Winnetka’s Leigh Dyer has worked successfully in the interior design space for more than a decade, helping clients solve large-scale décor conundrums. But there was one problem she just couldn’t wrap her arms around.

“I was getting requests all of the time for what I call one-off projects,” Dyer says. “Things like window treatments for a living room, or pillows for a sectional sofa, or wallpaper for a powder room. I was constantly turning people down because I was so busy with larger projects. But no matter how many people I turned away, the requests kept coming.”

A turning point occurred in 2020 when Dyer received an ask from a former client to have two pillows made and Dyer struggled with where to send her for help.

“I realized that there was this white space—this opportunity—that was open for a designer to take on smaller projects like the pillow request,” Dyer explains. “But the only way this could really work was by using technology and by streamlining the process.”

So, Dyer tapped her friend and fellow Winnetkan Kim Mancini, someone she knew as a consumer of design who was also steeped in technical know-how and had a strong understanding of how revenue models work.

“Leigh first reached out to me in 2020 and asked questions about what it would take to build an interior design platform,” Mancini says. “I gave her the names of a few developers to speak with about carrying the project forward. Then in 2021, she reached out again and said ‘Listen, I have this idea and I don’t want to do this alone. I know design and you know technology.’ I thought Leigh’s idea was brilliant from both the tech side and from the consumer side and we decided to see what we could do if we put our heads together.”

And that’s exactly what they did. Dyer and Mancini created a platform called Interior Agency. “The idea is that our clients have ‘agency’ or input over their design projects,” says Dyer. Here’s how Interior Agency works.

• New clients are asked to complete a personal profile, answering 11 questions that allow Dyer to assess how a client lives in a space, what their style is, and what they may be looking to spend. There is no cost to take this first step.
• Once the profile is complete, Interior Agency responds within 48 hours by providing a description of your lifestyle and what they think you will like.
• From here, a client can initiate a project from the number of services Interior Agency offers from making pillows, designing window treatments, reupholstering existing furniture, choosing wallpaper, or selecting paint colors.
• After the project is started, Interior Agency has three to five days to turn around a mood board. From here, the client can select up to five samples to have delivered to their home.

“This is where the magic happens and where the client sees that they really control the timetable,” Mancini says. “We differentiate ourselves by responding quickly but allowing clients the time they need to make decisions they feel good about.”

While Dyer and Mancini never step into the homes of their clients, they do rely on their talented tradesmen to confirm measurements and perform installations.

“We’re not going to place your order for wallpaper or window treatments without knowing exactly how much you need. We never have the expectation that you’ll know how to have them installed,” Dyer says, having worked with and thoroughly vetted all the tradespeople she hires. “Even though technology plays a big role in this platform, we still hold your hand throughout the process.”

Dyer and Mancini recently had a client come to them with a living room project.

“She had great basic pieces but felt like her room was a white box,” Dyer explains. “This particular project was a blast to work on as the client needed our entire portfolio of products. The client’s Style Profile is: ‘Bold, funky, and pragmatic.’ We embraced the ‘bold’ descriptor by using gorgeous Pierre Frey animal-print fabrics on her window treatments and pillows. And then we incorporated ‘funky and pragmatic’ in the reupholstering of the client’s X benches. We selected a Jane Churchill hot pink velvet that makes a statement but is also durable. The client has four children so, although the room is chic, it is not overly delicate,” explains Dyer.

Mancini and Dyer understand that this new way of working may be difficult to understand at first.

“This is decorating,” Dyer says. “Having gone to school, been trained as an interior designer, and then having worked in this industry, I believe in this craft. Our new approach isn’t meant to cheapen the design experience—it’s really meant to give access to good design to more people.”

Interior Agency did a soft launch in the fall of 2022 and now has more than 22 clients, many of whom are repeat clients with multiple projects on the books.

“This is how we will grow,” Dyer says. “Satisfying our current clients so much that they come back to us with new projects and tell their friends how easy it was to work together. It will always be quality over quantity for us, but it’s very exciting to think about where this could go.”

To learn more, visit interioragency.com.