Meet Elizabeth Ryan | Principal at Elizabeth Ryan Interiors

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Ryan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, what do you attribute your success to?
While the typical answers about hard work and perseverance of course apply to success in most companies, including mine, the most important factor has been my perspective on what success is. By separating success in the business and what my business’s success says about me has been a huge factor. The drive towards success isn’t personal when we recognize our personal worth isn’t tied up with how much we grow our business. By realizing this and reminding myself often, I can look at business decisions more objectively, be humble about listening to advice and push forward more confidently.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Elizabeth Ryan Interiors is an interior design firm and we believe style is deeply personal—no two families are alike. Everything we create for our clients spaces is custom selected—from finding their personal color palettes to nailing their style with unexpected takes on materials, texture, and lighting.

I’m most proud about how we run the design process. Our clients are busy people and are trusting us with their sanctuaries as well as their hard earned money. We have worked really hard to adapt a streamlined, stress free process. The entire goal of interior design is to create beautiful spaces that feel authentically good—and we think that getting there should feel just as lovely.

I resisted interior design in school, perhaps simply because I pictured over done window treatments and fussy details. I started towards engineering and business, but design won overall. There is a very large technical portion to interior design, and it turns out it was the perfect fit for my creative, yet analytical brain.

After 10 years in commercial interior design, I left the work place when my third child was born. Before that mini Ryan could sit up I had friends asking for help with their homes and I worked on projects that grew in scale as my kids grew. The most challenging part about this growth was when I wasn’t running my business as a business. My hours were erratic, my billing was inconsistent and I said yes to more than I could reasonably do. Stressful. I reached out to my husband Adam (who did stick with business school) and together we dove into researching what truly made interior design firms work. Game changer. To this day we are constant students of other design professionals, ready to soak in all of the helpful advice and pass along the same knowledge to new designers.

Our brand is all about our clients – revealing their personal style and guiding them through the project process. We’re known for mixing unique colors, textures, and little personal touches.

This is what I would want the world to know about Elizabeth Ryan Interiors – it is a business whose success stems from learning from mistakes. Learning, changing, fixing, growing, listening, these are all actions that have formed this design firm. My love for pretty spaces could only take this company so far – we had to reach outside and find the best way to make our business better.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Day One: Do – The Dallas Museum of Art – its my favorite. It is a fantastic collection and is housed is such a pretty building. It doesn’t open until 11, so we should for sure grab coffee first. Eiland Coffee is a local roaster and they just opened a coffee shop in Richardson.

Eat – Uchi for the best sushi

Day Two:
Do – The Katy Trail for a run through the city. This trail runs through the heart of the city and is maintained by local donors who also love Dallas. There are art installations along the way.

Eat – La Duni – meals here are always followed by a dessert from their amazing bakery. This is why we ran 7 miles on the Katy Trail!

Day Three:
Do – Shopping in the Design District. Lula B’s and White Elephant are two of the antique stores I like to browse through, but there are many great shops along Riverfront Blvd.

Eat – Town Hearth – everything here is just so good. Best cocktails, creative sides and fun atmosphere

Day Four:
Do – The Sixth Floor Museum – this is so well done. With beautiful photography it tells the story of the day JFK was shot, from the very spot it happened.

Eat – The Fifth in Richardson – fun fact, I helped design the interior of this recently renovated gem!

Say Five:
Do – Rooftop Yoga at The W hotel. Such a great way to see the city and meet lots of travelers and locals. Oh and a great workout.

Eat – Neighborhood Services – you have to ask for the something with the voodoo sauce, it just makes it all better.

Day Six:
Do – more shopping – Henderson Avenue has another collection of great shops for furniture and art.
Inwood Village and Pavillion on Lovers Lane for cute boutiques.
North Park Mall has great stores, but what I really like is their art installation. You can google a guide and just browse this if you are shopped out.

Eat – Terra at North Park Mall – ask to sit on the patio, the prettiest one in town.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Adam Ryan, the Operational Genius behind Elizabeth Ryan Interiors not only guides our businesses processes, but he is a wise mentor who keeps my feet on the ground! What started as me asking him for help with my taxes has evolved into Adam supporting ERI with business and financial guidance on a full time basis.

Other mentors who have taught me so much about running an Interior Design business are Sandra Funk of House of Funk and Zoe Powell of Williams Design. I could list so many in the design community I have met along the way – people who love this industry so much they just want to lift up others!

Success can’t be achieved without encouragement and my biggest cheerleaders have been Adam and my good friends Melissa von Goertz and Kristine Hunton. Each of these people have listened when my confidence wavered or a day was discouraging and they nudged me to continue. I would also add to that list each client who has trusted me to design a space that reflects them and the way they live.

Website: www.elizabethryaninteriors.com

Instagram: @elizabethryaninteriors

Image Credits
Stacey Jemison