3 Tips for Luxury Interior Design Copywriting

The interior design industry is, at its heart, a luxury market. Yes, it has become more accessible to the masses, largely thanks to programs like HGTV and affordable retailers, but interior design is still a luxury service for most consumers.

When considering how to position your design business, you will have to decide what level of luxury you would like to convey. Comfortable and approachable? High-end and professional? Elite and exclusive?

Whatever you choose, the language you use will play a strong role — if not the biggest role — in how you communicate this level of quality and experience to your audience of clients, vendors, and partners. 

To help you laser in on the best words for your business, we created the following resource: 297 Words to Elevate Your Messaging. But once you have the right words, how do you use them?

1. Show, Don’t Tell.

In luxury marketing, using the word “luxury” should be done with restraint. Yes, you can use the term at times (especially in the backend of your website for SEO), but make sure that it matches what your client expects to see.

In other words, if your ideal clients value luxury goods and services because they are luxury (think “Keeping up with the Joneses”), you can use the term a little more liberally. If your ideal clients are more reserved and value luxury goods and services more for their superior quality, level of customization, and time saved, using the term “luxury” will resonate less.

If your clients fall into the latter camp, you have to be more subtle — elevated word choice, descriptive writing, a beautiful portfolio, and awe-inspiring credentials will be most effective.

2. Fewer Adjectives. Better Verbs.

When trying to write beautifully, it is easy to fill your sentences with descriptive adjectives or adverbs. This is where writing can start to feel flowery or over-embellished. If this type of writing fits your ideal client — e.g. design aficionados who love to read — it can work for you.

However, you are more likely to benefit from concise and powerful word choice instead. It feels higher-end and also accounts for the short attention spans most people have when viewing a website.

How can you keep descriptive writing concise and visually compelling? Do so by cutting out your adjectives and using strong verbs to convey the same ideas. (P.S. This takes practice! Even the most experienced writers have to edit adjectives out.)

3. Create a Brand Word List

Starting from scratch every time you write a blog post, craft a social media caption, or create client documents is a huge time-suck AND requires renewed brain power.

Instead, spend 1-2 hours creating your “brand word list” using select words from this guide or even phrases that incorporate these words. (This is what we do for our Brand Messaging clients.) Then, stick to your list.

This approach not only makes your life easier but the repetition will allow potential clients to start connecting those words to you, making them your reputation — AKA your brand! This resource can help you dig deep into what makes your brand special so that you can find the right words to match.

4. Understand the Elements of Tone

Your tone is the “voice” your target clients will hear when they encounter any written elements associated with your design firm. Along with word choice, tone is what differentiates you from your competitors, doesn’t sound like it was written by AI, and connects with your ideal client. We like to summarize tone with this equation:

Word choice + punctuation = tone

If you have a friendlier, more approachable brand, we suggest that you write how you speak, polish it up a bit with powerful words, and then make sure that the punctuation flows in the way you want it to read. If your brand is a bit higher-end, a professional tone and a touch of distance can make it feel elevated. (P.S. There are many ways to warm up a professional tone — professional and personal are not mutually exclusive!)

5. Seek the Right Inspiration

The best writers read. That doesn’t mean you have to become a writer (or a big reader), but consuming content you love will help you emulate the tone or message you desire. For example, we often read luxury design magazines — to inspire new ideas and grow our own lexicon — but we don’t stop there.

If you stick to literature in your industry, you’ll soon find that words and ideas are like trends. One or two stick, get repeated over and over again, and then feel a little stale. Consuming content outside of the usual design articles and social posts will make you more likely to uncover fresh ideas — or have your own!

Our team loves to read books in fiction, nonfiction, and even fantasy to open our minds and ensure we’re always evolving. (You know you’ve found the right crew when we’re all buddies on Goodreads!) What would you like to add to your list of inspiration? Only you can decide.