Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Cruz.
Hi Christina, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I’m Christina Cruz, Founder and Principal Designer at Cruz Interiors Inc. I am the mother of 4 amazing children and lover of all things art and architecture.
I find inspiration in nature, fashion and art, and people. What brings me joy in this life is my family, travel, fitness, being out of doors, music, dance, and design.
Cruz Interiors is a Tampa Bay-based Interior design firm specializing in Eco-Friendly, High-Style Design.
We are an all-women team who are passionate about wellness design.
Cruz Interiors started organically, through my love of everything art and architecture, and my fascination with interior spaces. Design has become something that I simply cannot do. I can’t walk into a space without analyzing the space planning, the lighting, and what if anything I would have done differently, or what really makes the space exceptional. It was something I had always had an eye for. My mother is a painter and so I developed an early love for color and art as a child. That paired with love of fashion and travel really influenced my perspective on interior spaces.
I founded the business 2009. Interior Design is actually a second career for me.
My educational background is in healthcare and I had worked as a registered Nurse since 1998.
But after the birth of my 3 and 4th children (twins), that sort of schedule became difficult to maintain. I stayed home for a few years to care for my family, and I began remodeling and redesigning my home.
With each new project I completed in my home, I began to spark interest from friends who asked me to help with their projects. The project lists continued to grow until it only made sense for me to create a business in this field. So, I found myself in school again but this time for Interior design, a big pivot from the health care field.
Fast forward to today and Cruz Interiors has been in business over a decade, we have expanded our team to include digital rendering, online design services, long-distance design, and of course our exceptional one-on-one service that we are known for. We have now provided design for hundreds of clients throughout the Tampa Bay area and clients in NY, California, and Puerto Rico. I truly love what I do and I hope to bring Eco-Friendly High-Style design to so many more clients in and around the Tampa Bay area.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
NO road is smooth, if it is, get off that road and take another more challenging one! Changing careers, raising a family, and running a business is no walk in the park, but I am always learning, always seeking to improve. Sometimes the things that are most difficult, teach us the most.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am known as the Interior Design Firm “Where Eco-Friendly Meets High-Style Design” This is what I am most proud of. I am definitely an environmentalist and promoter of personal health. Sometimes, these ideals are difficult to live up to in the design/construction industry.
So many products in our industry are laden with chemicals and off-gas toxins into the air in our homes, I find it rewarding and important that I as a business owner take steps to offset or avoid these undesirable outcomes. We do this through responsible reuse of demo (donating cabinets and fixtures to habitat for humanity) and selection of green materials that are responsibly sourced and can be responsibly disposed of and that do not off-gas.
It is also a misperception that you can’t have a lux space with green materials. But there are so many amazing products on the market now and fortunately, the industry standards are moving to a place that promotes environmentally conscientious products.
How do you think about happiness?
Time with my family, being outside, dancing.
These are simple things, but time with my family, my four kids, my fiancé, that is the good stuff. Not something you can order, or purchase, just the time to be with my people, make memories and maintain bonds.
Being outside, because I spend so much time in front of a screen, I love to be outside and enjoy the air, even when it’s blistering hot.
Dancing; I have always been a dancer, all genres, and come on, how can you be sad if you are dancing?
Pricing:
- Online Design Services from $450
- One on one at an hourly rate
- Space Planning from an hourly rate
- Table decor and holiday decor from an hourly rate
Contact Info:
- Email: info@cruzinteriorsinc.com
- Website: www.cruzinteriorsinc.com
- Instagram: @cruzinteriorsinc
- Facebook: cruzinteriorsinc
Image Credits
Rudy Triana
