EP 551: Serendipity Designs: The Art of Custom Drapery, Upholstery & Small Remodels

What makes Sandra Taylor-Moore with Serendipity Designs a good neighbor?

We talk with Sandra Taylor-Moore about the art and strategy behind creating beautiful, personalized spaces without the overwhelm that can come with home design decisions. As an interior designer, Sandra shares how thoughtful planning and education can help homeowners understand their options and make confident choices when updating their homes.

One of the biggest misconceptions we discuss is that custom window treatments are simply about picking a fabric and installing curtains. Sandra explains why the details behind custom drapery—including fabric quality, yardage, construction, and design choices—have such a major impact on cost. She also shares why inspiration photos from places like Pinterest can sometimes create unrealistic expectations when it comes to matching a specific look and budget.

Sandra walks us through the range of services she provides, from custom drapery and window treatments to bedding, upholstery, flooring, wallpaper, and smaller remodel projects. She explains how her process starts with understanding the homeowner’s vision, evaluating the space, and providing realistic guidance before moving forward.

We also talk about the importance of knowing what you’re investing in. Sandra shares why educating clients about materials, craftsmanship, and long-term value is a key part of her approach. She explains how similar-looking designs can vary dramatically in quality and price depending on the textiles and construction involved.

The conversation also highlights how Sandra has grown her business through referrals and relationships. She shares why a no-pressure approach and genuine service have been central to building trust with homeowners throughout Richardson, Dallas, and the surrounding areas.

If you’re planning a home update, redesign, or renovation and want to better understand the process behind custom interiors, this conversation offers practical advice to help you start with clarity.

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Guest Info: Serendipity Designs | https://serendipityds.com/design-gallery/

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of an interior designer? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Sandra Taylor Moore with Serendipity Designs. Sandra, it's lovely having you on today. Now we are so excited to learn more about you and your business. So go ahead and tell us just a little bit more about your company.

What Serendipity Designs Does

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Well, my company, we do custom drapery, upholstery, bedding, small remodels. I was trained as an interior designer by going to college. And then when I got out, I worked in the flooring industry, the wallpaper industry, the I helped builders spec out things for homes. And then I started my own business.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

Wow. So you really do it all, huh?

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Yes, I try. But what I really like to do is I really like to just help homeowners understand what they're getting and why they're getting it. I think that a lot of times you have no idea where to start. And so that's what I really like to do is just to help you understand how to start refreshing your home in whatever way you might need.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

And

Pricing Reality For Custom Fabric

SPEAKER_02 1:20

where does your passion for helping homeowners stem from?

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Well, I really believe that it comes from God. I believe that He gave me the gift of service and he gave me the talent to do what I do. And so, I mean, I love meeting new people. People make fun of me and they say that I gather people. I like to collect people wherever I go. And a way I get to do that is by coming into your home and learning more about you and who knows where to go from there.

SPEAKER_02 1:47

Wow, Sandra, I really love that. Now, since you have so much knowledge about your industry, what is one misconception you'd like to address for our listeners today about what you do?

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Well, because I really focus more on custom bedding and draperies and window treatments, I think that people have the idea that it's affordable. And it's really, it's not what people think. It's not the prices that you get from pottery barn or from restoration hardware or whatever. These are custom products that your fabric can be anywhere from $50 a yard to just the other day I quoted out a job that has $400 a yard fabric. And so it can vastly differ in prices from the price that your fabric is, right? The labor, the lining, the rods, the installation, that's all the same. It's the fabric that drives how much something costs.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

Wow, is there a general range that you'd like our listeners to know before they get themselves?

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Well, that's the reason why the way that I really like to deal with it is I like for you to text me your picture of your window or your piece of furniture or whatever and give me some dimensions, and then I can run some numbers and tell you where you might start at, right? Where you end at is totally determined on what the price of the fabric is. People get on Pinterest and they think, oh, I like that board that somebody made. Well, they have no idea that fabric on that board is like $500 a yard. And then they want me to find something that looks like it. Well, there isn't anything that looks like it. That's why it cost $500 a yard.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

Wow. Well, we're gonna go ahead and switch gears here for a second,

Ideal Clients And Word Of Mouth

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Sandra. Now we know that marketing is the heart of every business. So who is your ideal client and how are you reaching them today?

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Well, my ideal client is somebody that needs a refresh of their home by getting their new draperies or new carpeting or new flooring or things like that. Then I just come in and give you some options to try to understand where you're coming from and knowing what you want in your own space because every space is different. Every individual is different. And there's no project that's too small for me. If it's just a couple of pillows, I'm more than happy to help people with that. Or if it's a small remodel job, I can actually help you with that as well.

SPEAKER_02 4:02

And how are you reaching these homeowners today?

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Well, I have never really advertised. I do it all by word of mouth. People just refer me because I've done their house or their friends know that I've done it. And God's been really good to me. I just, I really, and I really prefer that whole referral thing because then they kind of know what they're getting into before they get into it, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:28

100%. And Sandra, with everything changing so much in the world today, do you ever foresee yourself having your own podcast for this business, maybe even in the future?

SPEAKER_01 4:39

It's so funny, Sophia, that you would say that. I was with a young 27-year-old last night, and she was like, Miss Sandra, I think that you should make podcasts, and I think you should do this, and I think you should do that. And I was like, Emily, right now I'm just focusing on taking care of my clients. And I I'm very busy. And so I'm very busy with my work. I'm very busy with my ministry. I'm very busy with I help people do feed my starving children, which is a place here in Richardson where we serve to package food to send off to foreign countries. I'm just a busy person. And so to sit down and make a podcast, just doing this, I was like, okay, if somebody else is doing it, I'll give it to them. But me doing it, I don't have time for that.

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Understood.

Ministry Community And Real Life Hobbies

SPEAKER_02 5:23

And Sandra, in terms of your ministry and your business, do you ever combine those two approaches together?

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Well, anytime you meet me, I'm gonna tell you what I do. I teach a Sunday school class at a church downtown Dallas. And so it's for singles over 50. And so I'm always promoting that because I think that people need people. And I think that I think at this age, it's really hard to make new friends. And so I want to help people be able to do that. And then I serve at the place in Richardson, Gulf Be My Starving Children. So if you lived locally close here, I would invite you to come serve with us the first, the third Thursday of every month. I also am part of a networking group here in Richardson. That's TFW Christian Networking. And so I'm always inviting people to come to that. If I meet you at the gym, if I meet you, I can just talk to you at the grocery store and just invite you to go do all these things. And I've made friends just by doing that. They come to my house and play games and we socialize just like I said, because I just really I'm a people person. It's easy for me. For a lot of people, it's not.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Well, Sandra, it sounds like you have a master's degree in stewardship, but outside of work, outside of your ministry, what do you do for a little R?

SPEAKER_01 6:35

I love to play games with my friends and with my parents.

SPEAKER_02 6:39

I love that. Any Uno, any favorite games?

SPEAKER_01 6:43

We love to play katan. It's a game. I don't know if you're familiar with what that is. It's kind of monopoly on steroids and it's a lot of moving parts. It's overwhelming at first, but then once you gather what all's going on, it's really fun and we're very competitive. And it's just a lot of back and forth. Just really fun. Makes for a fun evening.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

That is amazing.

No Pressure Consulting And Brand Story

SPEAKER_02 7:05

And focusing back here on the grand takeaway you would like our listeners to take with them from learning about your business today. What would that number one takeaway be? And what do you feel are your greatest differentiators in the industry overall?

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Well, I think what might what makes me different is it's not about the sale to me. If I make the sale, that's great. If I don't make the sale, I'm at you. And so I think that there's just no pressure. It's just uh it's just an activity of trying to figure out who you are and what you could do in your home. Of course, I do charge by the hour for that experience, but with that experience, I think that you walk away knowing what you could do and what the cost might be. And then if we move forward, that's great. If we don't, like I said, I got to meet you.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

I love that. And Sandra, there is one thing I'm definitely curious about, and I think our listeners are too serendipity designs. Why that name?

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Well, my name is Sandra Renee Taylor, and then whenever I got married, it was more. And in my divorce, I had to give up that name, SRT Designs. And I had to rebrand myself. And so I picked a name that had an S and an R and a T in it. And it also basically serendipity means right time, right place, right idea to me. And so it just encompassed what I was trying to do in rebranding. And I think that God has provided all that he said he would for me and more. And I just have to be a faithful servant to him.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

Amen.

Where To Find Sandra And Closing

SPEAKER_02 8:39

And where can our listeners go to learn more about serendipity designs?

SPEAKER_01 8:44

You just I have a Facebook and I have a website. The website is serendipityds.com. And you can go there and see all the work that we've done and learn more about me and learn more about just the components that that I work in and how that all factors into what you're wanting to do in your home.

SPEAKER_02 9:04

That is wonderful. And Sandra, we've had a very encompassing episode today. Any final words of wisdom before we close out?

SPEAKER_01 9:11

I think it's just don't be afraid to reach out. I think that a lot of people are very overwhelmed by a project and they don't know where to start. And I think the start is to reach out.

SPEAKER_02 9:21

Well, Sandra, I really appreciate you being on the show today. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Thank you. And thank you for having me on the podcast. And thank anybody that watches it, and I hope that you have some takeaway from it.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP Frisco dot com. That's GNP Frisco dot com or call four six nine two two two two two two two two two two two two one nine three four five.