So how does one get from dental assistant to interior designer? Is that even a thing? Lol
My life has been a JOURNEY so far - full of unexpected twists and turns (just like every life ever), but I’m here to spill the tea today as I take you through my journey to interior design and building the Lucyshyn Designs community that I cherish so much.
Let's get into it...
So yeah, I was a dental assistant…
That was a thing. And you know what - I loved it! I really did.
But things changed once my daughter was born. My husband had his construction business,
and I was working full time - and there was just NO way that we could both work 12 hour days. So, we always knew that when the time came, I would stay home with the kids.
I had my 3 amazing, spectacular, beautiful babies and lived my best SAHM-life! It was beautiful. I was there for all the special moments - soaking in those fleeting newborn yawns, baby cuddles, and the fun, exploratory toddler years.
It was so miraculous. I watched my babies grow, and I am so deeply grateful for that time.
Fast-forward six years…
I was at home caring for the kiddos, and to be perfectly frank - it was no longer serving me.
Even though I loved my kids and motherhood so much, I lost myself in motherhood. I know that so many SAHMs can probably relate.
*Vulnerable moment here* - I cried every day. I didn’t know why, but ultimately I confessed to myself that I was in the throws of deep depression.
Struggling with anxiety and depression…
I’ve had my battles with anxiety going back to my dentistry days. There was a time when I suddenly lost a lot of weight without meaning to. I was fainting. I was falling asleep while driving DAILY and even while working on patients.
It was INSANE. All of this felt like it was happening TO me and I had no control and no idea why. I went in for alllll the tests. But of course, they all came back normal. I was in “perfect” health.
And then I finally figured it out - severe anxiety. I started realizing that my job as a dental assistant was the source. To spare you the long version of the story - I worked at a location where you didn’t know who was going to get fired that day. So that’s a cute peak into that culture - and it affected me so much more than I realized.
And being honest again (because, you know, that’s what this blog post is all about), these feelings came bubbling back up when we moved into our new home.
Hitting rock bottom and deciding to get up again…
It should’ve been such a happy time (and it was still). I was pregnant with baby #3, I started online school for interior design, and we were building our family home! So many amazing gifts were coming into my life and it was really exciting.
But can you see how everything is starting to compound? Three kids under 6, SAHM life, feeling depressed, no career, building a home from the ground up, going to school…
And once we moved in - BOOM. Depression turned to anxiety, and anxiety turned to OCD. At first, it was like “It’s a brand new house - I wanna keep it clean and nice!” But when you’re living with three tiny humans, it’s not always realistic.
And still I fought that tooth and nail: I couldn’t leave my home without the whole place sparkling. I couldn’t go to bed without everything being tidy. And there’s no chance in hell I’d ever have dishes in the sink! I became ‘that mom’ who cleans up toys WHILE her kids are still playing, because the sight of the mess was so triggering to me.
I realized that this wasn’t ok. It wasn’t ok for me, my husband, or my kiddos. So I decided to make some big changes.
Number one: I started medication -
hallelujah! Haha! I also came up with systems and structures both within the home and the family to help me manage my triggers and reduce those not-fun-feelings.
One thing I knew: my interior decorating style HAD to change. I really minimized my home decor style. Going minimal reaaaaally helped my anxiety and is now so much more pleasing to my eyes. This scaled back style is still evident in Lucyshyns Designs today - I like to think of it as a trademark! And I went all in on the home organization (bins, bins, and MORE bins)!
I created structure in my life through routines that helped settle my mind and my emotions. It helped me feel at peace and enjoy the beautiful life that our family was building. It also allowed me to focus on myself and what I was really wanting out of my own life.
I just freakin’ love interior design…
I have ALWAYS loved the aesthetics of a home. The exterior, the interior, the finishes, the decor - every detail has always ignited passion for me. My family and I used to always go for long drives just to look at all the beautiful homes in the neighborhood…
That passion grew through my relationship with my husband. I got to see all of his amazing projects daily, and it always made me daydream about how I would decorate those homes, what finishes I would use, what stains, what paint colors - you get the picture!
So when I was tapping into my needs and what I wanted my next chapter to be - interior design just felt natural. I had the passion, I had the eye, and I had my husbands contracting business! So I went to school online for interior design, and it lit a FIRE in me!
That led me to creating my Instagram account in 2018, where I would post here and there about our new home build. And everything just started to grow!
I was gaining followers on Instagram. I finished my course. People were really excited about what I was bringing to the table. So, I started collaborating with my husband’s home builds.
And Lucyshyn Designs was born! My fourth baby, hahahahah!
The future is so bright…
Right now, Lucyshyns Designs and Lucyshyn Contracting are working their butts off on some
awesome large-scale custom-built homes. We have so many cool projects to share with you guys, I literally can’t wait! And we are enjoying every minute in our brand new studio space and storefront!
Outside of the interior design world, there’s a lot of exciting things happening…
For starters, we moved! The Lucyshyns family has moved into a tear-down house on 81 ACRES OF LAND! Can you even believe that?? It’s veeerrry different from our new-custom-built home, but we are all so excited for this big change.
And the adventures continue. Every day is new with my kids - it’s all fun, wacky, weird, surprising, up, down - you name it! But things have never been better.
You know, sitting down and putting out my story really brings to light how much interior design has meant to me. Following my passion for home aesthetics helped me through the darkest time in my life. It gave me structure. It gave me purpose. It helped me find me again.
I know it’s corny (but I’m corny, so I don’t care!), but I don’t know where I’d be without it. So in this moment, know that I am sitting in such deep gratitude. And I’m so thankful that you’re here and a part of this community.
What a journey, and it’s just getting started…