Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Benedetto.
Hi Stephanie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As long as I can remember, I have been drawn to home design and decor. I remember as a little girl in school designing neighborhoods and houses that me and all my friends would live in. I remember turning our garage into a playhouse and decorating it with all the things. I remember setting up and decorating big Barbie houses but never actually playing with the Barbies. Fast forward many years, and my husband, Matt, and I would drive around looking at model homes, dreaming of what we would someday wish to have. I have always loved a well-decorated home I didn’t always have the money to spend. This is where my love for estate sales was born. I always decorated my home the best I could, with what I could afford, and people loved the style, and I began getting asked to help others with their home, office spaces, etc. I never did interior design as a job, but loved doing it for friends and family. In 2018, Matt and I decided to design and build our new home. It was the first time for us to design and build a home from scratch all on our own. The house turned out fantastic and was featured on our town’s Christmas Tour of Homes…TWICE. When others toured our home, the calls began coming in, people asking us to design and build their homes. So, with the encouragement of our friends and families and the help of an amazing architect, we began Highview Homes. We then decided to design and build another new home for ourselves. Our current home was also featured on our town’s Christmas Tour of Homes…TWICE, and from that, Blooming Ivy Lane was launched! Now I get to share all things home and family every day on Instagram and it truly is a dream come true.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Blooming Ivy Lane has been fairly smooth, but getting to this point took a lot of time and patience. We owned and operated a childcare center for 20 years so designing and building homes was not really something we ever imagined actually becoming a reality. When we built our home in 2018, we knew we had something special, but it took a pandemic to light a fire under our booties and actually start the business…
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am honestly just a regular girl who loves eating pretty spaces. I look to other great designers for inspiration and try to use that inspiration and make it my own. I am not professionally trained or educated, I just have a passion for pretty things and use that as a creative outlet. I think what sets me apart from others is that my style is collected, curated, layered, and different than most of what you see in trends. It draws people in because, while it is pretty traditional, it doesn’t lookalike everyone else’s homes.
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
I am not a big risk taker, but I do believe that we should do what we love even if others don’t “get it.” It’s always risky putting yourself out there on the internet. Haha!!! I get lots of feedback, mostly positive, but also lots of negative. I just keep doing me!!!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @bloomingivylane
- Facebook: Blooming Ivy Lane
Image Credits
Lacy Abercrombie
Shelby Coleman
