If you are HGTV obsessed like we are, then you might recognize our latest Industry Spotlight star, Kristina Crestin! Kristina is a New England based designer who has been featured on This Old House and will soon be starring in her own show alongside Jonathan Knight, Farmhouse Fixer! In between her filming schedule and existing design projects, Kristina chatted with us about her experience in television, how she grew her business, and the apps she can’t live without!

Tell us a little bit about yourself! How did you get your start in interior design?

I had a pretty direct line to get to interior design. I was always obsessed with Legos and building. When laying out houses in Legos I’d never mix colors - ever ! I went to Endicott College in Beverly, MA which was a lovely place, small classes, right on the ocean and a new place to me - the North Shore of Boston. I fell in love with the area. I got a great senior internship and ended up working at that firm directly after school for about 8 years. Endicott’s program is very internship focused and was really helpful in learning what interior design really was vs what you think it is.

You won HGTV Designer of the Year in 2019 - congratulations! And now, you’ve been granted every designer’s dream - a TV show with HGTV! Can you tell us more about it?

Thanks for the congrats on the award. At first, I thought I won the ‘living large in small spaces’ category then saw the overall winner email. It almost didn’t feel real - my first national award! I’ve thought off and on of seeing if TV was something I'd like to try. I love what I do but I like the idea of stretching yourself to learn something new in an associated field. I had the opportunity to do a season of This Old House, where I got my feet wet on being both the interior designer and then being the talent that has to carve out time to do the filming as well. It was a really fun experience and a new thing to learn and experience. That was my moment of feeling like I wanted to do more. Off and on since then I've had production companies reach out and gone through the first stages of Skyping and interviewing but nothing ever panned out. I didn’t proactively take on looking for it either. I got a call one day from the production company sharing some info about the show and asking if I would want to interview. They let me know my friend Jon was hosting the show but needed a designer and would I be interested - the answer was OF COURSE!

We love Farmhouse Fixer’s goal: “Honoring older homes while giving the homeowners all the modern conveniences they are looking for.” What’s one of your favorite ways to bring new life to an older space?

This is always the most delicate of balances! It’s trying to meld modern day functional needs with the visual and textural cues of antique homes. I have a love affair with architectural salvage, though as it’s gotten trendier I always take a step back and say, “Is this the right use?” Layering in actual materials that are old or utilizing skills and craftsmanship that may be a lost art are great first steps. Treating the planes of the house and paying attention to them vs just filling the house is always a starting point. My background is on the interior architecture end of the interior design spectrum. So before thinking about decor we start with walls, ceilings, lighting etc. We think about how to take those old ideas and do something fresh without being too trendy.

Sometimes color can be a simple tool. Painting trim with color, for instance, is a VERY traditional thing to do but it’s always shocking to clients and feels like such a new idea. Whether it’s bold like a bright blue trim in an old home or moody like a charcoal, that change alone can really add differentiation.

Lighting is also a great tool to employ. Thinking about a whole floor’s decorative lighting selections and how you can update that with a new common design thread is another tactic I take. The bones can stay classic, but bringing in a new finish or a retro vibe with lighting, as long as it’s thoughtful and consistent, can add a new layer of interest and breath new life into a space.

What was the process like for landing the show?

An interview, then a few more. I had the benefit of the host knowing my skills and making a suggestion as well as their market research around the area. My past experience at This Old House was probably helpful. Candid interviews and just being myself was my take on the process and then sitting back to see what they thought.

Do you have any advice for designers trying to gain some more exposure?

Before the exposure, one of my biggest tips is to dream and really think about where you want to be in 10 years. What size firm? What types of clients? What sort of work life balance (ha!!) and then figure out how to backtrack to get there. Someone else’s path isn't necessarily for you.  If you want exposure - why? What are you trying to achieve? When I started my firm in 2009 I didn’t utilize any photos of work I had done when working for another firm. I didn't have a website for about 3 years. I started in a really scrappy grass roots way. I called general contractors. I joined Rotary and got involved in the community and I gave away so many hours to charity auctions. That was pre-Instagram!

I didn’t just magically start landing larger jobs. I jumped to working with a photographer I could barely afford and invested so much sweat equity into buying things, begging for product, borrowing art etc to stage the home the way I wanted it to end up to get that message out there. I STILL do!  Not every client finishes a job, project fatigue is real and most of the time you never see your vision realized.

So if you want to put great work out there then you need to invest time and sometimes lots of money to get it there. If someone is unwilling to take that risk then that jump to the bigger game may never happen. I am saying this as a girl starting a business with $3,000 we set aside and then needed to invest in CAD and bookkeeping software. I felt like scrappy was my middle name! Putting yourself outside your comfort zone can reap big rewards.

Cooper and Dixie might be our (totally objective) favorites on your team. Can you introduce them to the rest of our readers?

Yes!!! Cooper is our rescue dog, a Weimaraner / Lab mix (or so we were told). We got her around 5 months old and she’s had a lucky dog life of coming to job sites, and coming to the office to pester my staff and be showered with love. She also happens to be VERY photogenic. We actually just applied for another Weimaraner mix to adopt. She looks like a doppelgänger to Cooper! Fingers crossed. 

Lulu - Oh, my other girl. I don’t know when I started dreaming of tooling around in a vintage turquoise truck, but I had been thinking about it and saving for YEARS. I hate red and when we saw her she was red and cream. Yuck. I knew we could paint her, so we jumped in, purchased her and connected with a restoration guy to help us make her a daily driver. We haven’t completely tackled the inside yet but I did track down some gorgeous African Mudcloth on Etsy, got it knit backed and had it upholstered to the seat backs so I could get rid of the red and cream. Each time I open the door it makes me so happy. Did I mention how good she sounds? Duel exhaust. A nice rumble. I come from a car and truck loving family, can you tell? It's in my DNA!

Your team seems pretty tight-knit - especially having your mom as a member! What’s it like to work with family everyday?

I have to chuckle - my Mom would say first thing, “When we're at work, it’s work.” I’d like to say we have more fun than the world of social media might show, but that is probably inaccurate. We’re so busy I always feel like I’m in fast forward. Outside of the TV show, we’re working with almost all past clients which makes our immediate circle of trust feel wider, which is lovely. If I didn’t work with Mom I might not see her for weeks with my schedule. Even before COVID and TV I was working most weekends. So thank goodness we can see each other at work! When Cooper comes, it’s a good forced break to take a walk around downtown and carve out some time to catch up. I’m thankful I’m surrounded by talented ladies I like. It makes such a difference in your work life to walk into your space with people you admire, respect and trust. I know my names on the door but literally at this point I couldn’t do it without them. Liz, Caroline, and Stephanie keep me sane! 

What’s the competition like in the New England area? How have you set yourself apart locally?

There are designers everywhere on the north shore! Our little coastal region north of Boston has tons of designers. But my take on it is there is always enough work to go around and we should all support each other. I refer work out to many talented friends and acquaintances, and even meet new ones because we’ve shared leads or frankly because I’ve reached out saying “Want to be my designer friend?” I don't work on setting myself apart. I work at really doing the job right, listening to the client, having fun in the process and hope that all that translates to thrilled clients, really good referrals, spectacular end product photos and getting publishing opportunities. I really believe if you put good Karma out in the world it will come back. Work at your craft and be nice to people. 

What is your perspective on the contractor/designer relationship? Do you work with the contractor directly?

It is SO important! I can’t stress that enough. And I am NOT saying that even though I met my husband at a job site. In all seriousness creating a team where mutual respect and sharing of ideas is important. Kirby, my husband, has on more than one occasion said, “Well it works on paper” and he is 1000% right! Depending on the design track you take, our experience is almost never in the actual act of building and installing. You go to school and learn broad brushstrokes. You hopefully have a great internship that gets you out of the office. Then as you grow you hopefully have a job with a skilled mentor that you learn how things go together. Then to build on that you are in the field and you see what works and what doesn’t. No matter how good all that experience is, you still don’t really know what it’s like to do the job. So I have the utmost respect for general contractors, their guys in the field, and all trades.

The more one can collaborate the better the finished product can truly be. If you don’t have that camaraderie and shared respect I think you’ll never have the best job possible. We typically work from the very beginning on projects, so we are very heavily involved with the general contractor. That includes daily and sometimes hourly calls. I take calls before 7am to key general contractors as they know I am up and we all need to share info to keep things moving. If you are a junior designer or an entrepreneur starting their own business, really focus on developing contractor relationships and learning every little thing you can each time you talk.

The word “functional” can sound boring, but your functional design is straight up magical. Every last detail is thoughtfully, functionally planned for. What’s your secret to sleek but livable design?

Listening, thinking, planning. Taking the needs of a homeowner, filtering it through our experience and then sharing how we think we can achieve those goals. Our reply, “OF COURSE you can have XYZ,” can work, but in my experience to find the right outcome, “You can have this, this and this, but that isn’t going to be successful,” is a better response. Using our words, our experience, and thinking 100 steps ahead to guide the outcome is where the magic of design happens. 

If you could leave your fellow designers with one piece of advice, what would it be?

ONE?! I guess I’d say be who you want to be. I’m candid, I’m casual, I am outgoing, which I’ve been told can sometimes make new clients or contractors think I am less skilled and knowledgeable than I am. I’ve heard this many times but I let them learn after a few meetings that I know my stuff, I understand construction, I’m willing and open to collaborate and I am going to get things done. Not only am I going to get things done but it’s going to be thorough, organized and make everyone’s life easier. I’m a team player and I want everyone to be proud of the outcome. I want to create a home my clients love and that feels right for them. 

Rapid Fire Questions

Top 3 apps?

I have 5!

HT Pro - It’s a time tracking app that you can use with as many clients as you want, plus export in all sorts of ways. I live by it throughout my day. 

Evernote - We use Evernote for note taking, tracking, just about everything. Today on a job site I needed to reference the number for a salvaged door I found. I had tossed the contact info and photos into Evernote and it was so easy and fast to find. 

Keynote - We build all our client presentations in it, organizing by space or room. Everything is tracked here, screen shots, notes, dated comments after meetings, etc. We share with clients so they have a running commentary on where we are at.

VSCO - My go-to for photo editing for Instagram. So easy. 

Unfold - How I make all my Instagram stories consistent! Pic a theme and STICK to it from a  branding point of view.

Favorite accent color?

Turquoise! Is there any other? It’s my long standing obsession. I can work on a project without it, so long as it’s never red. It’s ok for exteriors, but never inside. We all have our thing!

Best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

This is easy. The day I gave my resignation I called my Papa to tell him and he said, “Remember kid, us Shropshire’s don’t get sh*t, we give sh*t.” He’s 95 and they are words to live by if you're going to be in the building world! Perhaps not in a nasty way, but taking it from a point of view that you can be strong, stand your ground and be gracious too.

 For clients on a budget, what’s one item to invest in and one to save on?

I always believe in a mix. I am a big believer in spending on millwork. Saving can be done on small pieces or big pieces. It's honestly different for every project. Right now on a project I bought the most inexpensive cabinet hardware I’ve ever chosen so I could have spectacular island lights that are the first thing you see. I guess that’s where the magic of a skilled designer matters - knowing how to mix the highs and lows!

Item you cannot leave home without? 

My phone? Literally that would be the answer. But if we’re past the obvious I’d say my DJI Osmo Mobile 3. It’s a Handheld gimbal stabilizer for taking video’s. Since our world has turned into Instagram as the leading way to market ourselves you never know where you can get a quick video. Once you get over feeling stupid walking around with it its a great tool and completely worth the money!

Best styling accessory to have on hand?

Plants, plants and more plants. When all else fails, bring in more. Someone said once “It’s amazing how a house can swallow plants.” Meaning you might spend $500 on house plants for a shoot and it feels like you bought nothing. But nothing else makes a space feel more like home so quickly. 

Favorite era of design?

Now. I respect the past, but I love the mix of old and new that is my design style. I can appreciate other genres, but I honestly don’t have a love for any in particular. I pull from a variety as needed and when it’s applicable.

For more of Kristina’s work, visit her website, give her a follow on Instagram, and keep an eye out on HGTV for Farmhouse Fixer, airing soon! If you loved this industry spotlight, be sure to catch our other Q&As with professionals in landscaping, architecture, design, and more!

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