Southern hospitality to any design she touched, but she also really wanted to stay versatile."
Crystallizing a Perspective: Kate's design vision solidified not in the design studio but in the photography studio. Every photo shoot became a discussion about the projects they chose to document, not on the biggest or easiest, but the ones that best represented their perspective. "Every time we photographed a space, it felt linked to our style, and it wasn't always the most popular project or the easiest client," reflects Kate.
One Size Doesn't Fit All: O'Hara Interiors' perspective is to take their clients' best selves and bring that to life in their home. However, they are still versatile, adapting to a wide range of aesthetics and priorities. The common thread is that her team brings something specific, not just their ability to do anything.
A Portfolio to Remember: O'Hara Interiors is client-centric and adapts to a wide range of aesthetics, but they also prioritize cohesion. Kate emphasizes that their portfolio isn't just a picture gallery, it's a strategic expression of their brand perspective. "We don't shoot every project-only the ones that reflect who we are," she says.
A Team That Thinks Together: In any leadership role, communication is key. O'Hara Interiors has built a team culture around solving problems instead of just working together. Kate says, "We've adopted a culture of solving problems, not pointing fingers." They also value transparency and give constructive feedback with the intention of helping each other grow.
Scale with Systems and Soul: Processes didn't appear overnight at O'Hara Interiors. They developed as the firm's needs grew. Kate emphasizes that systems enable excellence to be repeatable and creativity to be sustainable. "Structure protects your energy, it doesn't stifle it."
Time-Blocking Like a CEO: Time management is crucial for any designer. Kate blocks out time for meetings, quiet thinking, team check-ins, and big-picture planning. Her calendar reflects her priorities, responsibilities, and personal interests.
Embrace the Empowerment: Empower your team to carry projects forward and make decisions independently. This builds trust within the team and ensures continuity in design work.
Imperfect Action is Better than Perfect Inaction: Sometimes, perfect is the enemy of progress. Growth doesn't happen without taking risks and making mistakes. Embrace that, learn from the mistakes, and keep moving forward.

Now that you've had a front-row seat to Kate O'Hara's recipe for scaling a design firm without compromising her creative vision, it's time to apply these insights in your own practice. Just remember:

Define your design perspective clearly and make it a focus in everything you do.
Be discerning when it comes to curating your portfolio.
Build a team that thinks and works together, and empower them to make decisions independently.
Embrace systems to repeatably create excellence and sustain creativity.
Time-block intentionally to maximize your productivity and protect your energy.
Delegate responsibilities and trust your team to carry projects forward.
Know that progress requires taking risks, embracing mistakes, and learning from them.

By applying these principles, you'll create a design empire with a rich, meaningful, and impactful legacy. So go out there and conquer your world!

If you want to learn more from Kate O'Hara and other designers who are smashing ceilings, we invite you to join the Design Dash Community! Collaborate with like-minded creatives, grow your skills, and build your empire, all while indulging in some behind-the-scenes support and mentorship. Head to our website to join today or follow us on Instagram for daily inspo, tips, and jaw-dropping design projects that will blow your mind.

Signing off—we'll catch you at the next episode! This has been a design DAMP SQUAD Production, where we help you make some money, mingle, and maintain your mental health while stepping up your game, one design project at a time.

Written by the DesignDash Editorial Team

Our contributors include experienced designers, firm owners, design writers, and other industry professionals. If you're interested in submitting your work or collaborating, please reach out to our Editor-in-Chief at editor@our website.

[1] Kate O'Hara Interviews. (2025). [The DesignDash Podcast] - Episode #XXX. [AM Podcasts]

[2] Wellness in Leadership. (2024). [DesignDash Webinar Series]

[3] Hoard v. O'Hara Interiors. (2023). District Court of Minnesota

News: In an exclusive interview, Kate O'Hara, COO and Creative Powerhouse of O'Hara Interiors, discusses the strategic growth of her multi-city design business, striking a balance between scaling up and maintaining a unique design perspective.
Finance: O'Hara Interiors, under the leadership of Kate O'Hara, has expanded to three cities and launched a new rug line, Faye Belle Rugs, demonstrating a successful business model in the competitive design industry.
Entrepreneurship: Kate O'Hara's journey in taking over O'Hara Interiors and turning it into a thriving multi-city design dynasty provides insights for entrepreneurs and go-getting creatives about staying grounded and focused on their vision while growing their business.
Leadership: Kate O'Hara's leadership style emphasizes team cohesion, intentionality, and problem-solving, creating a supportive culture for growth and development within her design business.
Business: O'Hara Interiors, with its recent expansion and new business ventures, has demonstrated successful strategies for scaling a design business while protecting its creative soul, providing valuable lessons for businesses in various industries.