Behind The Scenes with TK Business Magazine

ABOUT TAMMY THIESSEN

As the founder and creative director of Thiessen Design + Construction, Tammy leads with design at the forefront of every project. She has transformed the traditional construction experience, easing the stress of renovations and new builds for her clients. Her approach delivers not only beautiful spaces but also highly functional environments.

Thiessen Design + Construction’s portfolio features prestigious projects, including the recently completed Washburn University president’s house, highlighting the firm’s expertise in managing complex, high-profile architectural challenges from concept to completion.

“Behind the Scenes with TK Business Magazine” is an exciting new podcast series hosted by Danielle J. Martin, shining a spotlight on the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit driving the growth of the Topeka community. Each episode takes you directly to the heart of local businesses, with interviews conducted on location at their offices or workspaces.

In this month’s episode, we step into the world of Tammy Thiessen, founder and creative director of Thiessen Design + Construction and owner of Home at Last, to explore her vision and the artistry behind her work. Scan the QR code to listen online and get an exclusive look inside one of her stunning recent projects.

Martin: Let’s dive into who you are and how you got started.

Thiessen: It was an interesting start. We’d just had our fourth of five children and needed some room for these kids to run. We bought a 35-year-old home from the original homeowners. They’d built the house but hadn’t updated a single thing. We had blue drapes and blue carpet everywhere. It was a traditional layout. That was my first experience with a major remodel. We gutted the home and took down the walls to create an open floor plan.

I love how it turned out, but the process was so stressful. I kept saying, “There has to be a better way to do this.” I wanted people in the industry to give me advice and direction, not just tell me they could do whatever I wanted. Each time I went to a different person I had to re-explain my vision. I left that experience having fallen in love with the industry. I had all of these ideas for how it could serve homeowners better.

I think any time you experience something for yourself, you have a different perspective because you feel it at a deep level. I know the feelings that homeowners have during their remodel process.

Martin: How has balancing work, family and personal life been?

Thiessen: I started the business about seven years ago as an interior design firm. At the time, I thought I was just going to be the “wedding planner” for my clients’ remodels, but quickly realized they wanted me to handle everything. About six months after we started the company, my brother joined as our general contractor, which has been an awesome collaboration. He is probably the only one in the world who could handle all the ideas I throw at him.

Martin: What challenges have you had to overcome?

Thiessen: We grew fast, but when you do that you’re kind of building the plane as you’re in flight. Figuring out our systems and processes has been the biggest challenge of the last two years. I want every single client to have the exact same experience and I want that experience to be amazing. I also want to be innovative, so we’re using technology like 3D design customer portals that let clients track and manage their schedule and budget. But I don’t want to lose the interpersonal side of our business where we’re really investing in our homeowners.

Martin: You work with your husband, brother and a powerhouse team of women. Was it easy to find the right people to work with you?

Thiessen: Yes. As we all know, the people are the business. That’s the biggest asset we have. I feel really grateful for the team we have right now. I believe if you’re putting out exactly what you want, people will be drawn to that. We want to do the best we can for our homeowners and challenge ourselves. It’s been so interesting to see people gravitate toward that. We’ve hired some really amazing people. The respect I have for my team and the talent they bring is phenomenal. We have a lot of women, so we have a lot of fun. The guys roll their eyes a lot, but I think they kind of like it.

Martin: Tell me about the type of work you do — designs, redesigns, remodeling.

Thiessen: The core of our business is remodeling. We do a ton of remodels. People always ask me how many projects we handle at a time, which is hard to answer because we do a design phase and a construction phase, so we have clients in both phases. We’ve also finished a handful of custom new builds. Recently, we finished the president of Washburn University’s home. That was a huge deal for us.

Martin: Where do you see the future of Thiessen Design + Construction?

Thiessen: I envisioned it as an interior design company when I started. Then we added the construction component and eventually went beyond remodeling to do new construction. I’m always looking for the next thing that will simplify the process for the homeowner. We bought a furniture store, Home at Last, a couple years ago because if we’re renovating someone’s home, they’re going to need furniture. As far as what’s next, I don’t know if I could answer that today. We’ve done a lot in Lawrence lately and we’re growing our market.

Martin: Did you always see the company offering all these services at once?

Thiessen: I don’t think I had that vision starting out, but my approach was to try to learn from other business owners. Whatever serves our clients best is the next arena I want to get into. One thing I learned from other business owners is that I’m here to make this really overwhelming, complex situation easy and stress free.

Martin: Let’s go behind the scenes of your client process. What does that look like?

Thiessen: I love space planning and no matter what footprint we have in a kitchen, it can function better. What can I get out of this person’s space that they don’t have yet? That’s my favorite part. The problem solving is what clients get excited about. We start with space planning and once it’s defined and clear, we move on to interior design, like picking the color of the cabinets. It’s a fun process but it can be overwhelming.

Martin: So many options.

Thiessen: Yes, so many options. I mean, have you walked into a tile store? Where do you even start? Something I tell people is that what can trip you up as a homeowner is you often want to pick selections independently. I love gray, but then everything’s gray and you have this really flat design. We walk you through that to make sure we’re really reflecting your aesthetic, but you’re going to get something that looks like it belongs in a magazine.

Then we transition to construction. Our designers inform our construction crew and project managers, so homeowners don’t have to be involved in that. We have sophisticated construction documents and rendering so everyone knows what the space is going to look like, and then we hand over this amazing space at the end. What’s unique about our process is we take it all the way to styling, like pretty little cutting boards in the kitchen or decor on the coffee table. We hang the art on the walls so when people move back in, there’s nothing for them to do.

Martin: I can only imagine the reaction you get from your clients at the end of the process.

Thiessen: We call it install day. At the very end of a project, we hang art and put down rugs, then walk the client through it. It feels like HGTV. I love seeing their faces and how excited they are to use the space.

Martin: What’s the timeline for each home?

Thiessen: Once we start a project we don’t pull off. You’re going to see your whole project timeline. There might be a day an electrician ran behind, but we’re going to stay on the project. That lets us do tight timelines. On the front end we have our design process, which could be a couple of months. It’s a little driven by our process and a little driven by how decisive clients are. We know people are displaced during a remodel, so we work hard to make that go fast.

Martin: Tell me about a time when you had to pivot.

Thiessen: I think a huge pivot is when you go from being a solopreneur to hiring other people to work for you. It requires you to get all this subconscious knowledge into someone else. I think any business owner wants their clients to receive the same customer service from the employee they’ve hired to do it for them. It’s big to move from being a solopreneur to trusting and training. But it’s beautiful, too, because it lets multiple people speak into the process.

Martin: What about a time when things didn’t go the way you wanted?

Thiessen: That happens in construction a lot. It’s a dynamic industry and there’s a lot that can happen. Most people are reasonable, but what they need is communication. Any time things go off the rails and we’re in a murky situation, I come back to communication. We try to put ourselves in the client’s shoes and open a dialogue.

Martin: What I love about your business is that you don’t see modern homes like these in Topeka. It’s beautiful knowing there’s a business trying to awaken and bring alive a home. I think there’s something you do to them, you bring light back into their world.

Thiessen: It’s interesting you said that because we’ve actually moved to Topeka twice, from Spain to Topeka and from San Diego to Topeka. Both times we looked for homes online because we were far away. I love Topeka and this is my home. I hate when I hear about people taking jobs in Topeka but not living in the community because they can’t find homes they like. I want to keep people here and grow the Topeka community. I don’t get a chance to talk about that because it doesn’t necessarily hit for a lot of people, so that’s sweet of you to bring it up.

Martin: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a business?

Thiessen: You have to be comfortable allowing your employees to make the mistakes you’ve already made. You’re responsible to set up your employees for success, but there’s going to be a mistake they make that you’ve already made and they’re not going to make it again. It’s the process of them learning.

I’m also a big proponent of taking in everything. I learn about other businesses that have nothing to do with design because there’s a lot that applies. Soak it all in, read books, listen to podcasts, get as much information as you can because it’s all going to evolve your business.

Martin: How can homeowners interested in your services contact you?

Thiessen: Go to our website www.tdesigncompany.com. There’s a form you can fill out to reach us and we’ll come out. We do free consults. If you’re curious, we’ll talk to you about what you’re thinking. We can give you some loose price ranges to help you understand if it’s an investment you want to make. If you’re ready to move forward with the project, we go from there.