DESIGNING WITH ARCHITECTURE IN MIND

IIf walls could talk, interior designer Cate Gutter of CWG would undoubtedly be one of the first to find out—and her clients wouldn’t be surprised. That’s because Gutter has always had a knack for speaking with houses—or at least, a knack for understanding their architecture. Instead of conforming the space to suit a certain look, Gutter believes in working with the space to guide the design—especially when it comes to making everything beautiful yet practical. Finding the balance between creative selfexpression and architectural limitations hasn’t always been easy for Gutter. Fortunately, she has quite the support system when she needs inspiration: her own family. After working with her inlaws at the Ward Design Group in Durham, NC, Gutter decided to take a risk and start her own business. Now, she sits down with us to talk more about her design style and the steps she’s taken to become the interior designer she is today.

What made you decide to pursue design?

My mom and grandmother were design-savvy, but my mom really pursued design when I was young. She got her real estate license to get the inside scoop on the newest properties she could buy and renovate. Growing up, we moved every few years as my mom would find a new, exciting project to work on. Throughout my "professional pitstops," I too was always renovating and adding new designs to each home my husband and I lived in along the way. I guess you could say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

How would you describe your own home and personal design style?

My own home is an expression of my style, but at the moment, it feels like an experiment of sorts…I went nuts with color and invested in timeless vintage and heirloom pieces. My personal design style is one that is full of history, but willing to accommodate our current season of life— a direct reflection of my husband and my story, meshed with a need for practicality. It’s a blast of color and texture and full of stories that we love to share over a bottle of wine and my favorite dessert.

How do you find the right balance between visually pleasing and practical?

Without a doubt, this is the most important aspect of design. I always begin with the practical and layer in the beauty. Dogs? Kids? Wonky-shaped rooms? Those are the things I consider first when I start designing a space. Next, I consider personal preferences. For example, I have one client who cannot stand velvet or anything in that family—it feels funny on her skin. After functionality is considered, I layer in as much of beauty, color, texture as I can in order to weave in the client's personality.

What’s something you’d like potential clients to know about you?

One of the first things I tell clients is that they cannot hurt my feelings. I want them to feel comfortable enough to tell me all the things that they love about the initial design and also the things that they don’t. I love for my clients to have strong feelings and opinions that they are willing to share. Having open communication is key to a successful design! info cwg.design @cwg.design