Interview: Munger Interiors

April 16, 2012 · Comments are closed

I was instantly drawn to the portfolio of Houston, Texas-based Munger Interiors. In 2008 sisters, Elizabeth and Amy Munger co-founded the full-scale residential and commercial design firm which offers both interior design and art advisory services. Together they create elegant, timeless, yet functional spaces. The kind of spaces that make you not want to leave your home.

I’m thrilled to be interviewing Elizabeth Munger today!

Simplified Bee: Your design firm combines interior design and art advisory, which I think is brilliant. How did it come about to work together and combine the two disciplines?

Elizabeth Munger: My sister, Amy, was in the art consulting business for over 15 years while I had worked in the interior design business for over 6 years prior to opening Munger Interiors. Amy started traveling to the Houston area more frequently and we began collaborating on some residential and commercial projects. It wasn’t until we began working together that we realized how much we complemented each other. Her strengths were my weaknesses and vice versa. We finally decided to take the plunge and start our own company together in the fall of 2008. Right about when the stock market crashed. We laugh until this day when people ask about our fears of opening our own firm. Our response is always the same: “Well, we literally began our company when people stopped spending on luxury services, so we could only go up from there”. We have been so very fortunate to have that be the case and feel so blessed to do what we love every day.

SB: How would you describe your personal styles and how have they evolved over the years?

EM: Amy leans more transitional to contemporary while I lean more transitional to traditional, but both gravitate towards timeless design versus trendy. While we like to throw in some trendy pieces here and there, the overall design reads classic. We both love a mix of furnishings in a room. Deco mixed with traditional, French mixed with contemporary, feminine mixed with modern. We take in consideration each individual client that is living in a space versus imposing our personal tastes on them. I think some designers these days seem to have a particular look or style that they recreate over and over. We try to meet with our clients and get to know their lifestyles before bringing in our design ideas. We are ever inspired by the things around us: colors, nature, architecture, travel, art. All of these things lead to different design ideas that we can implement into people’s homes.

SB: What type or period of art are you personally drawn to?

EM: We both really love to implement contemporary art pieces with traditional design. We believe this keeps a space fresh and modern.

SB: Who would you most like to collaborate with on a project?

EM: We have to mention two. Mary McDonald, because her personality and design are fun, fresh, and she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She often says the things we are all thinking in a way that seems sassy but fun-loving.

We would also love to be on an install with Suzanne Kasler. We love her aesthetic. She’s not afraid of color. Mixing old and new. We would love to live in one of her designs.

SB: I love that you aim to design spaces that are both elegant and functional. Which project or room best exemplifies this and why?

EM: Our main clientele are young families and most of them feel that just because they have children they shouldn’t have to compromise having an adult space. For instance, the family room above was designed for a family of 6. All the fabrics chosen are durable blends: usually a cotton linen mix. We chose heavier weaves in lighter color families so it doesn’t feel drab and heavy. We created a banquette in the back corner with a game table that folds out when the family wants to play a game of dominoes or monopoly. Chairs in the kitchen area can be easily moved to accommodate more people around the table. The 2 club chairs across from the fireplace have swivels so you can converse with those on the sofas or people in the kitchen. The upholstery was sprayed with soil repellent to avoid stains easier. There are baskets under the back console table that house toys and games for children to easily access. There are always tricks we use to hide toys but keep them at the kid’s fingertips.

SB: Do you have “go to” paint colors? If so, which ones?

EM: We really don’t have universal “go to” colors. There are some that we love, but they don’t look the same in everyone’s house. We always test samples before creating a paint schedule for this very reason. We can say, that some of our favorite’s when they are in the right light are Revere Pewter (Great neutral), Coventry Gray (soft blue-gray), and Touch of Gray (nice lavender) by Benjamin Moore and Alabaster (clean white) and Silver Strand (blue-gray-green) by Sherwin Williams. We also love Hague Blue (deep peacock blue) by Farrow & Ball for a pop!

SB: Which of today’s interior design trends are here to stay and which ones will we see fade away?

EM: We encourage our clients to go with more neutral upholstery pieces and jazz it up with great pillows, stools, accessories that can easily be changed out. We think soft colors will always be a trend because of the feeling of tranquility it evokes. We live in a chaotic world and most of our clients are juggling both personal schedules and kid’s crazy schedules. They want to walk into their homes and feel a sense of calmness. Soft blues, lavenders, grays, are here to stay.

The whole French everything is on the way out. We recommend never going too far with one period of furniture. It tends to look monotonous and nothing really stands out as being special. Mix different colored woods, painted furniture pieces, textures, metals, glass, mirror. All of these elements create an interesting space.

SB: Where do you recommend clients splurge versus save?

EM: Buy good upholstery pieces. Go custom if you can so it fits the scale of the room. Splurge on throw pillow fabrics. Get something you really love and makes the room look rich. You can save on accessories. One of our secrets when we are trying to save is spending less on the lamp base but buying a quality lamp shade and perhaps finial. The lamp shade is more important that the base.