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In Profile:
Shelley Morris Interiors

In Profile:

Shelley Morris Interiors

Shortlisted: 2 Categories Award

The International Design & Architecture Awards 2025

IDA 2025

Name: Shelley Morris

Company Name: Shelley Morris Interiors

Position Within Company: Owner/CEO

Website: shelleymorrisinteriors.com

Tell us a little about your background in design:

I originally graduated FIT in Graphic Design in 1979, although at the time I was much more interested in fashion design. When I entered the workforce at a commercial design firm, it quickly confirmed my lack of enthusiasm for my chosen major. I left that job and went to night school to try my hand at professional photo styling, which led to a stint working for Macy’s NY photo studio and eventually the Bloomingdales design department. While at Bloomingdales, I was given an opportunity to join their executive placement program.

Fast forward to the mid 1980’s when my husband and I (along with my young daughter) found our first home in northern Westchester County, NY. At that time, I had left Bloomingdales and became very interested in taking on the challenge of decorating my first home. That led to a return to education, as I began taking classes in interior design at the local high school. As I began the course, a light bulb came on – this is what I was meant to do. Thus began my three-decade plus career in interior design. I went back to school for a formal education at Parsons in NYC while designing my own home and slowly picking up clients in the neighboring areas. I’ve never looked back or worked for another design firm, but I continued to educate myself. Along with taking seminars and additional classes locally, I began to travel and take immersion courses abroad and throughout Europe and parts of North Africa. I developed an unquenchable thirst for knowledge around all things design and architecture.

As I built my business, clients returned for requests to do second and third homes across the United States. In the 30 years of Shelley Morris Interiors, I’ve worked on hundreds of projects across states and styles. I’ve also used myself as my own guinea pig, purchasing and re-designing homes to test new aesthetics. Those projects involved not only my interior design skills but stretched me even further to learn more about architecture as well as garden design. Practicing these new skills allowed me to provide my clients with the “complete home” – bringing together the interior and exterior too create a truly integrated space. There is nothing more satisfying to me than developing a project to completion (both inside and outside) whether it is a client home or my own. My goal is always to create a place that is comfortable, functional and above all else expresses the needs and character of the people living there.

How would you describe your personal design style?

My personal design style is a balance of commitment to collecting alongside an edited aesthetic. I am passionate about keeping and showcasing art from my travels and encourage my clients to look at their items with the same eye as it relates to key pieces that matter to them. However, I encourage discipline both personally and professionally to ensure these pieces (furniture, art, keepsakes, etc.) have a place to standout vs. reflecting clutter in a home.

The eye towards editing seamlessly coincides with my philosophy around “the mix.” My work does not reflect a single decade, culture, or genre, but looks to seamlessly blend various worlds together while reflecting my client’s sense of style. This means that I prefer balance to symmetry and I’m often skeptical of trends. Design magic often comes from the simple things – natural sunlight with neutral palettes, infusing nature into interior spaces, and bringing together antiques with the modern in unexpected ways.

And after all my decades of doing design, I ultimately find saying “never say never” is the truest phrase of all.

Where does your design inspiration come from?

I’m inspired by many of the things I see or experience, whether it is from social media, a local shopping excursion or traveling the world. Inspiration requires a curious mind, and I satiate that curiosity as often as possible with a mix of real-world experiences and deep dives into the work of other designers.

Travelling and seeing design outside of the United States is something I have focused on for a majority of my career. Whether it’s design tours to Sweden or Marrakesh, the ways that different cultures create and live in their spaces is always sure to open me up to new ways of working or thinking.

Experiencing cultures and the varying design and architecture that reflect an individual group’s ways of living is the most stimulating and indelible experience of all.

In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense?

While I can’t claim to know the future, my hope is that homeowners think carefully about the environmental impact of throwing furniture or goods away and instead think about giving their treasured pieces a new life.

I’m often asked by new clients who want to refresh their homes how they should go about getting rid of their old furniture as they can’t wrap their mind around “the new” while also incorporating familiar items. I often like to think through how we can re-upholster or re-finish items to give them new life as this typically adds more character to a home than simply buying all-new. I have sensed the general movement towards sustainability in the industry and believe this will a big part of design in the coming years.

In parallel to and alignment with sustainability, the push towards personal style is emerging in residential interiors, in sharp contrast to the “buy the showroom” look of the early-aughts. This lean towards the personal dovetails with sustainability as antiques, vintage and upcycled furnishing are all more reflective of a client’s individuality.

Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in the future.
1) Sustainably 2) Individuality 3) Quality 4) Functionality 5) Comfort

If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to designing, what would it be?
To make your home “your own,” and to not worry what others may think.

How important are The International Design & Architecture Awards?
The field of Interior Design has grown a staggering amount since I entered the industry over 30 years ago. There is an incredible amount that Designers and Architects all over the world who can share and learn from each other. The International Design & Architecture awards provide an outstanding platform for supporting and learning from one another and recognizing those who have achieved outstanding work in their field.

What projects are you currently working on?

I currently have a variety of projects across the East Coast in the US including a historic home from 1908, a remodel of a classic brick colonial from the 1990s, a modern apartment in Coconut Grove, Florida and a modern farmhouse that is a couple’s second home. I am also about to kick off work on a New England shingle style seaside residence on the Long Island Sound.

I pride myself on not just multiple projects, but multiple styles of home to continually sharpen my skills in various areas and functions of design.

What was your favourite project to work on and why?
While I’ve worked on many wonderful homes with my clients, I must admit my favorite projects are always my own. When it is my own home, I can experiment and take chances that I would not ordinarily take with a client’s homes. Every time I finish renovating a home of my own, I find I am a better designer for clients with new resources and techniques that I have tested on myself.

What was your most challenging project to work on and why?
One of my most challenging projects was early on in my career, before the internet had made remote designer accessible for everyone. I was tasked with a remodel and redesign of a turn of the century home in Marin County, California. I was traveling between their home on the West Coast and my own home in New York for everything from shopping to plan reviews to furniture installation. I still had a young child at home and as a business owner, this was the first time I was working nearly around the clock while also balancing being a mother. The job was a turning point for me in many ways given the complexity of the project and the time management required, and it helped provide me with a confidence to take on varied projects across the country for the remainder of my career.

Which products/services could you not live without when designing?
I have a love for handmade rugs. My rug resource here in Connecticut can source gorgeous rugs from all over the world and he is my secret sauce when kicking off the design process.

What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?
My 12-month horizon includes successfully finishing (and launching) my current projects and continuing to work with new and returning clients across the tri-state area and New England. As travel remains a critical point of inspiration, I am travelling to Portugal for the first time this Spring and look forward to immersing myself in the Portuguese aesthetic. I also look forward to spending the summer with my grandson, who is a continued source of joy and energy for me.

Final Thoughts:
Your most treasured possession?
My bed, I love my bed.

Your favourite holiday destination?
I can always return to Italy and find something new to love.

Your favourite hotel, restaurant & bar?
Hotel: The Gritti Palace (Venice) and Hotel De Russie (Rome)
Restaurant: Le Penguin (Greenwich, CT)
Bar: Le Terrazza Bar (Hotel Splendido, Portofino, Italy)

Your favourite book, film & song?
Book: My Brilliant Friend Elena Ferrante
Film: The English Patient
Song: Fire and Rain James Taylor

Your favourite food and drink?
Food: Shrimp and Grits
Drink: Tito’s Vodka Martini with Three Olives

Your favourite way to spend an afternoon?
Shopping art & antiques or spending time with my family at home.

If you weren’t in this sector, what would you alternative profession be?
While not that far away from my current profession, I would have probably gone into garden and/or tabletop design.

Anything else interesting?
My one detour from the world of art & design was during my stint at Bloomingdale’s, where I ran buying for their Toy Department in New York City.

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