When Christiana “Iana’’ Plum arrived as a freshman at Syracuse University, she had already chosen her career path.

“I was the one person who knew what I wanted to do before I got there,’’ she said of interior design. “I just always loved the concept of space.’’

Plum, 42, went on to a 15-year career designing residential and commercial interiors, working on projects in Boston, New York, Seattle, and Key West, Fla.

In 2003, she and her husband moved to Marblehead. Later, as a divorced single parent, she took time off to raise her son, now 8.

Two years ago, she started her own full-service design business, Beach Plum Interiorsin Marblehead.

Q. Interior designer versus decorator?

A. Decorators can make a space look pretty. An interior designer can walk into a room and think about the space and the client’s needs. I like solving problems in an aesthetic way.

Q. Example?

A. People say, “My house is messy.’’ If they tell me where the mess is and why it keeps happening, we can figure it out. It’s about asking the right questions.

Q. Offerings?

A. On smaller residential and renovation projects, I can select colors, finishes, window treatments, and create custom cushions or reupholster a favorite chair. On larger projects, I produce floor plans, order furniture, select lighting, and oversee the installation of it all.

Q. Cost?

A. $95 an hour, but it depends. It could be a flat fee. Each job is different, which is why there are no prices on the website.

Q. Color?

A. I don’t think people are afraid of color, but they are afraid of the wrong color. Some people just don’t want to pull the trigger.

Q Trends?

A. The colors for the year, according to Pantone [a leading color guide], are rose quartz and serenity [light blue]. I am not feeling it. For me the color of the year is white: shades of creamy whites, colder whites, and warmer whites layered; and pops of color. [Plum presents a talk on choosing paint colors at 6:30 p.m. March 16 at the Abbot Public Library in Marblehead.

Q. Interest in design?

A. It doesn’t shut off. I walk in any building and I take in the space, and the molding, and the tiles. I can be on a date and I am staring at the light fixtures.

Wendy Killeen can be reached at wdkilleen@gmail.com.