Designing Your Life
Words by Sarah Michael Hickman
There are over 1.5 million licensed real estate agents in the United States, so achieving success in the field requires standing out from the crowd. By integrating 20 years of interior design experience into her real estate business, Teresa Daniel found the perfect way to do just that—she got her realtors license and founded POSH.
POSH is a lifestyle design brand based out of Cullman, Alabama. The company is truly a one stop shop for all things realty and design. Some of her services include helping clients stage their homes, sell their homes, buy new homes, and interior design for those new spaces.
After owning a successful furniture store for more than 10 years, Teresa decided to sell her business and move forward. Part of the decision to move on came from her passion for helping people with their homes and customizing their spaces. She found that most of her furniture sales in the store came from people seeking interior design help. Customers were craving guidance from someone they could talk to and bounce ideas off of, someone that knew what they were doing—things that have been lost in the age of online shopping. She looked into getting her realtor qualifications and realized that a design based approach to realty was a natural progression for her.
Teresa currently works out of her home office, traveling to her clients homes to get hands on experience with their space. She has also helped clients out of town, offering services remotely, available for anyone with a wifi connection. However, she is now touring spaces where she will open a brick and mortar design studio in Cullman. Creating an interior design studio is a big undertaking—the space will need to display her skill while still showcasing her ability to please clients who all have different styles. “I’m excited about the different business model that I have in mind…it’s more customer based, I’m trying to please the customer instead of selling inventory I already have in stock.”
Before owning her furniture store, Teresa had a business that made custom draperies and window treatment. She continues to help clients with custom window treatments in the design process. Teresa also does kitchen, bathroom, and closet design.
When acting as a selling agent, Teresa offers home staging. Specific statistical numbers vary when looking at how staging effects the sale of a home, however, the common consensus is a positive one. Houses that are staged are more likely to sell for higher prices and spend less time on the market. As a buyers agent, she helps her clients envision what a life in that space would look like. After the sale she can then help her client begin to design their new dream space.
Teresa has also had experience in renovating properties to sell. Unlike investment flippers who will do the bare minimum and plop the house back on the market, Teresa invests real energy into the project. She puts care into all the finishings and stated that it’s a process you always end up spending much more time and money on than you expect to.
Teresa was born and raised in Cullman. Even though she wanted this new journey with POSH to be a full rebrand, it was important for her to stay there. Her passion is palpable when she talks about how important it is to make her clients happy. Although she enjoys helping clients from everywhere, it was apparent that helping her community realize their aesthetic and quality of life really brought her joy. “I love the people of Cullman. My heart is here.”