Meet Bre Oriolo | Interior Decorator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bre Oriolo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bre, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I started this business in reaction to losing my husband. Great loss + grief is a catalyst to taking a deep look into your life. “Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” -Mary Oliver When you realize just how precious life is, you want to make sure you’re spending it doing something you love. I thought I was going to be in the education field my whole life. I realized, though, that I wanted flexibility and freedom. I wanted to work, and I also wanted to become a mom and be able to have a career that supported flexibility and freedom with that. Step one, I knew I’d need to start my own business to have that. Step two, was figuring out what I was passionate about to pursue. Interior decorating fit the bill, and it was something I could have a business in. It was a huge risk, a huge leap. And also, I couldn’t totally go back to the “before” part of my life. Before the catastrophic loss of my first husband, Patrick. My life would always, from then on, become the before and the after. Split in two. Hence the name of my business, 2nd Story Interiors. Deciding to really live my life meant fully investing in my 2nd story. And fitting enough, when you’re redecorating and redesigning spaces, you’re giving them a 2nd story.

Risk is also a big pillar for my business. While I never just outright push clients to go big + bold in decorating, I’m always asking them to take a risk, to go just outside of their comfort zone. If you imagine gutsy levels of 1-5, if someone is a 1, I just push them to be a 2. Already at a 4? I’m going to push them to a 5! Why not? You only have this one life to live. Go for it! Make it count!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets me apart: I don’t want to do boring designs! My business motto/tagline is: “Keep it interesting.” Again, that doesn’t mean big + bold. For some people, who might be used to taking little risk in decorating, it means adding textures, or small pops of color. And that’s ok! My goal is just to move clients a little outside their comfort zone. This is what I’m most proud of. I had a client who was redecorating a den area. I walked into the space and immediately thought of a great (but somewhat dark) color for the space. I showed it to her. She said, “I don’t know…” She ended up going for it. Once I showed her the completed design concept, and the way the sofa fabric + color would pair with the wall color and other tones in the room, she felt more confident going for the darker, bolder color. She loved it when it was all done and pulled together, and THOSE are the moments I’m most proud of. The moments when clients fall in love with their space/home because they just went for it!

How I got here? Definitely not easy. While I have an eye for decorating and design, I knew next to nothing about business, or owning one. And design schools + programs don’t teach that aspect of it. I learned a lot by doing and even more by making mistakes. I signed up for online design (business) coaching programs, listened to designer podcasts, joined online designer groups, started going to furniture + design markets….the list goes on. I now have a handful of designer friends that I keep in regular contact with. I feel so lucky to have them–they help me work through challenges, grow + learn, and we get excited with one another about our fun design work.

Life lesson? It’s ok to ask for help. For most of my life, I’ve been a strong, independent woman. But sometimes (even as a kid), for me that meant never asking for help. Proving I could do it on my own. When Patrick died, I needed help. I had to learn to ask for it. I couldn’t stay alone in my house for months. My friends and family had a sign up/schedule for who would cover shifts. I’ll never forget that. It seeped into my business…because in order to grow my business, I had a lot to learn. Now I’m comfortable asking my designer friends for help with something, or asking a rep questions for a project. And while some might not understand how I could be friends with other local designers (aren’t they competition?), I’m all about helping each other grow and lifting each other up.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Food: My two favorites are Abigail Street + Mama’s on Main. Abigail Street is small plates style and I cannot describe how everything is delicious. Mama’s on main- eggplant parmesan and tiramisu every time. Both places are decorated beautifully which is also a big draw for me.

Coffee: My family’s favorite thing to do on weekends is to go to different coffee shops around the city. I’d take my best friend to a different coffee shop each of the seven days: Coffee Emporium, Urbana, Unataza, Ludlow Coffee, Villa Mocha, Mom n Ems, and Roebling Books and Coffee.

Hotel Covington: good food, drinks, gorgeous lobby area, and stunning rooms.

Contemporary Arts Center or any of the other great art museums.

Factory 52: this is a new spot for us and we are so into it. We’ve played pickleball there twice now and consequently huge fans of both the sport and location. There’s food/drink, pickleball, Jeni’s ice cream (yum), shopping…so much to do there.

Bookstore: I’m a huge reader. Roebling Books + Coffee or Joseph Beth are two great local bookstores.

My husband, Vince, and I love collecting records. Everybody’s Records or Shake It Records are our local faves.

Walking Tour: Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky have so many fun and interesting neighborhoods. We have a book called Walking Tour of Cincinnati and it tells you the route to walk, with stops to highlight different places and fun facts about the area. We have learned so much about our city and found some amazing spots we otherwise wouldn’t know about.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This is so tough because it took a HUGE village to get me through really tough days and years. However, I’m going to focus on the business aspect. A few years ago, I was part of a girl boss group. At the end of a day retreat, they encouraged us to find an accountability partner. To be honest, I’ve always felt accountability partners were baloney, surface level, not all that helpful. Yet someone at my table named Brooke asked me and I couldn’t say no! We started out by scheduling work sessions together. That turned into a regular thing, plus random texts to talk through business successes + challenges. Flash forward, 4.5 years later, and we talk/text almost every day. Owning your own business can be challenging. I’ve so appreciated Brooke being there for all the ups and downs. For keeping me going, and on this rollercoaster of (mostly) fun! There are days when you want to give up, and she’s there to remind me that it’s normal to feel that way. And there are days I’m on top of the world, and she’s there to celebrate with me! Most importantly, she’s now one of my best friends. I can’t imagine if I had snuck out of that girl boss retreat without snagging her as an accountability partner.

Website: https://www.2ndstoryinteriors.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/2ndstoryinteriors

Facebook: https://facebook.com/2ndstoryinteriors

Image Credits
Laura Hicks
Kim DeVilbiss