Glitzy décor pieces. Bright colorful furniture. Crystal chandeliers for days. When you walk into The Interior, you never know what style will be featured in the designer’s showrooms, which change out every three weeks.
The Interior is a full-service design firm located in Inwood Village. The firm started four years ago with managing director Mark Lafferty, who says he has collected the most talented designers and contractors.
With an architectural engineer on staff, seven interior designers and regularly contracted landscapers and contractors, clients don’t have to worry about choosing the right companies. Having an in-house floral designer adds a special touch to the designs, Lafferty says.
“Tracy (the floral designer) is an extremely talented, gifted artist, and it is a lost art, a dying art,” Lafferty says. “People don’t understand how they wrap every stem and put it in and cut them and get the highs and the blends. When I meet someone who has that talent, I grab them and bring them into our staff and bring them on our team here. They’re a part of us.”
The Interior does everything from sourcing a rug or art to furnishing and decorating multimillion-dollar homes.
“We’re with them for the journey,” Lafferty says. “We become friends and become associated with their brand, acquainted with their family, know their hobbies and know who they are and what to design into their lifestyle.”
Lafferty entered the interior design world from an extensive background in garment sales.
“I was in the garment industry and traveled immensely,” Lafferty says. “As my kids were getting older, I wanted to stay home more and this was the natural thing. Garments change five seasons a year, and I’m used to that, so it’s easy to talk to somebody about products when you understand that flow.”
The Interior has two showrooms, one in the Design District and one in Inwood Village.
“That’s the magic about having a showroom and retail here is the fact that, if a client makes a decision and it doesn’t work out, we’ll trade it out for them,” Lafferty says. “Very few designers can offer that because they don’t have the retail showroom to back that up.”
To Lafferty, design is all about making the clients happy, many of which maintain a working relationship through second and third houses, even vacation homes in other states.
“We listen to people; we listen to what they have and then we figure out what’s going to work best for them to take them to the point where they’ll be happy for years to come,” Lafferty says.
