We recently had the chance to connect with Stephanie Calderon and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Stephanie, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Reading. It feels like such a simple answer, but I got caught in the trap of doomscrolling on social media way too often, and it just got to be too much. Now I try to carry my kindle everywhere to pull out when I would otherwise scroll. I feel like it’s slowly calming my otherwise chaotic nervous system!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Stephanie Calderon, founder and principal designer of Stephanie Calderon Interiors. We are a full-service interior design firm helping families put down roots in Charlotte, NC and beyond! Our work blends elevated design with real-life function, creating homes that feel collected, lived-in and deeply personal.
My path here was anything but linear. Though I’ve always known I wanted to be in design, I started in the corporate world in Marketing before finally taking the leap into full time interior design. It was the one thing I could get lost in for hours and totally lose track of time. All these years later, I still feel the same. This firm was built on a commitment to communication, collaboration and craftsmanship. I always say we’re a function-first firm, because what is a pretty room if it does not work the way you need it to?
We focus on new builds, major renovations and full home furnishing projects. I’m especially drawn to warm, organic, European-inspired design layered with texture, natural materials, antique treasures.
Right now, we are working on some really fun large-scale projects where we are involved from the very beginning, selecting all finishes through to furnishings. Sometimes I have to pinch myself because it was not that long ago that I was dreaming about taking on projects like this. I am so deeply proud of how far we have come!
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I have always been a creative. I believe to my core that I was born that way. As a kid, I lived for arts and crafts and when I was old enough, I would rearrange my childhood bedroom constantly. I would read home magazines and circle furnishings and decor I dreamed of having one day, long before I ever understood what interior design really was.
In high school, I presented a class presentation about how I was going to study interior design in college. I was sure of it. But other influences in my life talked me out of that path. I was told I would get bored of it or end up hating it once it became a job. So I took what felt like the safer route and went to school for Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations.
But nothing lit me up the way design did. Not then, and not later. I still found myself looking forward to picking out a new comforter and décor for my dorm room every year. And when I rented my first apartment after graduation, I poured myself into making it feel like home.
Everything clicked in 2019 when I purchased my first condo. I renovated the bathroom and started project after project, constantly improving the space and feeling more alive with every decision. That was the moment it shifted from a love to a full-blown obsession. It was clear I could not ignore this calling anymore.
So I dove headfirst into interior design and have never looked back.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
From an early age, it was obvious that I was one of those kids who excelled at the things she loved and struggled with the things she didn’t. Anything creative came naturally to me. Math and science did not. Because of that, I was often told I wasn’t smart enough to get into many schools or to have a fulfilling career later in life. Those messages stick when you’re young, and for a long time I carried the belief that I wasn’t enough.
It didn’t help that I was the only one of three siblings who didn’t go into finance in college, and later I struggled to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I felt like the odd one out, the creative who couldn’t quite find her place, because she was told the place she wanted to be wouldn’t work for her. The one still searching for direction while everyone else seemed to have it figured out.
The defining wound of my life was feeling like I wasn’t smart enough or good enough. The healing came from allowing myself to take a different path than the one others expected from me. It came from proving to myself that intelligence doesn’t always look the same, success doesn’t follow one formula, and fulfillment comes from using the gifts that are uniquely yours.
Once I leaned into the things that came naturally to me instead of trying to mold myself into what others thought I should be, everything changed. I didn’t need to become someone different. I just needed permission to become who I already was.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My closest friends would tell you that health matters most to me. And stay with me here, because I don’t just mean avoiding the common cold or a sore throat. I mean true, full-body, holistic health. I was pushed into a long health journey starting in college with gut and skin issues, constant illnesses, doctor visits that led nowhere, and feeling like something was always “off” without any answers.
It wasn’t until I started looking beyond traditional medicine and began learning about root causes, nutrition, hormones, inflammation, and stress that everything shifted. I learned that health isn’t just physical. It’s emotional, mental, environmental and relational too. It’s what you eat, how you rest, how you speak to yourself, who you surround yourself with, and what you allow in your life.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
This is our ONE life to live. So many people stay in situations that feel safe, even when they’re quietly suffocating. I really believe we’re meant to take more chances, live in the moment, and show up as our truest selves.
When I look back on the risks I’ve taken, not one stands out as something I regret. Every single one either taught me a lesson I’m grateful for today, or turned out better than I ever could have imagined.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stephaniecalderoninteriors.com
- Instagram: @stephaniecalderoninteriors
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calderonstephanie/
Image Credits
Heather Ison Photography & Reagen Taylor Photography
