Today we’d like to introduce you to Tess & Antonia Ceron.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I always had a natural desire to re-design existing spaces. My first paycheck at 15 years old was spent redecorating my bedroom. My path to a career as an interior designer was not a straight one. My father was a chemical engineer and he did not approve of any studies in a nonscience field. I did however make design my hobby. I took art lessons, and sculpting classes and redecorated the homes of my family and friends for fun. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology, I spent many years working as a scientist in academia and in the private biotech sector. I eventually left my career in science after meeting a French chef in Paris and getting married. We lived in Paris for a short time and then opened our first restaurant in the US after our two children were born. I naturally designed the dining rooms, the bars, the menus, and even the servers’ uniforms. Our restaurant clients began to inquire about who did all of the design and eventually I took on my first paying client. Four restaurants and 15 years later I opened Belle Décor & Design.It’s been nothing but fun ever since! Now I read non-fiction science books as a hobby instead of as a career! My daughter Antonia was in her third year of college and started to do some designs with me one day. She was also pursuing a career in science and always wanted to become a veterinarian. One day she woke up and made the decision to take a semester off to work with me at Belle Décor & Design and never went back. She is very creative and equally as natural at design as I am.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Opening your own business is a challenge in itself. It takes time to build a client base and to become a known and trusted designer in your area. We were fortunate enough to have the means to support ourselves without relying on the income that the business eventually made.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Antonia and I are interior designers. We assist clients in material selections for new construction homes, we re-design rooms or entire homes that need updating and/or cohesiveness and we design vacation home rentals. We also have a team of contractors to do renovations such as new kitchens, bathrooms, and fireplace/tv walls. Antonia creates renderings for all of our renovations so that clients can see what their final design will actually look like. We are most proud of our vacation home rental designs since they allow for the most creativity.
I think what sets us apart from other design firms is our ability to continually create new designs that look nothing like anything we have ever done before. We often have our clients tell us the reason they chose us is that our portfolio has such a variety of styles and not the same look for every project.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Before Covid, we would meet with clients to present our designs once they were completed.
During covid since this was not an option we began to email our designs. What we discovered was that it was less pressure on the client to make decisions and contemplate their selections before making a final commitment. We have now revised our s.o.p. to only email our designs unless otherwise requested!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.belledecoranddesign.com
- Instagram: @belledecor_and_design
- Facebook: Belle Decor & Design
Image Credits
Nicole Ceron
