Victoria Jackson: How my side hustle became my dream interior design business

Victoria Jackson started off applying her design skills to her own home​. PIC: ​Katie Pryde PhotographyVictoria Jackson started off applying her design skills to her own home​. PIC: ​Katie Pryde Photography
Victoria Jackson started off applying her design skills to her own home​. PIC: ​Katie Pryde Photography
​Stuck in a corporate marketing job, Victoria Jackson started a side hustle of interior design before making the leap full time. It’s not been easy, but it’s been worth it, she tells Gillian Harris.

Autumn is often seen as a season of new beginnings. New school terms, new projects, new homes – and sometimes even new careers.

For 43-year-old Victoria Jackson, it was autumn last year as the leaves were changing colour that she decided it was time to embark on a new venture of her own. Having worked in marketing since graduating from university, the allure of creativity and a passion for something outside of her established career became impossible to ignore. She took the bold leap from a steady job to follow her passion and set up her own interior design company – a transition that she hoped would transform not only her career but also her way of life.

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“I have always loved interior design since I was a child and had thrived on renovating all of my own homes,” Victoria says. “But I kept pushing it aside, thinking I’d never make a career out of it.”

It wasn’t until a particularly demanding time in her work life left her feeling unfulfilled and stressed that she started to properly reconsider her path. She realised that long hours at her desk and the corporate grind had begun to overshadow the excitement she’d once had for her work. Something had to change.

Realising that life is too short to spend every day in a job that doesn’t spark joy, Victoria decided to join the growing numbers of forty-somethings now making career changes in the search for more fulfilment and a better work/life balance. “I wanted to wake up and be excited about going to work,” Victoria says. “I knew I needed to follow my passion and give this a go.”

With a young family and the responsibilities that come with it, it wasn’t as straightforward as downing her marketing tools and starting afresh in interiors. In fact, her marketing know-how was what gave her the ability to start the ball rolling on the new career plan whilst still working in her current job. Creating her own website and social media accounts for her new business, Bide Interiors, she sought out clients who would allow her to redesign their homes in exchange for the testimonials and photographs that would boost her portfolio. Needless to say, friends and family were delighted to step in. “I worked on a number of fabulous rooms and learned so much along the way,” she says.

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But it wasn’t easy. “I was leading on a busy project in my marketing role at the time, then working on interior projects and attending online workshops in the evenings and at the weekend. It was overwhelming at times, but every design I worked on reignited my passion.”

Seeing how much enjoyment she was getting out of working on building her new business, Victoria’s husband was supportive of her plans and, after 10 months of building up her side hustle, he encouraged her to take the plunge fully into her new business.

It was a daunting but hugely exciting moment. “I remember going between feeling delighted and then questioning if I’d made the right choice. But deep down I knew it was time to make the jump.”

While continuing to build a portfolio for her new business was essential, Victoria felt that she wanted to do some formal training too and she began to study for a Diploma in Interior Design.

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“Having an eye for interior design and learning on the ground through real projects was invaluable,” she says. “But I wanted to ensure I understood the theory and the fundamentals of good interior design so that I could bring that knowledge to every project I work on.”

As well as taking on projects for clients, she wanted to use her own home to showcase her abilities and her unique style. “I felt like I was entering into this new season in my life and I needed something to mark the start of that.” Having recently worked on the design of an extension and layout change, she embarked upon creating an at-home studio for her work. It was a big undertaking that involved designing the space and then working with various trades and suppliers to bring it to life and create her signature design style.

“I love calming and relaxed interiors that feature earthy colours and natural materials to create a sense of laid-back luxury, so I really wanted this to come across in my studio project,” says Victoria.

However, she was mindful that this was also her family home and it also needed to fit in with family life. This was a brief she was familiar with. “Most of my clients have busy lives and want help to create homes that are beautiful but also practical for day-to-day living,” she says.

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When Victoria is working with clients, she takes the time to discover how they need and want to use their spaces, working with them collaboratively on layout and spatial design as well as on furniture, furnishings and materials. “We spend a lot of time at home here in Scotland, particularly in the chillier months, so it needs to be somewhere we love to be – a space that inspires us but also relaxes us and makes us feel calm, safe and happy. I think that our homes should invoke a sense of wellbeing.”

A shift in the seasons wasn’t just the impetus for Victoria’s career move. “A lot of my enquiries tend to come in around autumn or spring,” she says. “As we move from summer into the chillier autumn days, people are looking to inject some warmth and cosiness into their homes ready for spending more time in indoors and then entertaining over the festive period.”

Now that the days are getting shorter and we inevitably start spending more time at home, Victoria finds the earthy, timeless style of her designs lend themselves well to the autumn months and she loves to take inspiration from the outdoors, using colours inspired by nature and adding depth and warmth through natural textures. But it’s not just homes that she’s worked on since making her career change. Living in a small community, a lot of her work has come from word of mouth and she recently consulted on the decor for a local book shop, giving her a first taste of commercial design.

Further afield, she’s taken on E-design projects which are run remotely. Gathering all of the information she needs over video calls and emails, Victoria creates spatial plans, layouts and design concepts for clients, which also includes sending them curated sample boxes through the post. “These projects work really well for clients who live a little too far away for regular meetings and visits in person. I’m currently really enjoying working on a set of designs for a lovely client who lives more than three hours away in the Highlands,” she says.

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It’s clear that this new season in Victoria’s life has proved rewarding in more ways than one. So would she recommend embarking on a new career? “Definitely! It’s never too late to do something that makes you happy. There might be some challenges but there won’t be any regrets.”

Contact Victoria at [email protected]

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