by Suzanne Huntzinger | photos by Jacquelyn Renee Photography
Home & Willow just opened a new design studio in January 2022 at the Hub & Spoke Design Center in Fishers. Although the location is new, owner and founder Stacy Stater and her team bring a full house of experience in the design industry.
After working 18 years at a design firm, strong encouragement from her husband and brother-in- law convinced Stater to branch out on her own. She opened Home & Willow in April 2021, out of her home, and moved to the new studio in January 2022. When she told people the news, they told her “Thank God, we’ve been waiting for you to do that.”
Home & Willow’s rapid growth has necessitated the growth of the design team as well. Stater ensures consistent service to all Home & Willow clients by training her staff of eight to carry out her core values and keep her main mission in focus – helping clients make their house a home. She even incorporated those values into the company name. “I chose Home to represent the company’s home design service, and Willow for its deep-rooted, botanical nature allowing it to prevail in the strongest of storms,” Stater says, “I want our staff to be giving and flexible and go with the flow.”
Opening and running an interior design studio in the middle of a pandemic has presented some positives and some challenges. The housing market has shifted priorities for homeowners, motivating them to either build a new home, buy a bigger existing one, or update their current home. No matter what their situation, Home & Willow is ready for it. “The home is the most important place in everyone’s life, and our job is to create a space that provides a respite and order from the chaos of daily life,” Stater says.
Stater and her team always start with the same approach. “It’s important to build trust. It’s a tremendous honor to be trusted enough to be invited into someone’s home,” she says, “You’re traipsing through master bedrooms and baths and such, and the client is very vulnerable. We get to know their style and personality and prove to them we can transform the house into something that reflects them, not us.”
Stop by Hub & Spoke to visit the Home & Willow studio and see firsthand the wealth of creative ideas for your home. Call (317) 288-5045, or visit homeandwillowdesign.com to learn more or schedule.
