This foyer channels peak grandmillennial glamour with its gilt staircase, pleated skirts, powder-blue console, and a ceiling that glows like old Hollywood.
Andrew Joseph: What is your favorite design element to incorporate into your projects?
Gray Walker: Lighting is one of the first rounds of selections. I put lighting in the realm of architecture… It is expensive and worth it. Lighting is part of the platform. Good light fixtures are what I preach about daily.
AJ: How do you balance functionality and aesthetics in your designs?
GW: Asking my client how they want to live in the room: What are their main goals for the function of the space? Space planning is first and foremost… then the aesthetic.
AJ: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received as a designer?
GW: Keep your blinders on and keep going through the good AND the bad.
Soft botanical wallpaper, a sculptural lily-petal chandelier, and sun-washed drapery make this bedroom feel like a garden that decided to bloom indoors.
AJ: What is the most important element in a successful interior design?
GW: I believe my drive to keep getting better at what I do and creating new hurdles to jump are key elements to my personal success as an interior designer. No one can light a fire in me like I can. Passion and self-motivation are a must in my design career.
AJ: How do you approach a new design project?
GW: My client will usually unintentionally direct me to something that sparks my creativity. Initial walk-throughs teach me a lot about a client. There might be a painting or rug that they love that initiates a color palette. I listen very carefully to what is said as we peruse the existing home.
The muted scenery wraps the room in a soft stillness, creating a dining experience that feels contemplative rather than performative.
AJ: What inspired you to become a designer?
GW: My mother. My earliest memories of art and design are with my mother arranging accessories and moving furniture around our house. She is an artist and an avid gardener. There were always fresh-cut roses in mason jars from her garden and paintings in process on easels in the breakfast room. She was the mad scientist type, while I loved decorating my dollhouse meticulously and color-coding my closet to feel more like a shop. I got my creativity from my mother and my sense of business from my father. Both of my parents wanted me to have a career I was passionate about and were my biggest fans while I navigated my journey. My first degree is a BA in art history. After college, I studied photography in Italy and left thinking I was going to continue that path. I was in my hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, and got a job working with my mom’s interior designer while I figured things out. I learned that the composition I was truly passionate about was that of a room. I wasted no time going back to school for my BA in interior design.
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