How to Build an Interiors Team From Scratch with Christina Franklin

What does it take to build an interiors team from scratch and make it a true strategic partner to architecture, not a “finishes at the end” function? In this episode of I Hear Design, we sit down with Christina Franklin, Partner and Director of Interior Design at Generator Studio in Kansas City. Christina shares what it was like joining as a team of one and how she established the foundations that allowed an interiors practice to scale, which included defining a clear point of view, clarifying the scope of ownership, and embedding interiors into the design process from day one. We also talk about what “hospitality-forward design” really means beyond buzzwords (translating it into tangible decisions like arrival sequence, lighting, and emotional resonance instead), plus the tools and standards that help maintain quality as a team grows. Christina also offers a candid take on AI as an early-stage ideation tool, how to gauge whether a team is truly healthy, and the leadership shift she calls out most: learning to release control and build trust.

You can listen to How to Build an Interiors Team From Scratch with Christina Franklin online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How to Build an Interiors Team From Scratch with Christina Franklin is an episode from Interiors+Sources Podcast by interiors+sources.

This episode is 32:44 long.

This episode was published on Apr 13, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Interiors+Sources Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.