101 Guide on How to Start an Interior Design Brand with MagickHome, Interior Maata and Freedom Tree

If you’re someone who binge-watches home tours on Architectural Digest, creates an “aesthetically pleasing” mood board on Pinterest for your next home decor rendezvous, or if you're an entrepreneurial keeda curious about how an Interior Design brand functions. Someone who aspires to start a business in this field, then this article is your holy grail. In this guide, we cover the ABCs of starting an interior design career, featuring top companies like MagickHome, Freedom Tree, and industry experts like Ananya Bhattacharjee, popularly known as ‘Interior Maata’ on YouTube. From brand identity and USP to overcoming hurdles and more, so what are you waiting for? Let’s dive in! 

What You Need to Know Before You Start

“Before starting an Interior Design Brand, one needs to understand these two crucial points: who are you designing for and what direction you wish to take”, says Ananya Bhattacharjee, the founder of a successful YouTube channel, Interior Maata. Here are a few extra points you need to know:

• Understand your target audience, are you catering to luxury clientele or sustainable homes
• Pick a niche and target audience, which will help you decide your brand identity and pricing model
• Come up with a solid setup, a crystal-clear vision, and an infrastructure that sets you up and a promise to deliver consistently, every single time

Brand Identity

“Launching an interior design brand isn’t just about making spaces look beautiful - it’s about crafting functional solutions that serve, last, and speak to its owners and reflect their aspirations and personality”, says Indy Pathmanathan, the Founder and Chairman of MagickHome India. 

• Align your design, style, tone and visuals to reflect the brand’s ethos
• A strong brand identity begins with knowing exactly what you stand for and why you exist
• Defining a target audience is about understanding who will connect most with your values and your work
• Audiences that appreciate craftsmanship, seek premium quality, and want a space that tells their story
• Once you know your audience, you shape every touchpoint to speak directly to them, so the brand feels made for them from the very first interaction
• And lastly, consistency across every touch point is what turns work into a recognisable brand

Tools and Skillset

• Design tools like AutoCAD, SketchUp or 3ds Max are essentials
• Having strong in-house or closely managed production ensures speed, consistency, and quality
• Leverage social media platforms by creating engaging content, something that will appeal to your niche target audience
• Strong presentation skills, confidence while pitching your ideas, and a basic understanding of accounting and sales are equally important
• Most importantly, it takes a skilled team that understands materials, ergonomics, and spatial flow to bring designs to life with precision and care

How Do You Come Up With a USP For An Interior Design Company?

“A company that combines strong design with dependable execution - whether through craftsmanship, end-to-end service, or transparent project management - creates real differentiation”, comments Pathmanathan. Not sure what your USP should be? These points will definitely help. 

• USP should be the bridge between what clients need and what you can consistently deliver
• It also lies in co-creating with clients, ensuring the space is personal, functional and timeless
• A USP should come from understanding what homeowners truly value and where the market falls short

Raw Materials and Legal Certifications

Designers usually source raw materials from vendors and do not stock them. What’s really essential is legally registering the company (proprietorship/LLP/Pvt.Ltd), GST, a current account and clear contracts with clients and vendors. 

• Raw Materials: Fine woods, laminates, veneers, fabrics, stone, metals, paints, fixtures, and finishes
• Registrations and Licences: GST registration, trade license, MSME registration if applicable, and supplier contracts
• Compliance: Labour laws, safety standards, and supplier agreements to ensure consistency and accountability

Pricing and Positioning

This is the most important aspect of starting a business. Here are a few things to note: 

• Price based on your model (per sqft, per project, or flat fee)
• Price based on the value you deliver, not just the cost of materials
• Covering costs, margin, and the value your brand delivers is equally important
• Keep it transparent so clients know exactly what they are paying for and why it is worth it 
• It should reflect the premium materials, custom design, expert craftsmanship, and complete project management

Mistakes to Avoid

“I built my brand completely from bootstrapped, with no prior business background. Naturally, that meant making mistakes, but the key is to face them and solve them with a rational mind”, says the founder of Interior Maata. 

• Saying yes to every client
• Underpricing your services just to win projects
• Working without proper contracts and payment terms
• Copying trends instead of building a unique design identity
• Overpromising and then missing deadlines can seriously hurt trust
• One big mistake is designing only for how a space looks without thinking about how it will work in daily life
• Trying to work without a reliable vendor or supplier network almost always leads to delays and compromises

How to Overcome Challenges

• Timelines can be tricky in interior projects, but having a clear, structured process from design to installation helps keep everything on track
• Managing expectations is a task, so using 3D models, detailed consultations, and proper documentation so clients know exactly what to expect
• Work with trusted partners, build long-term relationships, and always have backups ready just in case.
• Stand out in a saturated market

As per Indy Pathmanathan, these points will help you stay relevant in a saturated market. Instead of chasing speed or volume, the focus should be on creating interiors that are thoughtful, story-led, and built with uncompromising quality. 

• Stay true to your quality and work
• What truly makes a brand stand out is not being the fastest or the loudest, but being the most trusted
• Clients notice authenticity and intentional choices at every step, from the first meeting to the final walkthrough
• Stick to your niche and show up regularly, both in design and in visibility, is the mantra that has helped Bhattacharjee build Interior Maata from scratch

How to Market Your Brand

“Marketing today is about visibility and trust. A strong social media presence helps in your brand portfolio and credibility. Pair that with networking, collaborations, and consistent storytelling and your brand will market itself”, opines Bhattacharjee. However, here are a few points to keep in mind. 

• Social media works as your always-open showroom, giving people a glimpse into your style, process, and results
• By sharing before-and-after transformations, behind-the-scenes moments, project milestones, and authentic client stories, you show - not just tell - what sets you apart
• It builds trust, credibility, and connection long before a client steps through your door, while enabling continuous engagement with your target audience and sparking interest among design enthusiasts and others drawn to your line of work

After covering the basics of how to run a successful interior design brand, we now cover a different segment. This is for those who wish to start their own interior design advisory business for a broad range of clientele. From revamping homes to setting up a professional workspace, Freedom Tree has mastered this area of interior design.

“As part of our work, we advise customers on how they can do up their whole space, using our products, or others’ – from mood board to product selection, customisation, and delivery”, says the founder of the brand, Latika Kholsa.
The brand started its journey 15 years ago as a celebration of colour, print and modern Indian design. The founder noticed a gap in the market between cookie-cutter “international” Pinterest looks and local craft styles that have not evolved for generations, and thus, the brand was founded to bridge the gap. 

How do you identify and understand the needs of different audiences?

“As a design house, understanding the customer is the core of what we do. Freedom Tree, as a retail brand, evolved out of a niche consulting studio that advised major global and domestic brands on their product merchandising and visual strategies”, opines Khosla. Here are a few takeaways from the brand: 

• The brand has translated that expertise into a joyful and fresh consumer brand for home and lifestyle. We cater to the time-starved professional, the well-travelled urban Indian who is looking for something different and unique
• From paint brands to automotive, FMCG to consumer durables, their work involved deep market research, trend analysis, and colour expertise
• They translate our designs for a variety of contexts from residential to commercial to hospitality – creating boutique and beautiful spaces that are an expression of the client’s personality and lifestyle

Design Layout 

“Creating designs that are unique and practical is the core of what we do. Our design archives stretch back decades and contain hundreds of original print designs, stories, and motifs”, says Khosla. Here are a few key points you should remember:

• Start or design a new collection with the motive to convey a story
• Add to these print stories, and reviving older designs in new ways to create relevant and fresh products for the home
• In each category, plan and develop expertise on what the customer requires, the material limitations, and where there is room to play with visual creativity
• There is a common thread of storytelling and visuality that ties these pieces together, while each one is also crafted to be functional and useful for the context in which it will be used

Pricing Model

"Our products are priced at a mid-premium tier as most items are handcrafted and made in small batches”, says Rishab Khosla, the Business Head at Freedom Tree. Here are a few points to note: 

• It’s not always about price, unique designs, and premium materials, but craftsmanship also matters
• For larger, more complex, or commercial projects, one can charge up-front and in phases, depending on the scope and complexity of the work required
• In terms of our design services, the brand’s services are mostly free for consumers – whether it’s a small change in a corner or the whole house you are looking to do (our revenue comes mostly from product sales after the advisory)

Challenges and Skillset Necessary 

• The biggest challenge when scaling a business like this is to figure out the right distribution
• Be prepared to straddle a variety of distribution touchpoints while staying true to our core product strengths is one of the biggest balancing acts we perform

Skills 

“Most of our in-house designers are recruited from the top design schools in India because it requires expertise in design thinking and specific product categories (from furniture to surface textiles to clothing)”, says Rishab Khosla. 

• Supply chain, marketing, and distribution channels also play a major role
• The rest is grit, capital, and a savvy operating team that can handle inventory
• One requires formal design training and experience in understanding the customer and creating products

And finally, the Business Head opines, “Find your niche, what is the gap in the market you are trying to fill. It’s a cliché to call entrepreneurship a rollercoaster, but it’s true. It’s the daily ups and downs that fuel you, but it’s really not for everyone!

For any business to flourish, hard work, consistency, and accountability are the three pillars every aspiring entrepreneur should take into consideration. Today, the consumer looks for more than just a service provider; the consumer is aware and appreciates a brand or a company that has a story. With years of experience in this field, Indy Pathmanthan believes, “ If you’re starting an interior design brand, here’s my advice: don’t design just for the photos. Design for how people will actually live in that space. And remember, it’s not just about the big reveal; the experience you give them is just as important as the result.” Whereas Bhattacharjee suggests, “Get clarity on who you are as a designer, what kind of clients you want to work with. Once that is clear, the brand will shape itself. As the strongest brands are built on authenticity, not imitation.”