Not only am I thrilled that I get to call interior designer Gail Davis a friend, but I’m so excited to finally be talking to her for the Designer Spotlight series. We met at a design event a couple of years ago, and I have since gotten to see her work in person, and we’ve enjoyed coffees and treats, and shared the love of our dogs in the intervening time. While we need to be socially distant for the time being, I luckily got to ask her about her design career and philosophy and she’s sharing the details below.
Gail Davis
Q. First, tell us a little bit about yourself. Where were you born and raised, and how and where did you start your career?
A. I was born and raised on Long Island, Amityville to be exact. I have always loved fashion but was not sure where I would land. I started in the garment industry on Seventh Avenue working for a family doing sales. It was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. I would travel to Las Vegas twice a year and have to stay for 14 days selling denim shirts with the Flintstones on it to stores all over NYC.
Q. What made you want to change from fashion to interior design and when did you realize you’d made the right move?
A. I eventually landed at Saks Fifth Avenue and was the assistant to the SVP of stores. She was promoted to President of Off 5th and I later followed her there. I was burnt out and felt that I needed to do more with my life than be a “fetch it” girl. One day I looked at this plaque that stated “what would you do if you knew you could not fail?” My first thought was that I would go back to school for interior design! And I gave my notice the next day. I registered for NYSID (New York School of Interior Design) and started in the fall of 2006.
Q. Is there anything about how and where you grew up, or the fashion industry, that informs your career now? A. My grandparents were from South Carolina and that has shaped who I am as a designer and wife. I come from working class and that has also shaped the way I interact. My parents and grandparents both had lovely homes with gorgeous landscaping and worked very hard to create beauty to enjoy every day. Family dinners at my grandparents were the absolute BEST! We sat down to dine as a family. This included my father’s five siblings and their children. My grandparents had custom drapery and furniture that they painstakingly took care of. It was all about making family and friends feel welcomed and having a good time together. My upbringing shapes the way I live in my house and the way we entertain. It shapes how I think about how I want my client to experience their home. I always want to know how my clients entertain and how often. If they have folks over on the weekends or just for holidays. It is important to create a space that is easy to maintain, as well as entertain. I don’t want anything in their home that is too precious. After all, we live in a house and not a museum.
Q. The master bedroom you designed at the Aspire Design and Home Show House in Bernardsville, NJ, and the servants hallway and laundry room you designed at The Valerie Fund Show House are very different in style. How would you describe your style and how do you decide what kind of space gets a certain type of style? A. I am not sure how to define my style. I love clean lines but I also love “stuff.” I need the room to feel lived in and have all the things that you need on a daily basis. My first question is, “what is the space going to be used for?” Then I interrogate every inch of the space to ensure that it is efficiently lovely.
Design by Gail Davis / Photo by Rayon Richards
Q. You know I absolutely loved what you did at The Valerie Fund Show House. I couldn’t get enough of that green in the hallway and that wallpaper in the laundry room was absolutely amazing. Why did you choose the servants hallway at The Valerie Fund Show House?
A. I chose the servants hallway because that is where my family would have lived. I wanted to create something for my grandparents to enjoy. Houses like that had a staff that made it amazing. And that staff was usually a person of color. I designed that space to be a place of respite for those that had to maintain the house and grounds on a daily basis.
Q. Can you talk me through the art choices for the hallway?
A. The art needed to reflect not the homeowners, because they would never walk that hallway, but it needed to reflect the servant. So, I thought what would I want to see? I would want to see pics of my family because I was away from them. I wanted to infuse strong color that would match the intensity of the green. I wanted it to show that we live in color and it is not a dirty word.
Q. You started a podcast recently. Why did you decide to start a podcast and what are you learning about design through this process?
A. I started a podcast because there is not a person of color that talks about the challenges of the design industry. And, I had A LOT to say!
Q. A few recent episodes have addressed the murder of George Floyd and what it means to be Black in interior design. What are you hoping people take away from Black people telling their stories and maybe even finally being heard?
A. I am hoping that people will finally understand that Black folks ARE treated differently in this country and that we have a different set of rules. I want white folks to stop thinking that this does not affect them. We ALL have to live on this planet and we need to be better stewards to each other. Black people cannot do this alone. It will take EVERYONE to say enough!
Design by Gail Davis / Photo by Lisa Russman
Q. You have a way with mixing color and pattern. For example, how did you know those Chinoiserie pillows against those black, gray and white chairs would work in the Bernardsville show house? What was your process in making that design decision?
A. I LOVE Chinoiserie! I felt that it gave just enough oomph to add to the space without beating you over the head. I like when you can take a traditional piece and place it in a modern setting. The beauty of design is tension. Tension allows the room to speak and express a feeling.
Q. Knowing we are all spending way more time at home than before, what are your top tips for people being able to create spaces that truly work for them?
A. Your house should always be comfortable, maintainable, nothing too precious that you would have anxiety over if someone spilled something. And it needs to be who YOU really are, not who you want people to think you are.
Thank you, Gail, for talking to The 256 Project! For more on Gail Davis, be sure to follow her on Instagram, check out her company website, and listen to her podcast, “Design Perspectives.” To catch up on other interviews like this, check out the rest of the Designer Spotlight series here.
