The Story
It began as a staging business: Cara’s career in marketing, coupled with a love of houses and interiors made it easy to connect with realtors, and she began styling occupied homes on evenings and weekends.
The first pivot came after earning a certificate in home staging, leaping in with both feet for an inventory-building trip to High Point Market, North Carolina. That week, that corporate life was officially exchanged for a full-time small business launch!
When staging, we work with homeowners and real estate agents to make changes that maximize a property’s equity. Owner-occupied or vacant, we know what features to highlight, appealing to potential buyers. Sell quickly – for the best price – with the least stress!
The next business pivot came via requests from former staging clients, asking Cara to bring layout ideas, color guidance, furnishing recommendations and styling magic to their new home. The furnishings and procurement arm of the business began to grow quickly.
While we continue to maintain an active and fresh staging warehouse – with the help of some fabulous assistants - the majority of our weeks are spent in full service design, and we couldn’t love it more!
Germain Design provides:
⌘ Full service interior design
⌘ Complete furnishing plans, procurement, installation
⌘ Window treatments and wallpaper selections
⌘ Paint color consultations
⌘ Home staging consultations
⌘ Vacant home staging installations
⌘ Vacation home furnishing and short term rental (STR) interior decor
Contact us at 612.548.4065 to find out how we can work together and achieve fantastic results.
Meet Cara
Cara Germain Gustafson, Founder and Principal Designer, has over 25 years’ experience in visual design, advertising (Fallon, Carmichael Lynch) and marketing (3M, Thomson Reuters).
Raised as the fourth generation in a family business, she started honing her communication and listening skills at a young age, eagerly awaiting every visit to Minneapolis’ International Market Square to search out the newest inventory and trends.
By her early 20’s she was managing advertising photo shoots and cultivating a strong eye for design. In 2014, she began pivoting her corporate marketing career and MBA towards her passion, formally opening Germain Design LLC.
Mom of two joyful young kiddos who keep her in perpetual motion, Cara has a special appreciation for pet- and family-friendly interior design. She conceptualizes new room looks, styles beautiful spaces, and sees her clients through full-service décor projects.
Credentials
⌘ Interior Design Society (IDS) member
⌘ RESA member (Real Estate Staging Association) and founding board member of the Minnesota chapter
⌘ Certified Staging Professional (CSP), trained under Cathy Hobbs of HGTV’s Design Star
⌘ High Point Market (NC) and Las Vegas Market Attendee and avid Style Spotter
