Today we’d like to introduce you to John McClain.
Hi John, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As a child growing up, my family-built homes. I would always tag long and became so intrigued by the process. Fast forward to my teenage years when I started to redesign areas of my childhood home, anything from rearranging the furniture while my parents were out shopping, to a complete renovation of my bedroom including adding on a bathroom! I also was very active in providing free design services to my friends and family (whether they wanted it or not) and bought my first home at 21– an 1886 Colonial that needed remodeling. I knew this was my calling in life, but I wasn’t sure that someone could actually make a living doing something that, to some, seemed frivolous. My big “aha” moment came when I was cast on an HGTV show, “First Time Design,” in 2009.
After the show began to air, I began receiving calls from all over the country, and just like that, my design career changed from a hobby to a profession. I jumped in head-first, started working on paid projects (what a novelty!) and even went back to college for a proper interior design education (my first degree is in the practical, but not so fun, Business Management). As I started my own little design business in Florida, I met some amazing designers from a firm in LA. Soon thereafter, I was hired to work with them and began an amazing and educating adventure designing furniture and celebrity homes in Los Angeles. My passion for design has always been a constant in my mind, but I wasn’t ready to take the plunge until all signs pointed to it. My design career is actually a second career for me, not having started until I was 32. Let me tell you, I wouldn’t change a thing about the path because I learned from each part and applied all of that knowledge to my current flourishing business that includes myself and two additional designers and my husband, Peter, who is a (non-designing) partner in the firm as well.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Honestly, my business degree and a past career in advertising sales, allowed me to apply lots of business knowledge to my current business model and made the road much smoother. Lots of people do not realize that being an interior designer is 20% design and 80% business. It’s not all pillows and area rugs! Early on, I learned lots of things by making mistakes. Things such as the need for proper contracts, managing tradespeople and just general knowledge of running a design firm. I tend to look at each “mistake” as a learning experience and always try to write it down and commit to memory the issue and how I resolved it. Life is about growing and enjoying the journey and not to beat yourself up, but to pick yourself up and keep moving!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My firm, John McClain Design, is an interior design firm specializing in high-end residential design. We provide services from decorating to full renovations and remodels. My background in renovations definitely helps me cater services to clients and avoid potential pitfalls. When I see a home, I see the finished product-all the way to the last furniture piece, not its current state. I am fortunate that I have found employees with those same skills, My approach to design is timeless, classic, and non-trendy. I have a stack of design magazines from decades past, and the constant component that I notice is that the rooms that hold classic elements are the rooms that would work in any decade. We strive to always utilize my client’s investment in a way that they will get a return on it for years in the future. Our clients trust us, so we must put thought into each and every decision. Design is a blend of all periods and styles, not one era or genre; and I feel that John McClain Design clients realize this and see the difference in our approach. We are not for everyone, but that’s OK, we want to make the customers who appreciate our aesthetic and talents as happy and satisfied as we possibly can. John McClain Design has offices in Central Florida and Los Angeles.
I also have a passion for designing custom home furnishings, and at one time, had my own home furnishings collection of lighting, furniture, and accessories, called Gilded Home. I designed all of the pieces and it was a blend of things I love, combined with other pieces that began as custom pieces for clients. Several of my furniture pieces also appear on national television shows including currently on CBS’s “The Good Fight.” I have also been fortunate to design two chairs for the Haunted Mansion collection at Walt Disney World; and being a kid whose family never made it to Disney and to then designing chairs for the company, is a full circle moment.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is contentment in all aspects of life. The older I get, the more I realize that a balance of life and work is necessary. In a business, such as interior design, it’s easy to become so wrapped up in making other people happy that you let your happiness go by the wayside. I have taught myself, and my team, to value our lives just as much as our clients. Work/Life Balance only makes me more successful in my career.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@johnmcclaindesign.com
- Website: www.johnmcclaindesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmcclaindesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnMcClainDesign
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaNKOC_fSNoimTpaJQ_rag
Image Credits
Michael Scott Photography Stephen Allen Photography Zeke Ruelas Photography Native House Photography
