The Scope: Custom Showit Web Design with Light Branding
The Vibes: Warm, minimal, refined
The Industry: Interior Design
When Stephanie Buss came to me to create Buss Studio, she already had something a lot of new businesses don’t: beautiful work and a growing reputation built almost entirely through word of mouth. What she didn’t have was a dedicated online presence that established Buss Studio as its own interior design studio and gave potential clients a place to see the level of work she creates.
The goal wasn’t to build a massive website or fill every page with information. Stephanie wanted something simple, warm, and incredibly refined that could introduce the studio, communicate the feeling behind her work, and most importantly, let the portfolio speak for itself.
That became the foundation for both the branding and the website. Rather than trying to make Buss Studio feel flashy or overly luxurious, I focused on creating something quiet and confident, using warm neutrals, sophisticated typography, generous space, and a very intentional approach to what information actually needed to be on the page.
Establishing Buss Studio as Its Own Brand
Buss Studio is connected to the larger Buss Farms family business, so creating a distinct identity for the interior design studio was an important part of the project from the beginning. Stephanie wanted Buss Studio to feel like its own elevated brand while still carrying the warmth and sense of connection that are central to the way she approaches design.
Her philosophy is rooted in the idea that a home should do more than impress guests. It should be a place where families gather, relationships grow, and people actually want to spend time together. That meant the branding couldn’t feel overly formal or precious, even though the work itself is firmly in the luxury interior design space.
We built the visual identity around a very restrained palette of warm off-white, taupe, and deep mocha brown, keeping the color palette intentionally narrow so the photography could remain the star of the experience. A classic serif typeface creates the elevated, editorial feeling Stephanie was drawn to, while an all-caps sans serif adds a little structure and modern contrast.
The result is a brand that feels sophisticated without being intimidating, which was an important distinction for Stephanie. She wanted prospective clients to feel welcome rather than overwhelmed by a luxury brand that felt too polished or untouchable, so every visual decision was made with that balance in mind.
A Website That Knows When to Say Less
The finished website is intentionally simple, and that simplicity is really what makes it work.
Stephanie was drawn to interior design websites that didn’t overwhelm visitors with endless pages, complicated navigation, or paragraphs explaining every possible service. She wanted potential clients to be able to quickly understand who Buss Studio is, see the quality of the work, and then decide whether they wanted to inquire.
So instead of creating a website that tries to answer every question before someone has even reached out, we created a clean, portfolio-focused experience that gives the photography plenty of room to make an impression.
The visual design stays quiet throughout the site, with warm backgrounds, restrained typography, and generous spacing creating the feeling of a high-end editorial portfolio rather than a traditional service-based business website. The minimal copy is intentional too. Stephanie’s work is visual, and the website doesn’t need to compete with it by filling every available space with words.
That also meant thinking carefully about what the website needs to do now versus what it may need to do later. Buss Studio is a growing interior design studio, so I built the website with room for the portfolio to expand as Stephanie completes more projects and has them photographed. The site doesn’t feel unfinished because there aren’t dozens of projects yet. Instead, it gives the existing work space to breathe while creating a foundation that can continue to grow with the studio.
Underneath all of that simplicity is the strategic side of the project that visitors don’t necessarily see. The website was built with foundational SEO, thoughtful page structure, mobile optimization, and the technical pieces needed to give Buss Studio a strong starting point in search, even though the visible experience is intentionally pared back.
Creating a Digital Home for Buss Studio
The finished Buss Studio website isn’t trying to be the loudest interior design website on the internet, and it doesn’t need to be.
It establishes the studio as a distinct luxury interior design brand, gives potential clients an immediate sense of Stephanie’s aesthetic, and creates a polished home for the portfolio she will continue building throughout Central Ohio. More importantly, it feels like the kind of spaces Stephanie creates: warm, considered, elevated, and designed around how people actually live.
For a business that has grown through personal referrals, the website now gives those referrals somewhere to go. Instead of simply hearing about Stephanie from someone they know, potential clients can visit Buss Studio, experience the visual direction of the brand, explore her work, and get a sense of what she does before deciding whether to inquire.
And as the studio grows, the website can grow with it, giving Buss Studio a long-term foundation rather than something that will need to be completely redesigned the moment the portfolio gets bigger.
Your Work Deserves Room to Speak
Your website doesn’t have to be complicated to communicate the quality of your work.
For interior designers, especially those working in the luxury space, a thoughtful brand and beautifully designed portfolio can often say more than pages of copy ever could. The key is creating enough structure and strategy behind the scenes that the finished website feels effortless to the person experiencing it.
If you’re an interior designer who has built your business through referrals and beautiful work but your online presence hasn’t quite caught up, I can help you create a website that feels refined, intentional, and completely your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a luxury interior designer website look like?
There isn’t one specific formula for a luxury interior design website. For Buss Studio, the goal was to create something warm and elevated without making the brand feel cold, overly formal, or inaccessible. A restrained color palette, sophisticated typography, generous spacing, and strong photography created that feeling without needing a lot of decorative elements.
How do you make an interior design website feel high-end?
Luxury often comes through restraint. Instead of adding more elements to make a website feel expensive, thoughtful typography, beautiful photography, intentional spacing, and a cohesive brand can create a much more elevated experience. For Buss Studio, the minimal design allows the quality of Stephanie’s work to do most of the talking.
Does an interior designer need a large website?
Not necessarily. The right website structure depends on the business, the audience, and what potential clients need to know before reaching out. Stephanie specifically wanted a simple, portfolio-focused website rather than a large site explaining every service in detail, so we designed around that preference instead of adding pages simply because we could.
Can a portfolio website grow with an interior design studio?
Yes. A portfolio website should be built with future work in mind, especially for an interior designer whose projects will continue to be photographed and added over time. Buss Studio’s website provides a strong foundation for showcasing new projects as the studio grows without requiring the entire site to be redesigned every time the portfolio expands.
Jordin Brinn is the founder and lead designer of Unica Formo — a creative studio in Columbus, Ohio, specializing in custom Showit website design and brand strategy for service-based businesses like coaches, consultants, therapists, creatives, and wellness professionals. With over a decade of business experience, she helps clients bring strategy, clarity, and personality to their online presence.
Explore design services and free resources at unicaformo.com.
