Building a Design Studio While Preparing for Motherhood
20 December - Read, From the Studio
I don’t think people talk enough about how hard it is to build something while your body is doing something equally massive — and completely out of your control.
Building a design studio is hard.
Being pregnant is hard.
Doing both at the same time? Brutal. Beautiful. Exhausting. Emotional. And sometimes… honestly, a little unhinged.
I started this business because I love design. Because I love creating spaces that feel intentional, warm, lived-in, and deeply personal. But I didn’t start it because I thought it would be easy — and I definitely didn’t plan on doing it while growing a human.
Yet here we are.
The Version of Me That Works vs. The Version That’s Pregnant
There’s the version of me that thrives on momentum.
The one who can sit for hours refining layouts, tweaking elevations, sourcing finishes, and obsessing over the smallest details because details matter.
And then there’s the pregnant version of me.
The one who:
Can cry over cabinet hardware
Gets winded walking up the stairs
Has to lie down after a client call
Stares at her to-do list and thinks, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Some days those two versions coexist beautifully.
Other days they are actively fighting each other.
I used to measure productivity by output — how much I could get done in a day. Pregnancy forced me to redefine that. Now productivity sometimes looks like answering emails, finishing one drawing, and calling it a win.
And honestly? That shift has been humbling in the best way.
Building Something That Feels Like Me (Even When I Don’t)
There’s pressure when you’re launching a business — especially a design business — to appear polished, put-together, and always confident. But the truth is, I’ve built this studio during one of the most vulnerable seasons of my life.
I’ve had days where I felt incredibly capable and grounded.
And days where I questioned everything — my timing, my energy, my ability to juggle it all.
Pregnancy has stripped away any illusion that I can do everything perfectly. And weirdly, that’s made my work better.
I care more deeply.
I listen more closely.
I design with more intention.
Because when your life is changing this much, you stop designing for trends and start designing for how people actually live.
The Emotional Whiplash No One Warns You About
There’s excitement. There’s fear. There’s gratitude. There’s anxiety. Sometimes all within the same hour.
One minute I’m envisioning the future — my business growing alongside my family — and the next I’m panicking about timelines, finances, and whether I’m biting off more than I can chew.
Building a business while pregnant teaches you that you cannot muscle your way through everything. Some days require rest. Some days require surrender. Some days require a good cry followed by getting back to work anyway.
I’m learning that strength doesn’t always look like pushing harder. Sometimes it looks like slowing down and trusting that consistency matters more than speed.
What This Season Has Taught Me
This season has reshaped the way I work — and the way I want this studio to grow.
I want a business that:
Honors real life
Allows for flexibility
Values quality over chaos
Leaves room for motherhood and ambition
I don’t want hustle culture.
I don’t want burnout masked as success.
I want something sustainable. Something honest. Something human.
Because if I’m designing homes meant to support people’s lives, then my own business should support mine too.
Moving Forward (With Grace, Not Perfection)
I don’t have it all figured out. And I don’t think I need to.
What I do know is this: building a design studio while preparing for motherhood has been one of the hardest and most grounding experiences of my life. It’s forced me to slow down, be intentional, and stay deeply connected to why I started in the first place.
I’m proud of what I’m building — even on the days when it feels messy.
Especially on those days.
Because growth rarely happens in perfect conditions. It happens in real ones.
And right now, this season — emotional, exhausting, beautiful, and uncertain — is exactly that.
